Employers

• When employees feel included and think their organisation is committed to and supportive of diversity, employees report better business performance in terms of ability to innovate, responsiveness to changing customer needs, and team collaboration.

Source: Waiter, is that inclusion in my soup? A new recipe to improve business performance. Research report. Deloitte Australia. 2013.

• Research shows that diversity of thinking is a well-spring of creativity, enhancing innovation by about 20 percent. It also enables groups to spot risks, reducing these by up to 30 percent, and smooths the implementation of decisions by creating buy-in and trust.

High-performing teams are both cognitively and demographically diverse. By cognitive diversity, we are referring to educational and functional diversity, as well as diversity in the mental frameworks that people use to solve problems.

Source: “The diversity and inclusion revolution: Eight powerful truths.” Article. Deloitte Review. January 2018.

• A Tim Hortons franchisee in southern Ontario has never made an insurance claim for a work-related injury to an employee with a disability, despite employing 85 people who experience disability over 18 years.

Source: Rethinking Disability in the Private Sector: We All Have Abilities. Some Are Just More Apparent than Others – Report from the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. Report. Government of Canada. 2013.

• Ready, Willing and Able (RWA), a national partnership of Inclusion Canada, Autism Alliance of Canada, and their member organizations, increases the labour force participation of people with an intellectual disability or on the autism spectrum. Businesses have rated employees hired through RWA as follows:
  • 99% as well as or better than average on their contribution toward a positive workplace morale
  • 99% as well as or better than average on their attitude toward work
  • 97% as well as or better than average on turnover
  • 88% as well as or better than average on contributing to the firm’s profit margin
  • 76% as well as or better than average on productivity
  • 94% better than average on punctuality
  • 95% better than average on attendance and use of sick days
  • 90% as well as or better than average on getting along with customers/clients

Source: Ready, Willing and Able website. Accessed May 29, 2024.

• On its special events team, a Canadian NHL team hired people experiencing mental health and physical disability. Since they joined, there has been a marked reduction in turnover in the 250-strong workforce, as well as increased knowledge of disability issues among supervisors.

Source: Rethinking Disability in the Private Sector: We All Have Abilities. Some Are Just More Apparent than Others -Report from the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. Report. Government of Canada. 2013.

Most accommodations are simple and involve little or no cost. Examples include a tailored interview format, flexible scheduling, working remotely, a speech-to-text app, a noise-cancelling headset, a job coach for onboarding provided and paid for by a local agency, a checklist for tasks, or a reminder from a supervisor or co-worker when it’s time to take a break.

• Some benefits of reasonable accommodation can include:
  • Demonstrating that you offer an inclusive working environment, which can assist in reducing discrimination and promoting employee engagement.
  • Ensuring that employees have what they need to bring their full suite of talents and expertise to their roles.
  • Facilitating a swifter and smoother return to work following absences on sick, maternity, paternity, or parental leave. A smooth return to work reduces the costs arising from absenteeism and staff turnovers.
  • Benefitting customers, such as an accommodation that makes the physical environment more accessible for all those with reduced mobility.

Source: Promoting Diversity and Inclusion through Workplace Adjustments: A Practical Guide. Guide. International Labour Organization. 2016.

• One study found the benefits from making workplace accommodations far outweigh their associated costs, including:
  • retaining valuable employees,
  • improving productivity and morale,
  • reducing workers’ compensation and training costs, and
  • improving company diversity.

More than half (56%) of the employers reported the accommodations they made cost absolutely nothing to implement. Another 37% reported the accommodations involved only a one-time cost, with a median cost of $300.

Source: Survey by Job Accommodation Network (JAN) in the U.S. with 4,447 employer surveys completed between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2023.