Amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic and directly on the tail of the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2020, The National Council on Disabilities published their “Progress Report on National Disability Policy” which charts the progress and setbacks of employment within the disabilities population here in the U.S. In it, a letter to the President makes the plea to implement policy recommendations immediately so that “…..when the nation recovers from this pandemic and regains a robust economy, all people with disabilities who work and want to work will be able to fully benefit from that recovery.”
Fast forward to today, where our nation’s businesses are facing staffing challenges that could serve as a catalyst in the inclusive employment movement. We all know that there is a wonderful, untapped source for employment in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that can fill these positions. But how do provider agencies adequately serve clients and optimize efforts in the inclusive employment movement while experiencing employee shortages of their own?
In times where providers are trying to do “more with less”, technology can help providers/job coaches:
- Streamline onboarding processes for new job coaches/staff.
- Minimize time spent in training employees by cutting out antiquated, manual processes.
- Monitor progress and setbacks of multiple employees on one dashboard.
- Reduce time and money spent traveling from location-to-location to put out “fires”.
- Motivate employees to set and achieve goals.
- Automate fading techniques that help employees rely less on job coaches.
- Reduce the numbers of crises at the workplace.
- Create more satisfying and sustainable job opportunities for the clients they serve; reducing employee turnover.
It seems as if the pandemic has created a “perfect storm” of sorts in the industry we know and love – and technology is just the thing to keep us afloat!
If you need help keeping your head above the water – please reach out to us to learn more about assistive technology and its role in making strides in the inclusive employment movement – even when we are experiencing shortages, ourselves.
Until next time…
