Working in Iowa: A partnership to 'Think Beyond the Label'

The Iowa Department for the Blind has partnered with the national "Think Beyond the Label” campaign to promote hiring people with disabilities. The campaign launched earlier this year to show that hiring people with disabilities is good for businesses.

Studies have shown that disabled employees are no more expensive, are as qualified and have as good, if not better, attendance and performance as non-disabled employees.
 
According to the campaign’s website: “Employees with disabilities have unique, competitively relevant knowledge and perspectives about work processes, bringing different perspectives to meeting work requirements and goals successfully. Hiring someone who 'thinks outside the box' might be thinking too small when there’s an opportunity to hire someone who lives outside the box.”
 
The Department already promotes hiring people with disabilities every day as part of its vocational rehabilitation program, which helps blind and visually impaired workers keep or seek employment following significant vision loss. Partnering with this national campaign draws a larger spotlight on the issue, and how hiring people with disabilities makes good business sense.
 
As part of the Iowa Employer’s Disability Resource Network, the Department has teamed with other state and federal agencies and community organizations, such as Iowa Workforce Development, Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa and the Small Business Administration, to get the word out to employers and disabled workers that there are services to help match a great employee with a great job.
 
These organizations and the Department offer employer and employee support in job training, retention and placement. They can answer questions, familiarize employers and workers with the ins and outs of the Americans with Disabilities Act, assess workplaces to meet accessibility needs, and provide training for employees, employers and other workers about disability awareness in the workplace.