Employers are battling it out to attract and retain top talent by utilizing specialized benefits and perks to draw prospective employees away from the competition. As organizations comb job boards and career-focused social media networks, they continue to overlook a source of hidden talent: people with intellectual disabilities.
About 6.5 million people in the U.S. have an intellectual disability, according to research from the Special Olympics, and the causes of these conditions can range from genetic issues, injuries or disease. While some people diagnosed with intellectual disabilities may require round-the-clock specialized care, others are able to maintain greater independence, build a life of their choosing, and pursue a career path. Thirty-four percent of adults with intellectual disabilities are fully employed, according to data collected by Bank of America.
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“I've always had a really good work ethic in my life, and I always put my best foot forward every day,” says Alan Price, a Bank of America employee who has an intellectual disability. “I can do anything I put my mind to.”
Price is on the autism spectrum and was diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disability in his teens, which causes difficulties with motor, visual-spatial and social skills. He’s been a member of the support services team at Bank of America for almost four years, and is responsible for a number of different projects, including building home equity kits for clients, coding banking documents and entering credit card application information into the company’s system for approval.
The support services team at Bank of America is made up of more than 300 employees, all of whom have an intellectual disability. The organization’s commitment to supporting this community goes back to 1990, when a Bank of America leader was out to dinner with friends and heard them expressing concern for the future of their son, who has an intellectual disability.
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“Our legacy CEO said, ‘You don't need to worry, he's going to be able to provide for and take care of himself,’ and a week later, started the support services operation,” says Mark Feinour, the executive director of Bank of America’s support services team. “After the friends’ son graduated from high school, he was hired, and I'm proud to say he's still part of the team here.”
There are a plethora of stereotypes surrounding people with intellectual disabilities and the value they can bring to an organization. There are also plenty of misconceptions about the impact hiring someone with an intellectual disability can have on a company, including high costs for accommodations and exceptions in the way these employees are treated.
“Employers are concerned that they have to treat somebody with an intellectual disability differently and that they can't hold them to the same standards or the same requirements of a typical employee,” Feinour says. “We have the same expectations of [Price] and anybody else within support services as any other employee here at Bank of America. They're held to the same standards, and they're also afforded the same opportunities and the same benefits.”
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Employers can connect with this hidden talent pool through a variety of organizations. Easterseals provides education, outreach and advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and Best Buddies — which is how Price was connected to Bank of America — offers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the chance to build their careers and develop leadership skills.
“We partner up with those agencies and they'll present talent, or clients that they have that support that skill set that we're looking for to fill the opportunities that we have,” Feinour says.
The organizations that employers can recruit from will help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities prepare for the interview and hiring process, so they can go in with confidence.
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“They help with everything from mock interviews, to resume writing, to on site job coaching,” Price says. “They helped me connect with Bank of America by sending my resume to the bank and also helped to schedule my interview. Job coaching is all about helping you out when you get a job. They assist in making sure you are the best you can be by shadowing and offering suggestions or ideas on how to improve.”
Those programs also lend guidance and support to HR teams to make the interview process as seamless as possible for all parties.
“You treat them like anybody else when you bring them in for an interview,” Feinour says. “You don't do anything different. The only exception is that you may have to rephrase a question around a scenario in a way that they will understand better, but it's like any other interview that you're going through with any other candidate for the role.”
Another strategy employers can take when evaluating candidates with intellectual and developmental disabilities is to give the potential hire a chance to showcase their abilities.
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“We give the candidate a small project to complete in a week or two, to really showcase their skills,” says Andrew McCartney, senior vice president and talent acquisition executive for global operations and global technology and corporate support functions at Bank of America. “The heart of the interview and selection process really needs to allow us to better understand and allow the candidate to demonstrate the skills they have. We want to make sure they’re set up for success.”
Feinour says his team defies expectations every day, and the value and services they provide to Bank of America is unmatched.
“The proof is in the pudding,” he says. “What comes out of support services is quality work to be proud of. When you look at the return on investment from hiring employees with intellectual disabilities, it’s a low attrition rate and the willingness to show up and produce quality work. You can’t put a value on that.”
