People with Disabilities Are an Untapped Talent Pool

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2023

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It is now accepted wisdom that increasing the diversity of your workforce in any dimension can improve both organizational culture and performance. But one group — people living with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities — continues to be overlooked by many companies. Luisa Alemany, associate professor at London Business School, has studied workplaces that do recruit and hire employees with disabilities and found that it can be a true source of competitive advantage. She explains four main ways this talent strategy benefits the firm. She’s the coauthor, along with Freek Vermeulen, of the HBR article “Disability as a Source of Competitive Advantage.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	So you got the job. Now what? Join me, Eleni Mata, on HBR's new original podcast, New
0:08.1	Here, the Young Professionals Guide to Work, and how to make it work for you. Listen for
0:13.8	free wherever you get your podcasts. Just search New Here. See you there!
0:30.0	Welcome to the HBR idea cast from Harvard Business Tribute. I'm Allison Beard.
0:49.1	About a year ago, on a trip to Washington, D.C., I discovered Biddy and Bose. It's a
0:54.6	coffee shop chain now with 17 locations across the United States and they do
0:59.3	serve a great cappuccino. But what makes Biddy and Bose special is the fact that it
1:03.6	employs mainly people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It was
1:08.4	founded by Amy and Ben Wright and named for their two youngest children, both of
1:12.8	whom have Down syndrome. When you ask them why they started the business, they
1:16.4	explain it pretty simply. 80% of people with disabilities in the U.S. are
1:20.6	unemployed. Most could be great workers if given the chance. This is an
1:25.4	untapped talent pool and can even be a source of competitive advantage. Our
1:30.7	guest today has the research to back up that assertion. She's found lots of
1:35.1	companies like Biddy and Bose around the world, ones that employ people with
1:38.8	disabilities, not just because it's a good or moral thing to do, but also because
1:43.4	it's good for business. From wheelchair-bound security guards to coders with autism,
1:47.9	these workers bring unique skills, improve workplace culture, and draw in new
1:52.9	customers. Louisa Alimani is an associate professor at London Business School
1:57.4	and co-author along with Frank Vermulin of the HBR article, Disability as a source
2:02.9	of competitive advantage. Louisa, so good to have you here.
2:06.2	Happy to be here with you today.
	...

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