Proactively Accommodate Employees: HR Perspective - Greer Procich
Disabilities in the Workplace - Interview Series
“Anyone can become disabled at any time in their lives. Educate managers on accommodations, how to handle them, and what the company offers as solutions.”
Article Takeaways:
Human-centred Tools: Create HR tools that align managers and teams, removing the need for annual reviews.
Empathy for Invisible Conditions: Accommodate invisible disabilities like ankylosing spondylitis to support employees' daily lives.
Proactive Accommodation: Encourage confident accommodation requests, ensuring employees know their rights.
Safe Disclosure Environments: Build anonymous systems, educate managers, and ensure accountability for a trusting workplace.
We’d love to get to know you! Please share a bit about yourself, the company you work for and why you chose a career in People & Culture!
I work for Flint, a start-up focused on creating continuous alignment between managers and team members. Our goal is to eliminate annual performance reviews via automation and simple mechanisms for accountability.
I chose to work in P&C because as a 10+ year hospitality veteran, I know that everything starts with your people. We need to consistently put ourselves in our employees' shoes if we want to create systems people will actually use. HR can be a company's biggest connector if we could just figure out how to partner and get a real seat at the table.
How would your friends describe you and your personality?
I actually asked them, and here's what they said:
Compassionate
Courageous
Direct
Loyal
Funny
Thorough
If you live with an Invisible Condition, and are comfortable sharing this with us, we’d love to hear your story.
I live with ankylosing spondylitis. The TL;DR of this disease is that it's a degenerative form of arthritis that lives in all of my big joints (think back, hips, knees, ankles), but also impacts my tendons, muscles, and hands. Some of the worst symptoms though are what comes along with it - brain fog, fatigue, and sometimes feeling really depressed because I feel so out of control of my own body.
The disease impacts my life everyday, and my partner and I consistently reference how many 'spoons' I have to give on a day-to-day basis. Some days I have enough spoons to do everything I want, and others, I use up all of my spoons taking a shower. So from day-to-day, it's a different experience.
When you hear the term “disability inclusion”, what comes to mind?
I'd say it's 'visual disability inclusion.' We're conditioned to recognize disability as someone who needs to use a wheelchair or may use a cane to aid a visual impairment. It's pretty exclusionary in terms of application.
From an HR perspective, what is a good way to ask for a workplace accommodation?
First, everyone should know their rights when it comes to accommodations at work.
Second, some places may require doctor's notes. If you can easily get this information to include in your request, it may save some headaches.
When it comes to actually asking for an accommodation - you know what you need, so you should think of it as more of a request than asking permission. Tell them what you need, and if it's a reasonable accommodation, it's up to them to make it happen.
What do organizations need to do to create a safe and trusting place for people to disclose? Please be as specific as possible.
BELIEVE YOUR TEAM MEMBERS.
Create systems for anonymity where possible.
Educate managers on accommodations, how to handle them, and what the company offers as solutions (it doesn't hurt to empower them to figure out solutions, either).
Hold people accountable to the standards set and take proper action when they don't comply.
ANYONE CAN BECOME DISABLED AT ANY TIME IN THEIR LIVES.
As an HR professional, how do you respond to disability disclosures and/or accommodation requests? What are some best practices to keep in mind around this within your role?
It takes a lot of courage to disclose disability status, so it's important to remember that whoever is sharing something, has thought very long and hard about it. They have weighed the pros and cons of the action, and probably considered NOT sharing more than once. Some things to remember are:
Believe them - if they're coming to you for an accommodation, it's because they need it.
There are way fewer bad actors than you think - we often default to the idea that someone is going to take advantage of a policy that provides accommodations, and cite it as a reason not to provide them. But we shouldn't be eliminating opportunities for all, and instead focusing on empowering team members with what they need to succeed.
What is one piece of advice you can offer to someone who needs to advocate for themselves at work?
Ask for what you need - the worst they can say is no, and most times, it'll be against the law if they do so.
Bio:
HR expert focusing on creating human-centred tools and processes.
I'm a thought leader in Learning & Development and HR Analytics who is passionate about the possibility of a world where people enjoy going to work every day and continually strive to be their best. That's why I do what I do.
Along with that, here are a few other things you should know about me:
I thrive in front of groups and thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to facilitate both large and small discussions, trainings, and focus groups.
Survey creation needs analyses, and analytics are my jam. I am a firm believer in being able to support everything I do with data.
I believe in empowering employees to grow and succeed and being accountable to that promise.
Teamwork makes the dream work. I always look for opportunities to exercise autonomy, experimentation, innovation, and collaboration.
