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Groundbreaking Marketing Strategies Address a Changing Labor Force Booz Allen’s pro bono study discovers unconventional industry niches for workers with special needs.
The project is a unique pro bono study undertaken by Booz Allen Hamilton that assessed employment trends for persons with cognitive disabilities. And the opportunities are being found in hundreds of potential jobs for disabled workers, in markets that have largely been overlooked. ServiceSource helps individuals with significant cognitive disabilities find employment in businesses and government agencies. But declining federal funding, competition from for-profit companies, and technological innovations have seriously undermined job options for the non-profit’s clients.
Samuelson acknowledges the dilemma in placing people with disabilities. “The labor force has changed,” she says. “Technology has displaced the data handling jobs we had been able to place before. Manufacturing and data management jobs have gone offshore. We needed a broader approach to how to find job matches for people with particular needs.” So she turned to a long-time ServiceSource board member for ideas: Booz Allen Chairman and CEO Dr. Ralph Shrader. “With Booz Allen’s dedication to diversity and our accomplishments in promoting employment for people with disabilities, we were well positioned to address those concerns,” says associate and project co-lead Cindy Coogan. The Booz Allen team conducted more than 80 interviews with employers, government officials, and disability employment experts. They spent four months researching industries that included banking and finance; biotechnology; communications; IT; consulting; professional services; healthcare; hospitality; legal services; associations; restaurants; retail; telecommunications; and transportation. Associate and project co-lead Bob Rudney summarizes the conclusions:
“It’s been a long-term adaptation for service providers,” Rudney explains. “In the past, they approached employers almost as a charity. Today, however, they’re actively promoting how their clients can meet business needs by reducing high turnover, staffing shortages, and inefficiency in the workplace.” Says Coogan, “This study was about advancing opportunities for people with disabilities, and employers are in the position to pave the way.” From Banking to Biotech, Options are Expanding Traditionally, jobs for persons with cognitive disabilities were concentrated in services such as mail center management, food service, document imaging and scanning, computer recycling, packaging, and data entry. But Booz Allen’s study discovered innovative programs in semi-skilled healthcare positions, such as sterilizing hospital equipment and restocking medical supplies, which free up nurses for other functions. It also found legal and banking firms committed to hiring individuals with cognitive disabilities. One Washington, D.C. law firm not only hires local high school students with disabilities, but also does outreach to spread the word on how the students have benefited their company—inspiring other local law firms to do the same. Although many of the traditional jobs have disappeared, Samuelson say there’s a flip side to what’s happening in the market: “New niches and emerging industries in biomedical, healthcare, service industries, and technology are creating opportunities we hadn’t considered before. Booz Allen used its contacts and credibility to get useful information, and applied a strategic consulting approach to look at our problem in a new way.” The firm provided organizational assessment, risk analysis, research, gap analysis, change management, and strategic analysis to design sector employment profiles with insights into new markets that will likely provide years of employment opportunities. Maryland-based Melwood and Virginia-based SOC Enterprises—two other non-profits that serve the same population—will also benefit from the research; they’re working with ServiceSource to assess regional collaboration strategies. “Technology is also leveling the employment playing field for people with cognitive disabilities,” Rudney says. “We found significant developments in speech-generating devices to improve communication and personal digital aids for use as prompting or feedback devices. Simple workplace modifications like visual aids and furniture adaptations are making a great difference in employee productivity.” An “Undeniable Business Case” for Employing People with Disabilities A cognitive disability affects a person’s mental processes such as reasoning, understanding, and learning. Some of ServiceSource’s clients are autistic, and some have severe physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy that also affect cognitive processes. But principal and program manager Jeff Schaffer says the study found that workers with cognitive disabilities often outperform their peers in complex jobs such as administrative legal support and banking operations. As an example, Coogan cites a model implemented at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital showing that disabled workers who performed non-traditional jobs were faster and more accurate—and always punctual—when compared to their non-disabled peers. Booz Allen may be the first consulting firm to address these issues in such a systemic, strategic way. “This is a trailblazing effort to identify ways for employers and service agencies to enhance cooperation,” Rudney says. “It underscores Booz Allen’s long-standing commitment to assist people with disabilities in joining the mainstream of American life.” But more work is needed, Coogan says. “The study focused on the demand side of disability employment. We found very little data on the employers’ perspective and concluded that additional, profound studies need to be done.” Says Rudney, “We believe there is an undeniable business case for other employers to follow suit—strong evidence indicates that people prefer to do business with companies that employ people with disabilities.” Phase 2 of the project, which promises a national focus, expanded research, and an elaboration on business strategy, is under review. ServiceSource is currently following up on the study’s industry and contact information. “We gave Booz Allen the hard questions—the ones every organization like ServiceSource is struggling with today—and the team did a great job,” Samuelson says. “They championed our cause. Because of their dedication and careful research, our clients have more career choices and economic opportunities than ever before—the possibilities are almost unlimited.” story posted October 27, 2006 Related Links...
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“This project reaffirms that having the right contacts creates opportunities,” says Janet Samuelson, president and CEO of 
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