By Rob McInnes
For many people with disabilities, their greatest
resource in finding work is a group of folks called “job
developers”. Job developers are typically employed by
community-based organizations or government offices and are
responsible for helping people with disabilities to find
employment. In essence, they are the “middlemen” between job
seekers and employers. Typically, they have several dozen
(or more) job seekers that they are working with at any
time.
Effective job developers have a solid understanding of
their local business communities and the job opportunities
that are available within it. By developing a solid
personal/professional network of employers, they are able to
expedite the job search process for their job seekers.
Employers will call them readily to alert them to current or
upcoming job vacancies. When they have a job seeker with a
specific skill set or career interest, they are able to
contact appropriate companies to “sell” their client to the
employer.
That is how it is supposed to work. Unfortunately, many
people who assume job development roles are actually quite
uncomfortable with the business community. Many come from
social service/human services backgrounds and have little or
no working experience within the private sector. They find
it hard to relate to employers. They don’t understand them.
With their roots in social services, the primary value of
many job developers is “helping people”. When they look at
the commercial enterprises in their communities, they don’t
see “helping people” as a primary motivator of employers… so
they feel a personal disconnect. They tend to view it all as
a foreign country that they have little or no knowledge
about. In fact, they are partially right. The realm of
commerce/business and the realm of social services do have
noticeable differences in language, dress, and behavior. In
many ways they are distinctly different cultures.
From another perspective, employers can easily experience
a disconnect with the social service realm. Employers know
that the success and the survival of their company depends
on their ability to produce and sell goods and/or services
at high quality and low cost. They don’t see that agenda as
a prevalent theme in the social service sector. They can’t
help but feeling suspect about dealing with folks who wear
sandals to work and talk about “improved quality of life”
instead of “return on investment”.
And there it is… the Great Divide.
To be most effective at bridging the divide, job
developers must understand and respond to the needs of both
their job seekers and their employers. Historically, job
developers have tended to focus on understanding their job
seekers and responding to their needs – without developing a
corresponding understanding of employers and their needs.
Professionally, they were backed up by an array of tools for
assessing end evaluating their job seekers; but almost none
for surveying and analyzing employers. In this context, they
would relate to employers on the basis of their job seeker’s
needs; “this person needs your help” rather than on the
basis of the employer’s needs; “I can help you by
introducing you to a great employee.”
Effective job developers need to firmly plant one of
their feet in the business community. By suggesting that job
developers should plant a foot in the business community, I
don’t mean that they should simply mimic the appearance of a
business person. Some job developers have crossed the divide
by transforming themselves into “business people”. They have
fashioned their appearance and behavior on stereotypical
portrayals of business people. They have studied up on
marketing techniques and how to “close the deal”. In my
experience, while they certainly blend in better at Chamber
of Commerce mixers, many of them are still aloof and
detached from meaningful relationships with employers. They
can be too focused on making the “sale” instead of
understanding and meeting the needs that employers have.
“Planting a foot in the business community” means
becoming engaged and intimate with the issues, opportunities
and challenges that employers deal with every day. Effective
job developers will put aside whatever personal fear and/or
discomfort they may feel in order to learn from employers –
to spend real time with them. It is then that they will gain
the respect and trust of employers. It is then that they
will be able properly assess the strengths and weaknesses of
their job seekers against the job openings that arise. It is
then that they will be able to have real confidence when
they recommend a particular job seeker to a particular
employer.
I was asked to speak at a vocational rehabilitation
conference a few years ago on the topic of working
effectively with employers. In retrospect, I called it my
“Take an Employer to Lunch” speech. In that presentation, I
asserted what I firmly believe – that working relationships
will be most effective, and solid job opportunities for
people with disabilities will be developed, when real
person-to-person dialogue is takes place between employers
and job developers. I can’t think of a better way for that
to happen than over a shared meal; and I encouraged those
present, as a first step, to take an employer to lunch.
It is sometimes hard to take that first step – to
approach that first employer. Having worked closely with
hundreds of employers throughout the years, I have
discovered a few general characteristics about employers
that might make that first step easier for new job
developers who are reading this:
• Employers usually want to do their jobs well.
• Employers sometimes have pet dogs and cats.
• Employers like watching TV, renting movies, listening
to music, reading good books and doing other fun things in
the evenings.
• Employers like to take vacations.
• Employers who have children really love their kids.
• Employers often brush their teeth one or more times a
day.
• Employers can be parents, siblings, grandparents,
uncles, aunts, neighbors and friends.
• Employers often frequent grocery stores, parks, gift
stores, gyms, movie theatres, concerts, churches and
athletic competitions on weekends.
Do those traits sound familiar? While job developers and
other people employed by social services may be intimidated
by the notion of dealing with “Employers”; they need to
realize that employers are just people with different jobs.
They are just people who took different courses in school or
college. They are just people who have different dress codes
at work.
When I think about employers that I have worked closely
with in the past, I don’t think about the Hiring Manager,
the Recruiter, the Human Resources Specialist, the Software
Engineer, the Produce Manager or the Banker. I think about
the person who has a cottage in rural Vermont, the person
who marched in the Civil Rights demonstrations, the person
who had her first child last spring, the person who confided
that she was a (white) witch, the person who runs three
miles every morning, the person who grew up on a
reservation, the person who pastors his church in addition
to doing his full-time job. Yes, when all is said and done,
employers are just people too!
Don’t be fooled by all those “hard-nosed business people”
stereotypes either. Sure, there are a few of those folks out
there; but most employers are just good, kind people. If you
can give them some confidence that your job seekers can
really be productive employees, most employers will be
thrilled to work with you. (There is, after all, a little
“social worker” in all of us!)
Employers who are reading this should also take note: job
developers are also just people with different jobs. They
are just people who took different courses in school or
college. They are just people who have different dress codes
at work. They may need your help to understand your job,
your company and your human resources needs. The time that
you invest in doing that may have some very big rewards…
they may just bring some very talented people your way.
When it comes right down to it, this entire issue is
about three people – one person whose job is to find good
people to hire, one person whose job is to help someone else
find a job, and one person who doesn’t have a job. It is a
shame that labels like “Employer” “Human Services” and
“Disabled” add so many confusing preconceptions and
misconceptions to the mix. It is really just all about
“people”. So, job developers... get out there and take an
employer to lunch! Oh, and you employers... maybe you can
put that lunch on your expense account.
© Rob McInnes, Diversity World, October 2004
(If not used for commercial purposes, this article may be
reproduced, all or in part, providing it is credited to "Rob
McInnes, Diversity World - www.diversityworld.com". If
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