AbilityLinks website.
BACKGROUND
AbilityLinks, established to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities, works to increase awareness of the value of hiring people with disabilities. Founded in 2001 by Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, Illinois, AbilityLinks’ centerpiece is its award-winning— which brings together business and job candidates with disabilities and is backed by AbilityLinks staff who provide ongoing support to website users.
Describe the multiple organizations that have come together in common purpose and brought together current members of coalition to review vision, mission and objectives
AbilityLinks, a consortium of approximately 150 businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies, holds periodic planning sessions to review its vision, mission, and objectives. These include advisory board meetings three to four a year and a more inclusive strategic planning session involving all the stakeholders held every year. One such planning session, “Charting Our Course for the Year Ahead,” held in May 2004 was facilitated by an outside consulting firm. Participants looked carefully at past accomplishments, identified key focus areas for the consortium, clarified priorities, and defined committees needed to achieve these plans.
At this strategic planning meeting, the consortium considered many issues to ensure the project focus stayed on its mission to increase employment of people with disabilities. They determined that the vision, mission, and objectives are still relevant, but AbilityLinks had evolved beyond the start-up stage and was ready to progress to the next stage of self-sufficiency. Further and continuous planning was critical to continue to move the consortium forward. Such planning began at this meeting as the consortium reviewed previously established goals and strategies in more detail and recognized the need to restructure the committees to better fulfill the vision, mission, and objectives. Committee restructure and developing work plans for the new committee became the focus of this planning meeting.
The consortium uses committees to carry out many of its actions set forth by the objectives, while AbilityLinks staff continues to carry out actions related to finance, administration, and website development. Because of the consortium’s committee structure, membership becomes a critical element and likely stumbling block. Now, the AbilityLinks consortium has a strong, representative membership that it needs to use effectively, which requires continuous communication and meaningful involvement. Members may participate regularly or intermittently depending on their organizational connection and time availability. The only foreseen concern that may hamper working relationships among consortium members and AbilityLinks relates to turf issues and competition for job placement and job leads.
KEEP YOUR BROAD GOAL IN MIN, ASSEMBLE THE COALITION'S MEMBERSHIP,AND CONSIDER POSSIBLE STUMBLING BLOCKS
Consortium members suggested ways to better manage the committees and membership in order to ensure active participation. They decided to form fewer committees with more membership represented on each committee in order to ensure that each committee has enough active participants to be successful.
Expanding and using the membership effectively involved tracking those who expressed interest in joining the consortium. In the past, businesses and service providers had signed up to be a part of the consortium, but were not contacted in a timely manner to become involved. Sophisticated record keeping, tracking, and communication is necessary to ensure that contact information is kept current. These efforts should improve communication and encourage participation.
OUTLINE YOUR PARTNERSHIP'S VISION AND MISSION.
VISION
Increasing employment of job seekers with disabilities.
MISSION STATEMENT
Because companies need skilled workers and qualified people with disabilities want greater access to employment, the group is committed to:
- Increasing job opportunities for persons with disabilities
- Increasing awareness of the value of hiring qualified people with disabilities
- Providing technical support to community businesses and agencies
- Measuring impact
THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVE OF ABILITYLINKS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES:
- Building relationships with current membership and future partners
- Increase awareness of the project through education and events in the community
- Educate businesses and nonprofits about the projects and the benefits of hiring people with disabilities
- Enhance the usability and accessibility of AbilityLinks.org
- Advocate for the employment needs of people with disabilities
- Increase employment outcomes for people with disabilities
The AbilityLinks consortium is addressing the problem of unemployment among people with disabilities. Although many jobs exist in the community that people with disabilities are able to do, employers are just not aware of the untapped resource that exists. At the same time, people with disabilities need a central place to go to find these jobs, which AbilityLinks provides. The assumption guiding this work is that employment among people with disabilities will increase if employers consider them good job candidates and they have a central place to look for employment.
Because the consortium is made up of those businesses that are hiring people with disabilities and promoting the hiring of people with disabilities, the larger the membership of the consortium is, the better for the employment of people with disabilities.
RE-EXAMINE THE GROUP'S MEMBERSHIP IN LIGHT OF YOUR VISION, MISSION, AND OBJECTIVES TO INCREASE YOUR COLLABORATION'S MEMBERSHIP
The goal of AbilityLinks is to have as many consortium members as possible. Each consortium member means one more business or community organization has a better understanding of the value of hiring people with disabilities and may give someone with a disability a job in the future or promote employment of people with disabilities in some way. Member benefits include:
- Access to candidates who have equal job performance, low turnover, and low absenteeism reduces business costs for recruiting and training
- Access to education, training, and networking events for job seekers and consortium members
- Opportunity for businesses to demonstrate support for equal opportunity to employees, customers, and government agencies
- Free access to post jobs and search resumes on www.abilitylinks.org
Members are recruited through visual and written materials distributed to businesses and other community organizations. The Business Leadership Network in Chicago also specially developed an educational video to be shown at business gatherings. Other business events also have been used to educate businesses about AbilityLinks and recruit for the consortium.
In addition to businesses, the AbilityLinks consortium is made up of nonprofit groups including those serving people with disabilities. These are essential members of the consortium who get the word out to people with disabilities who might be looking for jobs. The consortium targeted centers for independent living as a way to reach out to disability organizations in the community and expand to a more regional scope when recruiting.
INCREASE LEVEL OF COMMITMENT
As with many coalitions, the AbilityLinks consortium has varying levels of involvement from the 150 entities that form the consortium. The annual strategic planning meeting helps increase the level of commitment from members and seek. Members can be involved in a variety of ways, including education and training events, fundraising and serving on committees.
Obstacles to participating in the consortium have related mostly to a lack of knowledge and understanding about the employment of people with disabilities. Many employers have incorrect ideas about employing people with disabilities such as thinking they have a high absenteeism rate or require a high cost for accommodation. One of the best ways to remove these myths is through education. AbilityLinks does this at its employer breakfasts, which it also uses to recruit new consortium members.
Over time, the consortium has become a more cooperative effort and has experienced less “turf” issues related to job placement. AbilityLinks also has gained name recognition and credibility among the business and disability communities, which has helped overcome resistance. Strategic planning meetings are used as a means to foster this cooperation.
DESCRIBE POTENTIA; BARRIERS OR OPPOSITION TO YOUR PARTNERSHIP'S SUCCESS AND STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THEM.
Turf issues have surfaced as a barrier related to resistance by consortium members to join and become involved. Employment and job placement can be competitive with service providers competing for job placement credits and businesses competing for the best employees. AbilityLinks strives to serve as a neutral party to address turf issues and convince the parties that the cause is worthy.
HOW WILL YOU MAINTAIN YOUR COALITION'S MOMENTUM?
The consortium continues to use the annual planning meeting to maintain the momentum of the project. Future momentum is likely to come from the building of membership and partnerships and the regional and national reach of the project. AbilityLinks, which started in the Chicago area, plans to grow beyond this area through its website and partners such as Career Builder. This consortium is excited about the potential of disseminating this model.
The executive structure allows for regular evaluation of the AbilityLinks progress toward goals and objectives and is committed to outcomes and measurement. A mechanism is also in place to seek feedback from users, community members, and others who have suggestions to make processes easier. The web-based design of the project allows the flexibility to make adjustments when necessary to keep momentum. In addition, funding that provides full-time staff is one of the things that make this project so successful.