Talented, but Not-in-Demand

Donald and Jane[1] have stayed more than ten years at a company in Singapore. Having achieved mastery in their respective roles, they are highly valued contributors in the company and widely respected by the rest of the staff. Even management and ownership speak of them in glowing terms and have full confidence in their capability to get things done.

It is a paradox then, that Donald and Jane have never been offered roles in other companies. If they resigned from their current company, it would be unlikely that that they would they easily find employment elsewhere. This is because Donald and Jane are persons-with-disabilities (PWDs), an often-misunderstood group of employees that slip under the radar of most companies.

A Culture Of Inclusiveness

RISIS is a home grown Singaporean brand that has established a reputation for its engagement of PWD workers. Specializing in unique jewelry and gifts crafted from precious metals, it believes in offering opportunities to employees with different abilities, and has traditionally ensured that a portion of its manufacturing includes PWDs.

When HQ Asia spoke to Navin Amarasuriya, a director at RISIS, it was clear that the ethos of one of the pioneers of the company formed the basis of this thinking. Dr. Lee Kum Tatt was a key figure in Singapore’s formative years and one of the early champions of Risis. He had a daughter with special needs who served as his inspiration to include PWD’s in the manufacturing operations when it was based in Singapore.

Ability Above Disability

The way this is accomplished is by taking a more flexible view to the organisation structure. This means that candidates are not interviewed to simply fill a position in a box, but instead, are assessed based on their physical abilities, and crucially, attitude.

If there is a good fit, a job is then tailored to them, while keeping the company’s long term objectives in mind. Navin admits that this balance is the hardest part of the process, but by thinking about the eventual return and taking a chance, a company can benefit tremendously from this inclusiveness.

He adds “It would be extremely short-sighted to automatically exclude a person from a workforce on the grounds of disability, as the truth is that some of our most dedicated and long-serving employees are the ones we have given opportunities that they would not have had elsewhere. Some have become so proficient in their tasks that we no longer think of them as PWDs, but simply as people that help us do our jobs better. ’’

Role-modelling Respect

This did not come without strong support from the management, who have accepted that initial training costs and inter-personal integration are a required investment to facilitate a smooth relationship with other colleagues. These costs can be largely overcome by considering the shrinking talent pool with higher staff turnover and a tightening immigration policy.

Aside from the business case for inclusive hiring, Navin shared that should PWDs ever be placed in the spotlight, their competence at their jobs will only earn them more respect. Donald and Jane represent only two of many staff that have embodied stories of triumph over adversity, and the team at Risis has been continuously inspired by their examples.

Untapped Resources in the Talent War

Companies like Risis and their parent, the B.P. de Silva group, have been working with organisations like SGEnable to explore how they might harness their potential in this untapped talent pool, however they are the exception as conventional thinking  remains skeptical about the possibilities that the PWD workforce represents.

These workers simply represent a different suite of pros and cons as compared to their “able-bodied” counterparts, but are often overlooked for job opportunities due to their visible differences. There is a sea of employable Singaporean PWDs that only need an opportunity to show what they are truly capable of.