Moving Unique Workforce Diversity Forward at Creative Spirit

amp8220The goal is to take the profoundly unemployed people with disabilities amp8230 and find them a fairwage positionamp8221 said Laurel Rossi the organizationamp8217s cofounder and chief executive officer So far the talent pipeline Rossi and her colleagues have nurtured over the last four years has placed a variety of people with intellectual disabilities of different kinds into Omnicom and other ad agencies Voya Financial Cisco Verizon and other technology companies Discovery Inc and Sony Pictures are two of the first media organizations to join in and hireMore than 350 people attended Creative Spiritamp8217s firstever virtual gala earlier this month originating from New York Having raised thousands of dollars from a number of gala activities including a live auction with such experiences as a meal prepared by a Top Chef finalist up for bids 3000 was the top bid in this case Creative Spirit anticipates expanding both the number of participating companies hiring people and the level of outreach they can execute to keep the people who are hired productive and empoweredThe idea for Creative Spirit came from a conversation Rossi had in 2015 with an overseas ad agency executive who had hired someone with Down syndrome amp8220He said it changed the culture of the company and changed everything about the way they were trying to workamp8221 she recalled After additional discussions involving Gina Grillo president and chief executive officer of Advertising Club of New York and other agency representatives Creative Spirit went public as an organization during Advertising Week NY 2017Candidates for employment at participating companies come from three sources industry and social media referrals colleges and universities across the country and suggestions from the candidates themselves and their parents or caregivers Once a candidate connects with Creative Spirit through the ventureamp8217s web site a talent director makes contact and attempts to match that person up with compatible job openingsamp8220We will create accommodations in those job descriptions that suggest how that candidate will be successful over the long runamp8221 Rossi explained Typical accommodations include office and building accessibility work breaks and coaching on a recurring basis for both the candidate and company officialsamp8220The coach or coaches stay with a candidate for lifeamp8221 Rossi added amp8220Thatamp8217s free of charge and made possible by grants we receiveamp8221Right now based on an investigation Creative Spirit conducted last year less than 12 percent of companies nationwide hire people with developmental learning or intellectual disabilities Rossi estimated In her view a trio of factors are behind this environment amp8220One is a lack of awareness of where to find candidatesamp8221 she said amp8220Two all these organizations have been tasked with segmentation of hiring talent but they donamp8217t have any more resources No more support no more money to get their jobs done Third if your company is faced with hiring an individual with a disability versus someone who is more typical the belief is the typical person is far more capable Weamp8217re working hard to bust thatamp8221At the same time itamp8217s equally important to Creative Spirit that when disabled workers find jobs they also find the same salary nondisabled workers in that department receive Thatamp8217s some of the impetus behind inoffice coaching of both employee and employerIncreasing job opportunities at entertainment media will be one of the challenges Creative Spirit will tackle over the next year A representation program involving officials from TV music and sports is coming together with a number of corporate roundtable sessions planned for August amp8220If we can cover the gamut with a partner in each of these areas weamp8217ll be in great shapeamp8221 Rossi believesThose initiatives will coincide with NBCamp8216s premiere of Together We Are Able a onehour special on Creative Spirit and other efforts to mainstream disabled citizenry timed with coverage of the Summer Paralympics from Tokyo Japan The Able Channel a programming service launching in the second half of 2021 via smart TV sets and devices Swimmer Mallory Weggemann will host Together We Are Able which is scheduled to run August 22Click the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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Moving Unique Workforce Diversity Forward at Creative Spirit

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Simon Applebaum

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