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EMPLOYMENT
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Customized Employment
IHDD believes the future of community inclusion requires support and advocacy for concepts like Customized Employment. Not designating it as a model for persons with disabilities, but in expanding the use of common sense, universally accepted practice that recognizes the power of community and highlights relationships for persons who have been left out of the equation of community for too many years.
What is Customized Employment?
Thousands of individuals with significant disabilities find customized employment a successful way to gain meaningful work, real wages, and a means to contribute to the workplace. Customized employment uses the practice of Discovery to uncover an individual’s strengths, interests, task contributions, and conditions of employment to create meaningful work and a customized fit. Rather than looking to work opportunities driven by the market, customized employment practices create employment that fulfills both the applicant with disabilities and the employer’s needs.
The Institute’s Customized Employment Initiative
For the past five years (2002-2007), The Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD) at The University of Georgia has managed a customized employment project called Jobs for All: An Olmstead Initiative, under contract with the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC). This project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability and Employment Policy (ODEP), provided demonstration, systems change, and research on Customized Employment in Georgia.
Types of Customized Employment
Often the customized work doesn’t exist as complete job descriptions, but are created through practices like job carving, job creation, the development of a business-within-a-business, resource ownership, or a self-employment opportunity.
• Job carving occurs when individuals analyze duties performed in given jobs and identify specific tasks within those existing positions individuals can accomplish. Jobs carved for individuals may be formed either by modifying one existing job or by blending tasks from multiple jobs to form new positions. In whatever manner the process is completed, job carving is a means of focusing on individuals’ abilities, skills, and talents they bring to potential employers.
For example: Joe is seeking to work in the fields of journalism and advertising. He is an excellent storywriter and salesman. As he uses one finger to type on a computer keyboard, he types 20 words per minute. Journalists for a particular local newspaper are expected to write three stories per week. Joe would be able to complete one story a week. The newspaper additionally has an advertising sales need. Joe cannot communicate effectively on the telephone. Yet, Joe shows talent in courting the business of advertisers through electronic mail.
The local newspaper decides to hire Joe. They use his abilities as both a storywriter and a salesman. This happens by giving Joe the tasks of researching, developing, and composing one feature story a week and successfully soliciting advertisers.
• Job creation occurs when employers’ unmet needs are match with the skills of job seekers. Creating new jobs can be through the process of job carving or by creating totally new job descriptions. In the latter case, individuals’ unique assists are marketed to businesses.
For example: Mary finds a local small business uses paper files to keep track of sales and inventory. The owner of the business has no employees and is solely running the daily operations of the establishment. Because their sales are increasing, keeping account of transactions and items on paper has proven extremely difficult.
Through discussing her abilities and talents relating to computers and business management, Mary markets herself to the business owner. In turn, the owner decides to create a position for Mary. In this new position, Mary is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining a computerized system dedicated to recording sales and inventory.
• Resource ownership gives employment opportunities to those who possess equipment beneficial to employers. Resource ownership plays a great role in developing positive customized employment experiences. Job seekers may own equipment, machinery, or other items which are needed by employers --adding to their employers’ businesses and profitability. Through proposals and agreements, individuals bring their resources to workplaces as part of their employment and conditions of hire. Employers get the double benefits of having productive employees and new resources to improve their businesses.
For example: Aaron owns lawn equipment and is extremely interested in working for a company providing landscape services. Aaron displays the ability to provide quality services to customers. Eagerly seeking a long-term employment opportunity, he networks with chain and franchised companies. After unsuccessfully locating a typical job, Aaron happens to meet a person who is operating a small lawn care business.
Discovering the business owner in the process of expanding their company, Aaron makes an arrangement. The owner agrees to hire Aaron, and gives him a good wage. Aaron, in turn, agrees to bring his personal lawn equipment to the workplace. By doing this task, he is gaining employment based on his skills and abilities. At the same time, he is assisting the expansion of the business by taking his equipment resources to the employer. However, the equipment remains his personal property; giving him the freedom to seek better opportunities in the future.
• A business-within-a-business results when a job seeker has specific talents, skills, and tangible resources to develop a profitable micro-business launched and located within another business. To an existing employer, hosting a business-within-a-business provides opportunities to increase the host business’s customer base through the additional services or products.
For example: Mark loves video games. Video games aren’t just played by children anymore; adults are rediscovering the fun. Plus, games have gone high-tech in the last decade. Nowadays, video games include virtual reality and simulators. Driven by his intense fascination with the latest and greatest games, Mark shows a profound desire to have employment related to his interests.
Mark knows someone who owns a sports store. Through agency planning and funding, he acquires two games – a golfing simulator and a fishing simulator. He contracts with the individual who manages the store. The sports store agrees to allow Mark to operate his two games. Unlike a resource ownership agreement, Mark uses his personal equipment to make a profit. Although Mark could ask the business for a staff position, he decides to just focus on earning income from his two games. Meanwhile, the sports store advertises the games – gaining increased revenue.
• Self-Employment and micro-enterprises are two business alternatives representing appealing alternatives for many job seekers with disabilities. As viable Customized Employment choices for individuals with disabilities, self-employment and micro-enterprises involves business planning, designing support strategies, and promoting successful business ventures. These employment choices give job seekers and their supporters a number of possibilities for developing flexible and innovative strategies regarding work.
For example: Amy always wanted to be her own boss. Throughout the years, she has worked off and on as a motivational speaker. Her topics of choice for discussion have been homelessness and issues relating to economic disparity. She is passionate about organizing community groups and finding solutions to issues. After an examination of her varied income, Amy was somewhat distraught by her venture.
After thinking about her options, Amy chose to consult individuals expert in small business planning and implementation. While evaluating market demands and trends, finding profitable niches, and writing a business plan, she realize offering more services, targeting specific services, and charging higher fees would expand opportunities; thus, increasing her income. Although she still speaks about the issues important to her, Amy now focuses on consulting groups about logistical and strategical planning.
Customized Employment Resources on the Worldwide Web
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