Talking to Managers about Disability: Communications Tools

Most organizations have done the work to develop policies and practices that support disability inclusion in the workplace. Managers and supervisors play a key role in implementing these policies, and research has shown that one of the most important factors in how they do that is their belief that top management thinks disability inclusion is important.

Communication Tools to Support Disability Inclusion will enable workplace leaders (HR, Diversity and Inclusion, Company Owners or Executives) to send out the right messages to the right people in the right way. Here is what we mean:

• The right messages focus on the importance of disability inclusiveness to business success.
• The right people are managers and supervisors. They set the tone for disability inclusiveness in their own teams and across the organization.
• The right way is to use short burst messages that are simple, clear, relevant and engaging.

We offer communication tool templates on 11 topics. Under each topic you will find sample communications you can adapt to your own organization and tips for using these messages with your managers and supervisors.

If you have questions about policies and practices that can support disability inclusion in the workplace, visit http://disabilitytoolkit.org. To learn more about the topics and tools displayed here, contact the Northeast ADA Center.