* Metro West Ambulance Services “Gives it a Shot”, Takes a Second Chance, and Gains a Great Employee!

* G.I. JOE’S Store Benefits From a Job Developer’s Timely Proposal

* Job Developers – A Ready Resource for Proactive Companies

* The OBLN REAL DEAL Series – Kickoff on Hidden Disabilities
 

- Larry Boxman, Metro West Ambulance Services

"We really benefit from having extra staff that can greet customers and explain our various ads and coupons. This program (Hiring workers with disabilities through a job developer) is a great benefit for all. We get the extra help we need for our busy periods and the employee gains some real work experience."

- Rick Nuttall, General Manger, GI Joe’s, Gresham, OR

(Read full articles below.)

Serving Washington County, Oregon. Metro West Ambulance Services is headquartered in Hillsborough. There are over two hundred jobs at Metro West. Thanks in part to job developer Lynn Wiles, one of those jobs is held by a gentleman named Matt. Larry Boxman is Metro West’s Director of Operations and he took the time to share Matt’s story with us.

OBLN: Larry, please tell us how Matt came to be hired by your company.

LARRY BOXMAN: Several years ago, Lynn Wiles had called one of my supervisors. She explained that she was a job developer and that she had somebody who was really interested in working for us – someone with a disability who eventually wanted to become a paramedic. We were interested and had Lynn come out and discuss it with us.

We wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for Lynn. We hadn’t hired anyone with a disability in the past. I didn’t know what to expect. I was concerned about putting any extra responsibility on the supervisors, but Lynn assured us that she would be closely involved and help us with any issues that arose. That offset our uncertainties about hiring someone with a disability. Based on her commitment, we agreed to give it a shot.

We hired Matt as a VST (Vehicle Services Technician). VSTs wash our ambulances, fuel them and also do basic janitorial services in our buildings. Many of the VSTs are kids out of high school who aspire to eventually become EMTs (Emergency Medical Technician) and paramedics.

Matt has Tourette Syndrome and it causes him to sniff and twitch a lot, but everyone who works with him just gets used to it and soon don’t really even notice it anymore. Matt was a big guy – at about 5’8”, he weighed well over 300 lbs. He was a hard worker and always seemed receptive to constructive criticism. Everybody liked him.

OBLN: How was Lynn involved?

LARRY BOXMAN: Lynn would call me every couple of weeks just to check up and see how Matt was doing – if there was anything she needed to be involved with. She was excellent. On occasion, she would come out to our site to check in with me or Matt’s immediate supervisor – and touch base with Matt. Her interaction with us was top-notch.

OBLN: So everything worked out well?

LARRY BOXMAN: About a year and a half into his employment with us, one of our Paramedic treatment bags went missing. As I investigated, it became obvious that Matt had taken it. When I confronted him, he admitted to taking it. I had to terminate his employment. I spoke with Lynn about it afterwards. She was totally understanding of our position. While it was a major setback for Matt, she assured us that she would continue working with him.

During the next two years, I received a various long letters from Matt – stating how he missed Metro West Ambulances, explaining and apologizing for what happened, and telling me that his ultimate goal was to get back to his job. They definitely came from the heart. But anybody that we discharge, we never hire back… even people who resign aren’t hired back.

One day, he just showed up here. Weighing about 170 pounds, I didn’t even recognize him. I could tell that he was extremely nervous. He told me that it was all he could do just to bring himself here, but that he had changed his life around and he really wanted his job back. He was obviously a completely changed person. I was so moved by his obvious life transformation that I hired him back.

OBLN: Did Lynn accompany Matt that day?

LARRY BOXMAN: Lynn hadn’t come out with Matt but she was still supporting him - so we scheduled a meeting shortly thereafter and talked things over.

OBLN: How have things gone since Matt was rehired?

LARRY BOXMAN: Matt immediately performed well on the job – with much higher energy than he ever had before. Now, almost a year later, Matt is actually a trainer of other VSTs – he is in the lead position within that job category.

Matt also demonstrates a lot of maturity. Within the last year, we offered Matt a position in our maintenance shop where he would apprentice and eventually become a mechanic. After thinking it over and discussing it with his parents, he turned it down. He explained that while he likes automotives, he doesn’t have enough passion to do it as a career; “I know myself and I know that I would not do as good a job as you would want me to do. I would rather stick with something that I am passionate about – something that I know I can accomplish and exceed standards on.”

Matt is a really likeable guy with a big heart. He has added quality to our workplace and we have been able to add quality to his life. Because of his job here, Matt has been able to move out of his parents’ home and into an apartment with his girlfriend. They have recently been engaged to be married.

Rick Nuttall is the General Manager at G.I. JOE’S in Gresham, Oregon. Last year, when he was managing the G.I. JOE’S store in Beaverton, he was approached by Kelly Wallace, a job developer, who presented him with the opportunity to temporarily hire someone with a disability who was keen on working in the retail trade. Impressed with the idea of giving someone the work experience and how Kelly would be providing any extra support that the employee needed, Rick willingly agreed. In retrospect, Rick is very positive about the experience and was enthusiastic about sharing his experience with us and other employers.

OBLN: Rick, please tell us about how you were first approached by the job developer.

RICK NUTTALL: Kelly Wallace approached us last summer and invited us to participate in a program to hire someone with a disability. Kelly explained how, through a temporary hire, we could give this person the opportunity to learn some job skills and how she, as a job developer, would support the employee throughout the training process and provide on the job support.

I know that you can’t teach somebody skills for a possible career path from just a text book - when you aren’t putting them to work in a business. I looked at this program as an asset for us and a great way to give back to the community.

OBLN: Did Kelly approach you with just the concept of this program? Or did she have a particular applicant in mind?

RICK NUTTALL: She had a particular person in mind. Her name was Christie. We hired Christie as a part-time temporary employee, to supplement our staff during a particularly busy retail season.

OBLN: While working for you, did Christie need any special accommodation for her disability?

RICK NUTTALL: She didn’t have a noticeable disability and I don’t think we ever discussed it. I suspect that she may have had some kind of intellectual disability. Other than Kelly’s support, however, she didn’t need any other accommodations.

OBLN: What kind of support did Kelly provide?

RICK NUTTALL: Kelly came in with Christie & accompanied her through our standard orientation and all our basic training program. Kelly “shadowed” Christie, particularly during the initial period, to ensure that Christie was able to carry out her duties.

OBLN: As an employer, how did this all work out for you?

RICK NUTTALL: I think it was great. We gave Christie experience with a lot of jobs in the store – particularly the role of approaching customers in the store and explaining our current coupons and promotions. When she first started, Christie was really shy and quiet but when she left she was a bouncing bundle of joy. I think pushing the envelope around customer interaction was a great benefit to her.

OBLN: Based on your experience with Kelly and Christie, would you be willing to do something similar in the future?

RICK NUTTALL: If I was approached, I’d definitely do it again – probably twice a year. We have two very busy periods – our tent sale every July and the Christmas/Holiday season. During those times, we really benefit from having extra staff that can greet customers and explain our various ads and coupons. This program is a great benefit for all. We get the extra help we need for our busy periods and the employee gains some real work experience.

Unless they have been approached by one, most employers don’t know what a job developer is – let alone the kind of resource that they can be in recruiting and supporting employees with disabilities.

In essence, job developers are individuals who help other people to find and retain jobs. Many job developers specialize in working with individuals with disabilities. In their roles, job developers provide support to both the employee and the employer throughout the recruiting and employment processes. Job developers can help employers to identify people with disabilities who can best match their job openings. They can assist in identifying any needed accommodations, they can educate and support supervisors and co-workers, and they can support the new employee learning their jobs and in meeting performance standards.

Kelly Wallace coordinates the Northwest Job Developers Coalition (NWJDC) in Portland. Asked to comment on some of the primary ways that job developers can be a benefit to companies in their efforts to recruit, hire and retain employees with disabilities, Kelly outlined three key considerations:

• Pre-Screened Candidates: Recruiting, hiring and retaining the best employees is a huge cost to a company’s bottom line. "The average cost of a mis-hire is 24 times the annual salary," according to Bradford D. Smart author of “Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching and Keeping the Best People.” By pre-screening candidates, job developers can reduce recruiting costs. According to the Chicago Jobs Council, job developers can work with human resources managers and help them closely match job seekers to job descriptions.

• Workplace Supports: Most human resources managers are already extremely busy. Job developers can smooth out the employment process by being intermediaries between new employees and human resources departments. They can help identify any needed accommodations and workplace supports and support the new employee with one-on-one job coaching and training.

• Retention: According to the State of Utah: "Retention rates among people with disabilities are higher than average thus reducing training costs". I addition, job developers can provide post-placement support to human resources managers, direct supervisors and the new employee to ensure that lines of communication are open and that expectations are met.

As an alliance of job developers in the Portland metro area, the NWJDC is a single point-of-contact for employers who want to either post job openings or request referrals of qualified applicants. To find out more, employers can contact Kelly Wallace by phone at (971) 533-0155 or email (below).

On May 9, the OBLN opened the lines to its new REAL DEAL series. The REAL DEAL series is a collaborative effort between the OBLN and the Job Accommodation Network. Hosted by Fred Meyer Stores, this first session focused on legal issues and accommodation strategies relating to hidden disabilities and mental health issues in the workplace.

Participants voiced their major concerns on this topic and/or current situations they were facing through a brief roundtable discussion. Following that, a consultant (Anne Hirsh) from the national Job Accommodation Network (JAN) was connected to the conference. Through a moderated discussion, Anne provided the group with useful insights, legal perspectives and practical suggestions on the various issues and situations that were raised.

The following day, by email, attendees received several JAN documents that provided greater detail on some of the issues raised. (e.g. “Part-time Work as an Accommodation”, “Reassignment as a Reasonable Accommodation”, etc.) These documents are available at the OBLN website.

Now ON SALE in our store!!

Flying in the face of all-too-common misinformation and attitudinal barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fair opportunities in the job market, this little video is a refreshing and convincing portrait of many real individuals, with a wide range of disabilities, who are productive and enthusiastic participants in the workforce. It presents a fast-paced series of portraits and interviews with dozens of people with disabilities who describe how they found their paths to successful careers, how they have worked with their employers to meet any accommodation needs, and why they love their jobs. This video accomplishes an amazing amount in 9 minutes. Its compact length makes it ideal for HR Managers who only have a limited time to capture the attention of hiring managers, recruiters or other key employees in their company.