What is equity in the workplace? Equity in the workplace means recognizing employees as individuals, from varying backgrounds with varying access to resources. It means that providing support to individual employees may be varied. And it means that businesses have an obligation to provide equity in the workplace for employees. 

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individual against employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, nationality, or religion. It is unlawful to discriminate against employees on the basis of those criteria. Additionally, businesses have the obligation to provide equity for employees of varying backgrounds and abilities because individuals have different needs. 

Here is an example: an individual from an economically challenged area may have experienced a different quality of education from an individual from a wealthy area. The individual from the economically challenged area may be hardworking and intelligent, but have experienced a lower level of publicly funded education than the individual from the wealthier neighborhood. But don’t these two individuals deserve the same rights in the workplace, and doesn’t the workplace owe the individual from the economically disadvantaged neighborhood the chance to learn and to excel? It does, and in order to do so the workplace needs to provide opportunities for continuing education and professional development as well as equitable compensation for hard work.

Individuals may also be experiencing differences in the forms of barriers to employment. These may include, but not be limited to, economic level, educational background, immigrant status, cultural background, diversity of physical and mental ability, parenting status such as being a single parent, and experience in the criminal justice system. Companies have the opportunity to level the playing field for individuals of these varying backgrounds by providing equity in the workplace.

How can we promote equity in the workplace? Equity in the workplace can begin in the hiring process by taking into account that individuals have differences and by educating hiring team members of unconscious biases that they may not be aware of within themselves. When it comes to salaries companies have the obligation to self-examine: are they providing equity across the board in salaries in consideration of gender, race, age, and ability? And is the workplace providing fair accommodations to employees that may have physical or mental health conditions, language barriers, or who may be a single parent? 

These are only a few of the considerations to be taken into account in order to create equity in the workplace. It is both the opportunity and the obligation of companies and organizations to create an equitable workplace for each individual employee, a process which takes time, resources, and planning and which results in positive change for the world.

Job placement agencies and divisions are dedicated to helping people find the right jobs for their skill set and experience level. Almost everyone is familiar with the slog of applying for jobs and waiting to hear back—job placement agencies and departments try to take the bulk of the work out of it for the employer and the employee alike. They can help place people in full- or part-time jobs, depending on demand, skills and experience.

Could work placement programs and vocational training in Illinois be right for you? Read on to find out how job placement programs work and how you can take advantage of this unique opportunity:

• Great for students, schools, employers and employees: When a business has a ready-made pool of skilled, qualified applicants, everyone benefits. Students benefit because they have jobs available after their education, and schools benefit because the more students that are employed, the better. Employers get to choose from a pre-screened pool of applicants, and employees can rest assured that their new colleagues will be able to jump in and hit the ground running. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.
• Gain the skills you need to be employable: Job placements are also great when you’re just starting out in a particular field or specialty. Your agency or department will place you with a company who understands the need to nurture your skills while preparing you for a career in the business.
• Find workers who have the right qualities for success: As an employer, your business’s success depends on having skilled employees who can support the business, show it in a positive light and help you be more profitable. Working with a job placement agency or school department ensures that you have someone pre-screening your applicants.
• Build positive relationships with schools and the community. Employers can connect to their community when they work with job placement agencies or departments. Building your relationships with local schools, vendors and community leaders makes it easier to create positive interactions and look for new opportunities to help your business grow.
• Find highly-skilled applicants with less effort. Job searches are hard, whether you’re the potential employee or employer. Screening candidates and taking time out of your workday to talk to them can be a drain on productivity, but working with a job placement agency will cut that time down significantly. Job placement services will screen candidates by their education, experience and even personality to help you find the best fit possible.
• Support future recruitment. Recruitment is a part of regular business, but it doesn’t have to be to the detriment of your other operations. Building a relationship with a job placement service now can help you be ready for the next time you need to look for a new employee.

If you’re ready to meet your next star employee or find a job within the community, reach out to the African American Christian Foundation today. We offer work placement programs and vocational training in Illinois. Criminal background or incomplete education are no obstacle—reach out today to learn more!

When we think of service animals, many of us might imagine dogs who help the visually impaired navigate their environments, but they can do much more than that. Federal law defines a service animal as a dog that has been specifically trained to help an individual with a disability, whether it’s a physical or mental disability. This can include anything from helping a person having a seizure to preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors in people with psychiatric or neurological disabilities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to employees who require a service animal to assist them in handling their disability throughout the course of the day. That may sound like a hindrance to employers, especially if they have a no-animal policy, but employers don’t have to do much, and what they do contribute can have a huge payoff by helping all their employees perform their best.

The employee with the service animal should be responsible for taking care of the animal, including giving it food and water and taking it outside to relieve itself. The only things an employer might need to worry about are supplying a comfortable space for the animal to inhabit during the workday, a space outside for the animal to relieve itself (which should be readily available in any case, as dogs can do their business anywhere outside), and perhaps a work-space for the employee near a door so they can easily take the service animal outside to relieve itself.

Issues might arise if another employee is allergic to dogs, but even that can be handled with things like personal air purifiers and organizing the employees’ schedules and/or routes through the office so they don’t cross paths. The allergic employee can wear an allergen/nuisance mask, if they agree to it, or either the employee with the service animal or the employee with the allergen can work from home, if the nature of their job allows for it.

Employers with a no-animal policy are not making exceptions or setting a new precedent by allowing service animals into the workplace. Instead, they’re creating an opportunity to open up discussion about service animals in the workplace and to educate all their employees on the many benefits service animals can provide and how they play an integral role in the lives of the people they help.

Allowing service animals into the building also allows employers to maintain compliance with the ADA and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOC). Employers should never hire someone else over a qualified candidate with a disability just because they don’t want to deal with a service animal. A little accommodation on the part of the employer can go a long way and show other employees that people with disabilities are just people and that they can perform their jobs as well as anyone else.

Additionally, many recent studies have shown the benefits of allowing animals in the workplace during work hours. Service animals should never be fed, petted or played with when they’re working, but just having them in the office can significantly reduce stress and boost productivity.

One of the biggest challenges for small businesses is how to compete with large corporations that have more resources. As you grow, you’ll need to add members to your team, but how do you find the time to sort through all those resumes, conduct interviews, and train your new employees?

If you have a dedicated human resources department, they can handle a lot of these tasks, but even they can get overwhelmed, especially as they take over other employee-related tasks (such as making sure you’re abiding by all the relevant labor laws in your area). No matter what stage your business is in, it can benefit from the help of a staffing agency.

Save Time and Money

Staffing agencies do the vast majority of the hiring process for you. They sort through all the resumes and conduct their own interviews of their candidates, so when you need a new staff member, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, the agency has a ready pool of candidates that would best suit your particular needs. You can then choose to interview a few select candidates for your open position, or just have the staffing agency send someone to start working. The latter option is especially great for temporary or temp-to-hire positions.

This frees up a considerable amount of time for you to do what you do best, whether that means doing work for clients or growing your business. Either way, staffing agencies offer an opportunity to save a considerable amount of time and money. Since we all know time is money, it’s a win/win.

Avoid Making a Bad Hire

If you’re short on time and rushing through the hiring process, you’ll probably be more likely to make a mistake and hire someone who’s not a good fit for the position and/or your company and the consequences can be disastrous. You can either invest more time and energy in further training for your new employee, or you can let them go, in which case you’ll have to worry about providing a severance package. Then you have to go through the hassle of the whole hiring process all over again and you’ve just doubled the time and resources needed to add just one member to your team.

Because staffing agencies spend so much time working with their candidates, this kind of situation is less likely to happen. Nevertheless, it’s always a possibility. If that’s the case, the agency can still help you out by providing a new candidate or pool of potential candidates for the job so you don’t have to spend the time and energy looking for a replacement.

Some Tips

Staffing agencies work hard to find a good fit that works well for everyone involved. In order to best equip the agency help you, it’s a good idea to give them as much information as possible. Having representatives of the agency come into your office gives them a chance to get a feel for your work culture and environment. That gives them a better feel for the type of candidate that will be the best addition to your team.