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IBM's committment
This story was sent to us by IBM
corporate headquarters in Armonk N.Y. As was stated in the article on Assistive Technology
and Diversity Recruitment, disAbledPerson.Com attended the Planet 2000 conference in San
Diego CA. to find out what software and hardware companies were doing about asssistive
technology and diversity recruitment. IBM was most gracious about supplying information
and after reading this particular story, I thought you should read it too. Diana
IBM CONTINUES ITS LONG-STANDING COMMITMENT TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
At IBM, people are hired based on their abilities, not their disabilities.
IBM employees represent a talented and diverse work force. And the
corporation believes that achieving the full potential of this diversity is
a business priority fundamental to its success.
A key element in IBM's workforce diversity programs is a long-standing
commitment to hiring people with disabilities. IBM's efforts are focused in
three critical areas: employment of people with disabilities, product
development for customers and employees with disabilities and creating a
working environment that is barrier and harassment free for people with
disabilities.
"In 1985, IBM initiated a strategic objective to become the high-tech
company most recognized for its leadership in the workplace and for
developing products for people with disabilities," explains Millie
DesBiens, program manager of workforce diversity initiatives. "We've made
significant progress since then in hiring people with disabilities and in
the accommodations in place to support them."
In 1999, IBM took a dramatic step forward toward integrating people with
disabilities into its workplace by expanding its policy of reasonable
accommodation worldwide. A policy of reasonable accommodation had been in
place in the US for several decades with an aim of providing qualified
disabled individuals with the means and support they need to effectively
perform their jobs at IBM.
Reasonable accommodation encompasses workplace modifications like special
equipment and devices as well as special services like readers for the
blind and interpreters for the deaf. Perhaps its most important,
overarching element, though, is the requirement that all buildings owned or
leased by IBM need to be accessible and usable by people with disabilities.
By making this policy global, IBM literally opened the door to the
integration of people with disabilities in the workforce.
In its corporate program, DesBiens serves as the focal point for all people
with disabilities issues. She oversees an information-rich corporate
intranet site that contains a wealth of data about IBM's efforts, programs
and accommodations as well as a voluminous listing of external resources.
She also manages a corporate account that is used to fund accommodations
for people with disabilities throughout the company. "We want to make sure
that budget concerns don't get in the way of hiring and supporting the
needs of our disabled employees," she explains.
To attract people with disabilities to the corporation, IBM runs a number
of programs. Here's a look at two of them:
Entry Point
Entry Point was developed by the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, IBM and NASA. The program's mission is to place disabled youth
in business and industry and prepare them for corporate and community
leadership.
Entry Point college and summer interns combine two to five years of work
experience at a client organization like IBM with year-round academic
instruction and training. Students must have technical majors and maintain
a grade point average of 3.0.
"We provide a meaningful summer or up to six-month assignment, ensure skill
building in the technical field, provide necessary job-related, reasonable
accommodations and assign a mentor to work with the student," explains
DesBiens. [See Boxed story on Entry Point graduate Tim Scamporinno.] "The
program is designed as a pipeline to part-time or full-time employment,"
continues DesBiens, "and we've found it a very effective way to recruit
talented, technical college graduates."
Project Able
Project Able was developed by IBM's staffing and global workforce diversity
organization with the aim of increasing the number of employees with
disabilities at IBM. The program's goals include increasing hiring,
establishing a network to identify top quality persons with disabilities
and the establishment of a network of line champions throughout the
organization.
"Our managers are very receptive to the idea of hiring people with
disabilities," explains DesBiens. "Most of them, however, have no direct
experience. So we use this program as a way to educate them and assist them
every step of the way.
"We have experienced managers in every organization that can answer any
question and provide support," continues DesBiens. "Project Able has been
an effective program for us and has done much to educate our workforce."
In 1999 -- for the second year in a row -- IBM was rated number one by WE
Magazine as the best corporation to work for in America for people with
disabilities. Programs like Project Able and Entry Point and dedicated
managers like Millie DesBiens are part of the reason IBM has made
significant strides in providing a workplace free of barriers.
BOX: ENTRY POINT GRAD
Tim Scamporinno has excelled at IBM in his brief 18-month tenure with the
company.
It's not surprising because the background, academic credentials and
personal drive that landed him a spot in IBM's Entry Point program are the
same attributes that have figured in his corporate success.
Scamporinno, despite impressive academic credentials, was frustrated with
his search for meaningful summer employment. Scamporinno's faculty advisor
at Sonoma State was constantly fielding requests from area businesses for a
chance to interview top computer science majors. "I went on a number of
interviews, but once they saw me and my disability, that was it,"
Scamporinno explains. An accident 15 years ago left Tim a quadriplegic in a
wheelchair with limited use of his hands.
The Entry Point program at IBM proved to be just the opportunity for
Scamporinno. After interviewing at the company, he was offered a number of
positions. He began as a summer intern in May of 1998 and three months into
his assignment was offered a full-time job. "I accepted with the condition
that I could return to school to finish my final semester," Tim explains.
He did that the following year.
Being a new employee at IBM, Tim was assigned a mentor in his department
who coached him on job skills, answered questions, introduced him to
various teams and was always available for help.
As far as his disability, Tim says the attitude at IBM from day one was a
willingness to do whatever needed to be done to ensure that he could do his
job. "It hasn't been an issue because many of the things that can be
obstacles were already taken care of," says Tim. "The facility where I
worked had automatic doors, for example, and I was able to park my van
close to the entrance."
As far as work-related aids, Tim doesn't require much. He uses a hand tool
to help him type and is only now -- with a recent promotion and the
additional demands of 20 or so folks reporting to him -- looking into
dictating software to help him be more productive.
Tim is low-key about his disability because it just hasn't been an issue at
IBM. "I've received complete support from the beginning," he explains.
Given that support and how he has excelled, Tim is quick to reply when
asked what he sees for himself down the road at IBM: "The sky's the limit."
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