Self-Assessment Tool​

I manage a lab of three employees for a biotechnology manufacturing plant. Our plant made a commitment to inclusion, and I am trying to figure out how to integrate it.

Overall, my team is productive, but the dynamic can be off. Two of three scientists are chatterboxes. The third, Kim, has autism, but only I know.  In team meetings, she doesn't talk unless she is asked a direct question. Her responses are not inappropriate, but can be blunt, at times shocking. When I give Kim an assignment, she asks a lot of questions. She is highly regimented in her schedule and routine, which works well for the lab. She doesn’t gossip, and she is highly focused, detailed-oriented, and productive.

Her lab partners love to chat. They go for a morning “Starbucks train run,” leaving Kim out. They try to distract Kim, which slows her down. For the past two months, they have tracked her every move. They make sharp comments to show her who runs the show. This ongoing dynamic is impacting overall productivity as a department.

You received the following email message at Friday, 5 p.m.:

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Hello Chris,

Bob resigned today. He gave two weeks' notice — right in our crunch period.

I need your help. We want to hire a customer sales representative for our department. We need the position filled within 6-8 weeks. It’s full time with benefits, same salary band as Bob. The candidate will report to me.

Please create a job description for me to review and approve. We need to post it soon.

I also need someone who can do prospective research, to help generate customer leads. Prior customer service or sales experience is not necessary. However, the candidate does require technical experience and diligence. I want someone I can invest in and who wants to progress in their career. A post-secondary diploma or degree would be considered an asset.

They also must demonstrate that they align with the mission and vision of our organization.

The work volume can be significant at times. And as you know, when you work with me, you need a sense of humour.

Thanks for your help. Let me know if you have any questions.

Jim
Director of Business Development
Company XYZ

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It’s been a long day. You walk away from your keyboard and flag the email to review on Monday. Both you and Jim want to find the best person for the job. Jim’s given you an idea of what abilities, skills, attitudes, and personality he is looking for in a candidate.

My name is Don Park, and I work for a collection agency in Winnipeg, Manitoba. One day while I was working at my desk, I couldn’t see the ledger on my screen. After many tests, I found out that I had Stargardt, a disease that causes vision loss. I had to take a leave of absence.

Now I take a magnifier with me wherever I go, so I can see. I have a closed-circuit television reading machine, so I can magnify printed materials. I also use a screen reader to help me read text on websites. With the help of my healthcare team and with a few supports, I gained the courage and confidence to return to work.

To my surprise, my manager, Loretto, supported my reintegration into the workplace. He stated that for me to return to my former position, I needed a return-to-work plan and accommodations.

I am the owner of a small catering company. I have an employee named Margaret who has down syndrome, a developmental disability. On her first day she demonstrated that she was a quick learner – what takes people a few hours to take in, she learned it in one hour.

Margaret’s duties were clearly communicated to her from the beginning. We asked her to set tables, place meals in containers, prepare and distribute food for delivery, and re-stock supplies. The team trained Margaret over a period of two weeks, and encouraged her along the way.

Margaret is collegial with staff. She performs her job well and can fill in for other staff members when required. She is diligent in her work and good at picking up on other staff’s errors. We must evaluate her performance.

We developed the following inclusive performance management policy: "When providing performance management and career development information to an employee experiencing a disability, your organization will consider the accessibility needs of the employee and, as applicable, individual accommodation plans."

Inclusive Communications

I am CEO of a small family business. We refurbish old mobile devices. My staff and clients communicate to me in meetings, as well as via email, video/phone conference, reports, presentations, social media, and other channels.

My Program Lead, Pete, is intelligent, creative, and great at solving problems. Pete is handicapped, he has dyslexia, a genetic learning disorder that causes some difficulty in reading due to problems in identifying sounds in speech and in decoding words.

Pete has great ideas but trying to get him to write them down is difficult. When he sends me an email, it is blunt and assertive. When I give him a report, I know I won't receive feedback for at least two days—he says he is busy. When I get a report back from him, it typically has errors and he forgets to use spell check, so I make Henry review it before I see it.

I am often frustrated with Pete’s communication, especially when I’m busy. To solve the problem, I reassigned Pete to a branding role. I thought with his skillset, it would be a perfect fit. However, adapting to the new role and processes brought challenges.

Happy Wednesday! Team meeting starts at 1 p.m.

I have just enough time to make a strong cup of coffee. Then I’ll be set for this one-hour meeting with our Director, Bhupinder.

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45 minutes into the meeting and I am the last one to report. Coffee is done.

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Bhupinder looked at me and said, “Sarah, you’re next.”

“Okay! I will be brief. Lisa posted the marketing coordinator position on our website. She also posted it on a few digital job boards and forwarded it to staff and service providers to disseminate to their networks. Lisa attended the local job fair with me, where we also posted the position. In total, we have received 60 resumes. Lisa and I went through them and narrowed down the applicants to 8 candidates. We believe we have good representation from a diverse set of candidates.”

The first round of interviews will occur next week. The process will be completed within four weeks. When Lisa screened our candidates, she asked if anyone required accommodations for the hiring process. One candidate asked if they could bring their laptop and a service dog.”

“Laptop no problem. What’s the service dog for?” asked Bhupinder.

“I can't ask directly or indirectly. We just can’t touch the service dog,” I replied.

Bhupinder paused. “Prior to the candidates arriving at our office, I sent out an email reminder to staff to review the training we did on disability etiquette. I think it is a good idea for you to have Lisa join you in the interview. We all have biases, and having Lisa attend your interview will improve your self-awareness of any conscious or unconscious bias that may impact your decision. I want you to focus on the interview questions. But give your candidates the questions in advance, so they can prepare.”

“No problem. We have a list of open-ended questions,” I said. “We put together a scoring system to see how each ability matches the job description.”

Bhupinder smiled. “Okay, I know you got this.”