For years, most companies treated disability inclusion as a legal checkbox, installing a ramp, adding a policy, and avoiding trouble. But times have changed.
Today, forward-thinking companies are waking up to a powerful truth: Inclusion fuels innovation, strengthens teams, and opens up new markets.
At Speshally, inclusion should be practical, actionable, and integrated into your business, not bolted on as an afterthought. Here’s how companies can go beyond compliance and turn inclusion into a competitive edge.
Reframe Inclusion as a Business Driver
It starts with a mindset. Inclusion isn’t charity or CSR it’s strategy.
Here’s what it unlocks:
● Innovation: Different perspectives spark better problem-solving
● Talent: Millions of skilled professionals with disabilities are still underemployed
● Market: The global disability economy represents $8 trillion in spending power
Action Tip: Build a business case for inclusion using data from reports by Accenture, Deloitte, or Salesforce. Show the ROI.
Audit Your Systems Then Build for Access
Many companies say they’re inclusive but their websites aren’t accessible, and their tools aren’t usable by all.
What to do:
● Run an accessibility audit (start with your website and internal tools)
● Fix quick wins: add alt text, enable keyboard navigation, provide captions
● Build accessibility in from the start not later
Even small changes, like using screen reader simulators or contrast checkers, can make a big difference.
Redesign the Hiring Journey
Standard hiring filters out disabled candidates without even realizing it.
How to fix it:
● Accept alternate formats (video resumes, audio intros)
● Offer flexible interviews (virtual, extended time, low-sensory settings)
● Partner with inclusive talent platforms like Speshally
Case in Point: Walgreens redesigned their warehouse hiring process for neurodiverse
workers—and saw higher productivity and lower attrition.
Make Managers Inclusion-Ready
Inclusion doesn’t live in policies. It lives in how people lead.
Action Steps:
● Train managers on inclusive leadership and bias awareness
● Teach them how to spot support needs—and respond without stigma
● Set up buddy systems or peer mentors
Microsoft’s neurodiversity hiring program works because managers are trained, supported, and
intentional.
Set Clear Goals and Track Them
You can’t improve what you don’t measure.
What to track:
● % of hires and promotions of people with disabilities
● Accessibility of systems and processes
● Retention and satisfaction rates
Use tools like the Disability Equality Index (DEI) or create internal scorecards. Reporting this openly
builds trust and drives action.
Bring Lived Experience to the Table
Policy without participation isn’t progress.
Make it real by:
● Forming ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) focused on disability
● Involving those employees in designing workspaces, giving product feedback, and
shaping recruitment
● Creating safe channels for feedback and advocacy
Salesforce said it best: “If you’re not building with the disability community, you’re building
wrong.”
Let Inclusion Define Your Brand
Inclusion isn’t just internal it’s a story you get to tell.
Ways to lead by example:
● Highlight disability talent in employer branding
● Make accessibility part of your product experience
● Celebrate disability inclusion as a core value—loudly and proudly
The world is watching. Customers, clients, and future talent care about how inclusive your brand feels.
Final Thought: Inclusion Is the New Innovation
Disability inclusion isn’t about doing the bare minimum. It’s about raising the bar for how we work, lead,
and grow.
Companies that embed inclusion into every layer—from tech to talent to leadership—aren’t just doing
better business.
They’re building the future of work.
Let’s Turn Intention Into Action
At Speshally, we help organizations make disability inclusion real, sustainable, and scalable.
Ready to move beyond compliance?
Let’s build something better—together.
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