Hospitality SMEs’ misconceptions about people with intellectual disability (PWID), together with a lack of connectivity between people with intellectual disability and disability employment services, are holding these businesses back from recruiting more PWID for mainstream jobs, a study has found.
Ashokkumar (Ashok) Manoharan is Associate Professor – Strategic Management at Flinders Business School. He led a research study funded by Endeavour Foundation through the Endeavour Foundation Disability Research grant 2022-2023 with a twofold aim: firstly, stimulating demand for employing people with intellectual disabilities in the hospitality SME sector, and secondly, providing a toolkit to facilitate the employment of people with intellectual disability in hospitality SMEs.
“In our study we were seeking to develop strategies for businesses to foster inclusive environments and create sustainable employment outcomes for people with intellectual disability, ” explains Manoharan.
“We analysed the challenges faced by both job seekers with disabilities and the dynamics facing hospitality SMEs, exploring attitudes towards and/or lived experiences of employing people with intellectual disabilities.”
Thirty-five hospitality employers were interviewed and participants included SME business owners and senior staff in hotels, clubs and restaurants in South Australia, industry peak bodies such as AHA and Clubs SA, disability employment service providers and education providers.
Values and attitudes shaped by lived experience
“What often shapes peoples’ values and attitudes towards people with intellectual disability is lived experience and our research supported this,” says Manoharan.
“Owners/managers who employ PWID identified positive outcomes from employing people with intellectual disabilities including loyalty, strong work ethic and a commitment to the job.”
“Some stated that co-workers were not interested or available to support a person with intellectual disability and there could be a negative attitude toward people with intellectual disabilities in the workplace. However, many owners/managers found working through challenges ultimately rewarding.”
Others were not confident employing PWID, expressing concerns surrounding the fast-paced nature of the hospitality sector and safety risks within hospitality environments such as kitchens.
Similar concerns were raised by owners and managers who had never employed PWID. Most indicated they were prepared to consider employing PWID in the future.
Employer and employee barriers leading to PWID being back of house
Disability employment in Australia indicates that people with intellectual disability often experience a restricted employment pathway. Many commence with volunteer work or supported employment before transitioning to open employment, where opportunities are predominantly limited to back-of-house roles, such as retail, warehousing, or kitchen hand positions.
“People with intellectual disability have largely been given back of house roles and there are common pervasive myths that are among the roadblocks to PWID being customer facing,” says Manoharan.
SMEs slower to support recruitment
“The hospitality industry is a potentially attractive employer of people with intellectual disability, but barriers still exist. Some large organisations in the industry employ PWID but 76% are small and medium sized enterprises and have been slower to support their recruitment.”
“In the SME hospitality sector where most organisations have little in-house human resource or diversity management experience, it is expected that positive engagement with disability employment service providers is needed to create more opportunities for people with disabilities.”
Smaller businesses were more risk averse and concerned about the costs associated with recruiting, training and supporting a potential employee with disabilities.
Awareness of government support programs another roadblock
“Many of these costs can be covered by existing government support programs, a fact that employers without experience seemed unaware of. Business associations and peak bodies can also play an important role in raising awareness about the employment of people with disabilities. In the current climate of labour shortages and high turnover, the hospitality sector can no longer afford to ignore this potential talent pool.”
Online toolkit devised to dispel common myths
Manoharan, together with representatives from the hospitality sector in South Australia,* in a bid to help pave the way to mainstream employment for people with an intellectual disability, has devised common myths around employing PWID.
“It’s our intention to facilitate practical connections between hospitality SMEs with Inclusive Employment Australia.”
“One prominent myth is that hiring someone with intellectual disability means higher recruitment, employment, and training costs. In reality, evidence shows there are typically no additional costs. The assumption of financial burden is one of the biggest and least-founded barriers employers carry.”
Several studies and reviews in the hospitality sector have identified that one of the largest barriers to the employment of people with disabilities is concerns over the costs of accommodations, a concern that is shared by employers in other sectors.
In a survey of 320 hospitality companies in the US, the cost of accommodations was a significant barrier for most businesses, though reported as a particular concern for smaller businesses. However, studies reporting the actual costs of accommodations in the hospitality sector observed that many accommodations were free or relatively low-cost (e.g., less than US$500).
“Another myth is that most people with intellectual disability have severe intellectual disability. Data shows that 85% of people with intellectual disabilities have only a mild intellectual disability – meaning minor challenges that do not prevent them from being employed.”
*Owen Webb, Deputy Chief Executive Officer – AHA (SA), Rhys Braybrook from Clubs SA, Greg Hobby, CEO of Taylor & Holmes