Although it isn’t new, I wanted to stress that this “commemorative month” is, in fact, recognized by the U.S. government; it isn’t just made up by activist groups. National Disability Employment Awareness Month was established by Congress in 1988 in an effort “to increase the public’s awareness of the contributions and skills of American workers with disabilities.”  The Department of Labor’s website says that “various programs carried out throughout the month also highlight the specific employment barriers that still need to be addressed and removed.”

Before you walk away—because I know this doesn’t apply to everyone right now—I want to point out some things I’d come across within recent months that may surprise you.  There are major advantages to employing people with disabilities, as I’ve found, and a clip by ABC delves into the deep-rooted issues with stigmatization and speaking up that still exist.

Employing disabled people has hidden benefits.

1. Creativity – thinking ‘outside the box’

Creativity and innovation—the ability to think “outside the box”—are principle forces for businesses of all sizes. The business that can overcome obstacles and build upon its foundation in new ways is the one that sees the greatest and fastest gains. A hidden benefit of employing people with disabilities, their ability to think outside the box is seen but not understood. Books and company profiles that illustrate the astounding benefits of creative people are published by the week, so employees who utilize their creativity on a daily basis can be extra valuable to your business and your bottom line.

2. Possible tax deductions

Given that I’m not a tax expert, I can’t say much on this, but since I’m a pro at finding information, I can provide you with this handy link from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  It details the Disabled Access Tax Credit, which may be of great interest to any small business owner, as well as two other tax credits.

3. More loyalty – lower turnover, absenteeism and tardiness

Many case studies have been quoted, and I see this as something that makes sense but is easy to overlook.  People with disabilities tend to be more genuinely appreciative of the opportunity to work, whereas sixteen-year-olds will balk at parents’ demands for getting a job and plenty of people complain about their jobs everyday.  Not only do disabled people show more company loyalty, but that dedication flows through their fellow employees before long. One of my favorite case studies (Carolina Fine Snacks) shows a 75% drop in turnover, a 15% drop in absenteeism, and a 30% drop in tardiness (from 30% to zero, if you can imagine).  The company also saw a rise in productivity of about 35%.

4. More productivity and possibly fewer sick days

Along with less financial burden of issues like turnover, absenteeism and tardiness, businesses employing people with disabilities see increased productivity.  Even more, a major consulting firm that works with disabled people reports that some of their staff—85% of whom are disabled—haven’t taken any sick days in five years.

5. Better attitudes of employees and customers

You may be inspired by the disabled people you know because they’ve overcome a lot in life.  Many people are inspired to do more, if only because they’d feel guilty for taking life for granted.  On a Roll Sandwich Shop has seen mostly positive interaction between customers and employees since employing disabled people.

How would you respond?

Check out this video clip by ABC in which a rude customer is set up with a disabled bagger at a grocery store.  Both of them are actors, but the session was designed to look at how others would react.  As has been explained through the case study of On a Roll, customers won’t likely respond to your employees this way, but it’s disheartening to know that plenty of people still will not stand up for others.  The cashier risks losing her job if she speaks up, but the other customers can certainly bring attention to this kind of behavior.  And they’ll be heralded for it:  Watch the clip.

There is surely more that can be said on the topic, but keep these basic resources and heartwarming stories around to remind you that there really is no reason for inequality in your workplace.  For some light reading, be sure to check out the two revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act that were just published earlier this month.  Of course it isn’t light reading, but that so much information is available and ignored is something to think about.

I’m sure I’ll have more comments to make on this topic as time goes on, but what are your thoughts? Do you have disabled people on your team, and if so, in what ways have you noticed them making a positive difference? Do these positives outweigh the potential barriers or costs involved in making your workplace accessible?

What’s the most ridiculous complaint you’ve recently heard?  How did the customer service representative fielding the complaint handle it?  With a sympathetic nod, followed by eye rolling and mimicking behind the customer’s back?

What if I told you that a customer’s complaint no longer falls on deaf ears by decision of the company receiving the complaint? With consumer advocacy groups growing stronger by the day and outlets for complaints popping up by the minute, the complaint you try to ignore will probably come back to haunt you. I subscribe to a number of magazines, both online and in print, and one of them is Money magazine, which has an article in its most recent issue on getting complaints resolved. So why is this relevant?

Handling customer complaints the right way

Suppose sales decrease dramatically one week, and you haven’t heard about any recent events or competition—it just seems random, but it’s really starting to hurt your bottom line. Finally, something tips you off to what is showing up about your company on Twitter. One customer had an unusually bad experience while working with your employees, and they’re so livid that they’ve taken to making nonsensical accusations about how your company operates. What is a business owner to do? For starters, you can’t get away with ignoring it anymore.  Send over a simple tweet that says, “Sorry about your rough experience; please understand that this is very atypical for our company.  We strive for excellent customer service, so I’d like to personally offer you a free ______.” It’s quite likely that the customer will feel satisfied and won’t even take you up on your offer.

Be where your customers are

Set up a search within Tweetdeck or your preferred Twitter module to consistently check for your company’s name to pop up. Be the first to comment on tweets about your company, whether good or bad, to show your commitment and garner new fans. Set up a Facebook business page and open the discussion board for fielding questions and complaints; try to catch questions before they become complaints. Be sure that you have up-to-date information on well-known sites like The Consumerist, and consistently check the other consumer sites mentioned in the Money article: complaint.com, complaintsboard.com, consumeraffairs.com, my3cents.com, pissedconsumer.com, and ripoffreport.com. You can also open up communication via a service like Get Satisfaction, which gives your company a full online customer service department for a small monthly fee. Don’t try to hide your mistakes. Just make sure your solutions out-shine the complaints and you’ll be loved all the more.

Bear in mind what it’s like to be on BOTH sides

This concept is too easy to overlook, and it applies to every person, business owner or not. When dealing with customers or training your employees to deal with customers, remember what it’s like to be on the other end, feeling unimportant, ignored or tired of arguing with customer service reps. Yes, it’s downright painful to be nice to someone who has not the decency to approach you or your employees civilly, but you’d be surprised by how quickly they’ll calm down if you don’t lash back. Often enough, the customer is confused or frustrated, and they’re just looking for answers or help; that’s what customer service is for. Of course, on the flip side, we should remember what it’s like to be faced with a rude customer who can’t seem to make his/her point without an assortment of profanities. Don’t be “that guy/girl” and you’ll get more cooperation with other service people.

I might admit to being a bit of a Google “fan girl,” but in fairness, they’ve recently rolled out two exciting new features, one for your mail and one for your searching/research.

Gmail Priority Mail

I’ve had the opportunity to play around with this new setup quite a bit and do find it easier to manage my inbox; primarily, I find it easier to pick out the things I want to trash in an instant. It may seem a little backward, but it helps tremendously: I log into my Gmail account and the first section I have set up is of “Important and unread” emails, the second section is of “Important” emails, the third of “Unread” emails, and “Everything else” is in the final section of my inbox. I pay most attention to the first and third sections because I immediately read the emails in the first section and almost always trash the things in the third.

For example, I subscribe to emails from a number of clothing, electronics, and office supplies stores so that I can see what sales and new products are being offered. But since I don’t need to purchase these items every single week—and since funds would dry up very quickly if I tried—I delete most of these emails before even reading them. With “normal” Gmail (as though it’s taboo to use “normal” programs), I had to sift through a mess of emails to find those that were unwanted, but with Priority Mail, I move straight into the “Unread [and Unimportant]” email section and go to town with the delete button! Similarly, I now see emails from friends and family, as well as those from my banks as soon as I log into Gmail. In the “Important and unread” section, they’re bold and marked with yellow tags, so I can’t miss them.

We can probably assume that it will be five years before Microsoft latches onto this kind of automatic organization/prioritization for Outlook, but I can’t wait until Mozilla can incorporate this into Thunderbird. And yes, I enjoy picking on giant corporations

Instant Google Search

Thought your Google searches were pretty fast, eh? Just yesterday, Google unveiled the new Google Instant, which hasn’t hit everyone just yet—but you’ll see it soon enough. WBAL points out that small businesses could be stung if instant results hit too quickly on major brands, but honestly, unless someone types into the search box “small business that manufactures shoes,” they’re always more likely to see Nike and Adidas before they’ll see the start-up.

With Google Instant, you’ll see something similar to the way Google used to fill in the search box with queries that it assumed you’d be looking for, but now it won’t stop and refresh every second or two. Instead, the suggestions will change instantly with each letter you type.

What’s even better is that the entire page of search results is just as instant. The “News for…” section, the “Images/Videos for…” section, the “Sponsored Links” on both the mid-section and the right, everything changes in the blink of an eye to match whatever you seem to be typing. As Google puts it, you don’t want search-as-you-type, “you really want search-before-you-type.”

You should be saving 2-5 seconds with every search you run on Google, so over the course of the rest of your life, you’ll save a good chunk of time.

How have these tools helped you in day-to-day business, or how will they affect you?

Dare I make a joke about getting your money’s worth out of these two? Yes, they’re free as always. Powerful tools at no cost. So how have they helped you shave time off of the monotony to allow for more productivity and/or more fun?! If you haven’t experienced the new toys, then how do you suspect they’ll help in the future? Maybe you do a lot of research throughout the day, or maybe you just get a lot of emails… Whatever the case, leave a comment for us below!