Today’s American job market is competitive. Businesses across the country and within Illinois are constantly seeking ways to stand out and attract top talent in their industries. One critical area companies can focus on to increase the talent pool is diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. By creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace, businesses can attract top talent and improve employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention overall. However, it’s essential to ensure that DEI initiatives extend to all communities, including those often overlooked, such as the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. One effective tool for fostering inclusivity and demonstrating a commitment to DEI from the beginning is the integration of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting services. Read this article to explore the benefits of nationwide ASL interpreting services for Illinois businesses and how implementing them can help your business attract and retain top talent.
Expand the Talent Pool for Your Illinois Business’ Hiring Needs:
By including ASL interpreting services in your hiring practices and online job descriptions, your Illinois business can significantly broaden its available talent pool. ASL is the third most common language in the United States, and a considerable number of individuals in Illinois are deaf or hard of hearing. According to the Illinois Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a significant number of individuals in the state identify as deaf or hard of hearing. By implementing ASL interpreting services into their hiring practices, businesses can provide equal access to information and opportunities for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Implementing diverse practices and services allows your business to tap into a pool of talent that you and your hiring team might have otherwise overlooked.
What it Looks Like to Implement Inclusive Hiring Practices for Your Business:
When you implement inclusivity throughout the hiring process, your business must take an active approach. It starts with crafting job descriptions that do not exclude individuals from the deaf and hard-of-hearing community unintentionally. Removing ableist language and focusing on essential job functions and qualifications helps ensure equal opportunity for all potential candidates from varying diverse communities. Additionally, during the online application process, your business can find ways to ask candidates if they require any accommodations, such as ASL interpreting services, for interviews. By being prepared to provide access to ASL interpreting services, businesses demonstrate their commitment to inclusivity and create a level playing field for all candidates. Being prepared before services are necessary, and being proactive in implementing them is the best first step toward fostering an inclusive workplace and helping people from the deaf and hard-of-hearing community feel welcome to apply to join your business.
Ensure Inclusion is a Core Value in Your Illinois Business
However, offering ASL interpreting services during the hiring process is just the beginning. To truly succeed in attracting top talent, businesses must prioritize inclusion throughout the organization and make it an integral part of their overall company culture. Communicating your commitment to inclusion to potential candidates, current team members, and the community at large is crucial to bringing in diverse talent. By letting your current team know that diversity and inclusion are core values, your business can encourage open communication, understanding, and support for the team. Ingraining inclusive practices into your Illinois business’ daily and hiring practices can help foster a culture of inclusivity and provide a platform for feedback and collaboration from within. Inclusive practices like ASL interpreting services help your business take the first step toward building an equitable workplace!
The Benefits of Nationwide ASL Interpreting Services:
Implementing nationwide ASL interpreting services brings limitless benefits to Illinois businesses. The most obvious and prominent use is that ASL interpreting services have the ability to provide effective communication within the workplace, creating a seamless connection between deaf and hard-of-hearing team members and their hearing counterparts. This inclusivity empowers all team members to perform at their highest level and build dedication to the company’s success. The benefits of encouraging inclusivity throughout your existing team, including happier employees, increase your team’s likelihood of recommending your company to their network. These measures broaden your talent pool, boost the morale of your existing employees, and encourage them to implement and execute DEI efforts, including seeking diverse talent to join your team now or in the future.
ASL interpreting services within your business can promote cultural awareness and respectful language use within the organization, fostering a welcoming environment for the various communities represented within your team. Embrace ASL interpreting services to expand your available talent pool and attract a more diverse range of candidates, raising public and internal awareness of your values as an inclusive company.
Accessibility and Cost-Effectiveness:
Is concern regarding the accessibility and cost of implementing ASL interpreting services what holds your business back from implementing the services? Nationwide ASL interpreting service providers like Unspoken Language Services offer a variety of viable solutions for your unique business needs. Unspoken provides access to qualified interpreters for various industries, both in-person and virtually. Virtual interpreting services, in particular, offer flexibility and cost savings for businesses with historically lower access rates to inclusive services due to their location or budgets.
Overall Benefits of Adding ASL Interpreting Services to Your Illinois Business
If your Illinois business hasn’t yet implemented the many benefits of ASL interpreting services, you could miss out on a widely expanded talent pool. Ensure you maximize the talent your business can attract by consulting an interpreting service like Unspoken Language Services to meet the DEI standards your company has set for your team and potential team members.
Thumbnail Credit: “Scrabble – Hiring” by flazingo_photos is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
