Q&A Excerpt — People Who Have a Disability: The “Secret Weapon” for Businesses
Posted by Dean Askin | Reading time: 5:00 | Filed under Inclusive Hiring

There are well over 600,000 employable Canadians who have a disability, who aren’t employed. Small businesses (SMBs) drive the Canadian economy, but almost half the SMBs in this country have never hired someone who has a disability.
Many businesses still haven’t discovered the power of disability inclusion; the “secret weapon,” or “secret sauce,” for businesses — and just what that means.
A 2019 TD Economics report titled, Canadians With Disabilities: Seizing the Opportunity, put it bluntly: Businesses in this country that don’t expand their talent searches and recruit people who have a disability, are going to get left behind.
The authors of the report affirmed unabashedly that people who have a disability are the “secret weapon” businesses will need to stay competitive in the years ahead.
In the first season of You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D, we explored why people who have a disability are the “secret sauce,” in a powerful conversation with two C-Suite business leaders — Paul M. Clark and Derek Burleton of TD.
They also discussed the diversity and inclusion (D&I) evolution within the bank that they are still witnessing; where TD is right now on D&I; and the future direction of D&I at TD.
This conversation from 2020 is still our most-downloaded episode of You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D. Here’s an edited excerpt from it.
JEANNETTE CAMPBELL: You’ve described people who have a disability in a way that’s really not been heard before. “The secret weapon” for businesses. Why did you choose that phrase?
Derek Burleton: Well, actually, I have to give credit to my colleague at the time, Brian De Prado…I thought that was absolutely fantastic…I think in part, you know, “the secret weapon” has a very powerful connotation. The theme of weapons, weaponry can both be used for offensive and defensive. And I think one of the things in our research, we did show that from a defensive, it’s going to help to retain talent as well. It’s not just about bringing in new talent.
Paul Clark: Within my own team, I’m seeing our team members who have a disability approach this [pandemic] environment in a way that just demonstrates that they’ve had a set of life skills that they’ve built over time. For those of us who have the pleasure of working with people with different capabilities, when you’re in an environment like this, it really speaks to why that’s so important. They are the secret sauce for us.
JEANNETTE CAMPBELL: The TD study talks about the fact that many businesses in the country are still lagging behind on disability, and the recruiting and retention strategies to reach that talent pool. Why do you think this is still happening?
Paul Clark: I still think there are a lot of businesses out there that when they think about a person with a disability, they immediately go to accommodation, and accommodation’s incredibly important. It’s a legal responsibility, if nothing else, and it’s the right thing to do. But it doesn’t end there. You know, we don’t hire people with disability so we can accommodate for them, we hire them for the contribution that they can make.
JEANNETTE CAMPBELL: What are businesses risking or missing out on if they aren’t getting in front of this and recruiting candidates, and retaining and promoting employees from the disability talent pool?
Derek Burleton: It comes down to both reduced growth opportunities and obviously profitability potential…that drives a lot of business decisions in the end…I think it comes down to this notion as well, this perception that people with disabilities are naturally less productive because of some of the challenges and barriers they face. That’s not the case.
DEAN ASKIN: What has it been like for you being part of the D&I evolution at the bank and seeing the way things have evolved?
Paul Clark: I started when I was 17…And so that means I’ve watched this organization grow and change…from a culture perspective…the real evolution of this bank really began, when we purchased TD Canada Trust, we became a lot larger organization, we became a lot more geographically diverse organization. And our values began to evolve to reflect that…When I took on this role, and reached out to some executives in the bank who had a disability, and they said to me, Paul, I’ll meet with you. But it has to be confidential…today…those same executives are the ones that talk about their disability openly…It’s been a pleasure to watch this organization evolve.
JEANNETTE CAMPBELL: Where do you think we need to be a decade from now?
Paul Clark: I would hope that the subject of accommodation is gone, that it’s just not something that we spend time on…that it’s just a given…just something that happens in every organization…no different than any other aspect of employment that an employer has with an employee.
Derek Burleton: The regulatory side is coming around with last year’s passage of the Accessible Canada Act; provinces have moved further ahead. So I think we’re seeing momentum in terms of legislation there…I think there’s another positive force in terms of the pandemic…we’re shifting more to a world of flexible work arrangements…this can really benefit the people with disability community going forward, because this is the sort of thing they need…So that’s a force that I can see being active.
DEAN ASKIN: What’s your best advice to any business owner or leader if they’re not yet intentionally recruiting candidates who have a disability?
Paul Clark: I would recommend…go out… and get…a mentor from the community…just talking to a couple of people with disabilities to understand what they see is working, what they’d like to see change, I think is a good start. Because that allows you to frame how that could apply inside of your own organization.
Derek Burleton: I do think [for] a lot of small, medium-sized enterprises, the awareness is a challenge…look at the hard stats, and you can’t ignore them…I think that the data is certainly a key aspect that needs to be put into any kind of advice to business owners.
Take in the full, powerful conversation with Paul Clark and Derek Burleton about the “secret weapon” power of disability-inclusive hiring and their inside look at inclusion within TD.
Listen to Episode 2 on Podbean, or download it.
Dean Askin is the Communications Strategist for the Ontario Disability Employment Network, and the Co-Host and Associate Producer of ODEN’s You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D podcast.