The joint Zoom meeting held with the Campbellford Rotary Club was co-hosted by Presidents Rob & Howard and began on time with Oh Canada! Three guests were present, AG Kimberly Hulsman, prospective Campbellford member, Dorset Mitchell, and speaker, Mark Wafer.
Mark was introduced by Steve Sharpe. [Campbellford member Art Chamberlain has permitted me to share his excellent ‘capture’ of Mark’s presentation]
Jobs, inclusion and the pandemic
Our guest speaker was Rotarian Mark Wafer, former owner of several Tim Hortons restaurants who now advises governments, companies and organizations about how to provide an inclusive workspace.
Mark was introduced by PP Steve, who also promotes inclusion at his store and was a member with Mark on a provincial advisory council on the issue.
When Mark, who is deaf, owned six Tim stores with about 250 employees 17 per cent were disabled.
Mark said the disabled community is the largest minority group in Canada with 6.4 million people, about 20 per cent of our population. He said that unemployment in the group is about 50 per cent and noted that many who were working at entry-level positions, such as Tim Hortons, lost their jobs when the pandemic hit.
But he said there has been a silver lining. The pandemic has shown that many jobs that businesses felt could not be done from home actually can be and that has opened the door for many people with challenges to demonstrate their talents. This has allowed many people with degrees and other expertise to finally get jobs, Mark said.
He said businesses should employee disabled people because it is good for their bottom line. It dramatically reduces staff turnover, which saves thousands of dollars. For example, at most Tims or McDonalds, turnover is 100-120 per cent a year and it costs about $4,000 to hire and train a new employee. But at his stores, the turnover rate was 40 per cent a year.
Another benefit of hiring disabled people is that they are innovative and approach problems differently, out of necessity.
Employers are often reluctant to hire the disabled because they think it will cost thousands of dollars to accommodate their needs. In fact, the cost is usually $200-500, not the $10,000 many expect.
For example, Mark talked about Birgitta, a profoundly deaf young woman who approached him after a speech and asked for a job on the counter at Tims. She had an MBA from Queen’s but had not been able to get any job. Mark hired her and the only accommodation was $5 for a laminated card telling customers that she was deaf and asking them to face her directly when ordering, since she could lip read.
Birgitta eventually became a cook at one restaurant and was his most productive chef. An initial concern was that all the bakery equipment and ovens had buzzers and bells to let cooks know when items were done and Birgitta couldn’t hear them. But she pointed out that the machines also had timers she could look at and the bells etc were only for people who weren’t paying attention.
A few years later Mark helped here get a job at Deloitte, where she now uses her MBA training and is well paid.
Mark also said that absenteeism, a traditional problem at fast-food restaurants, is much lower with disabled employees and he had fewer safety issues because disabled people learn to be more careful and follow safe practices as part of growing up.
Businesses and retail outlets can also benefit from becoming accessible to the disabled because they can serve the 20 per cent of the population who may need accommodation and the 60 per cent who are their family members and friends.
But it’s not easy to persuade organizations to change, even for an experienced advocate like Mark. He’s a member of the Thornbury-Clarksburg Rotary club and it meets in an Anglican church that requires climbing 15 steps to enter. Meanwhile, across the street is an accessible library branch. But so far Mark hasn’t been able to persuade the club to switch locations.
After his presentation, Mark responded to a question from a member who said their son had been bullied at work because of his learning disabilities and wondered what he should do. Mark suggested the only course was to be resilient and carry on, despite the bullying.
Rotarian Ian Lancaster thanked Mark for his excellent, thoughtful and inspiring presentation.
After Mark’s presentation, the two clubs separated into break-out sessions. Under Club business, items addressed were; William’s birthday, volunteer help for vaccination clinics and a request from Bill for rods/fishing equipment for Kate’s Rest. The meeting closed at 8.11.
Geoffrey Telling
.jpg)
