Page 17 - ABILITY Magazine - Best Practices Employment

bit different, because, as we mentioned earlier, we consider accessibility a part of diversity.
Cooper: Right. For years there’s been a push by advocates to remind companies that disability should be included in diversity.
Sometimes they think only in terms of certain accommo- dations when a person is hired, but not much beyond that. So was that actually a part of the charter of the company when it was founded?
Swapp: No, diversity became one of the guiding princi- ples after the company had been in existence for a while. But we now see it as a critical component to our work.
Chet Cooper: Are you involved with the Business Lead- ership Networks (BLNs) in your area?
Marthalee Galeota: Yes, we’re new board members with the U.S. BLN.
Cooper: Do you know what your role will be?
Laura Swapp: We’re still figuring that out. We’re pri- oritizing the national relationship and figuring out what we’re doing locally. Our strategic partnership ini- tiative defines what organizations we engage with, and how we bring them into partnership with the Starbucks family at multiple touch points. So this is one of the relationships within that program.
We will continue to look at how we partner with various communities: African-American, Lesbian/Gay/Bi/ Transgender, Latino, disability... There are other orga- nizations that we’ve worked with or will work with to determine how we move forward in this phase. Marthalee will identify what the multiple touch points will be, and how we will roll those out. Obviously, headquarters is just one small piece of our world, and it’s really more about how we engage our field opera- tions in these partnerships.
Universal Design by Tony Gale
Cooper: Given what you’ve learned, what is Starbucks doing that you would like to see other companies do, and how can one expand these concepts from the local to the global?
Swapp: Again, a holistic approach is very important. So we’re always focused on the policies, standards and guidelines inside our company that support a disability- friendly environment.
We’re inquiring about education and awareness oppor- tunities. For us that could be offering specific courses such as disability etiquette, deaf-friendly culture or inte- gration into other core areas that we believe would enhance awareness. Marthalee reviews all the marketing that leaves the building from an accessibility standpoint. So, what we would say to other companies is to recog- nize that increasing accessibility and diversity require pulling multiple triggers.
Cooper: You just had a shift in leadership at the top. How does that affect your division?
Swapp: We feel really optimistic about the support for diversity work with this leadership team.
Cooper: Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about or address?
Galeota: Just this year, (chairman and CEO) Howard Shultz participated in Great Hires, a video that show- cases the benefit of employing individuals with signifi- cant disabilities. The project was produced by the King County developmental disabilities group, King 5 TV and the Washington (State) Initiative for Supportive Employment. The video highlighted three different companies, including Starbucks, which are reaching out to people with disabilities in employment. It’s been seen nationwide, in Europe and in Australia. It’s even on YouTube, and encapsulates our commitment.
In our stores, in particular, we strive to make everything accessible to all of our customers. Usually they order a beverage, wait while it is being made and then pick it up. But each of our stores has a sign at the register that offers customers assistance if they would like us to carry their order to their table. Customers using wheelchairs have let us know how much they appreciate this. One letter of thanks came all the way from a customer in England, who wrote: “I am very restricted in mobility due to severe arthritis. The service received was excel- lent without a doubt.”
Closer to home, one of our baristas was searching for an avenue to reach out to the community. Since Star- bucks is an avid promoter and supporter of literacy, the barista came up with the idea of holding a monthly Children’s Story Hour and partnering with the National Braille Press by using their selections from the Chil- dren’s Braille Book of the Month Club. The barista is