Brisbane law firm Carter Newell is sharing its experience in employing people with disabilities at a major international conference in Osaka, Japan.
Chief executive officer Geoff Hardy is the only Australian invited to address the International Forum on Disabilities, to be held from October 21 to 23.
Hardy will share with employers from throughout the Asia Pacific region his firm's experiences of employing people with disabilities.
"We've employed five workers with disabilities as part of a deliberate strategy," Hardy says.
"Initially, we found it hard finding suitable people for the enormous amount of filing that is required in a legal practice.
"We needed a fresh look at the problem, and in 1999 we decided to employ a person with a disability on a trial basis.
"That trial proved so successful, we quickly added another three people and have now reached five."
The program has been a win-win, with the employees enjoying feelings of worth, renewed confidence and a sense of independence, and Hardy says the programme has had a number of benefits for the firm.
Not only are the employees performing well in tasks that others had not been willing to undertake for long periods, but error rates have declined significantly since the program started.
He says the determination and pride of the new staff have inspired other employees, creating an overall improvement in morale.
The program has had profound implications for the firm's reputation as an "employer of choice", and a number of new staff members "were attracted to us because of our community values and our commitment to people as demonstrated by this program".
But the process is not without its challenges.
"One of the main issues is making sure that workers with disabilities are treated the same as other employees," he says.
"At Carter Newell, they have a serious job to perform and are treated as full employees in terms of performance expectations."
Hardy adds his firm has developed an internal support system through its human resources manager to monitor any problems they face in performing their jobs.
He will use his Osaka speech to encourage other employers to follow his firm's example.
"There is a lot to gain from integrating workers with disabilities into the mainstream work force," he says.
"I think that our success should also demonstrate that professional services firms are among those which can benefit significantly, and we'd really like to see more professional firms at least try it out. I'm sure they'll be pleasantly surprised – as we were."