“I have two sons, one of whom experienced significant challenges in the learning environment during his childhood. The support I received was very effective, and I am very grateful for it. I then decided to ‘give something back’, which in my case meant creating job opportunities for people who struggle to find employment in the open labour market. I started with one employee and found it worked very well, and now I have more than ten disabled people working regularly in my company.”

“When it comes to hiring personnel, I work closely with the local employment service for disabled people. I have a dedicated counsellor, Fleur. She knows my company and understands my requirements. I must say, I am very happy with this collaboration. Fleur always finds motivated people, which is my most important criterion. As I say, they need to go the extra mile when working for my company; I can teach them the rest.”

“Fleur sources candidates. Then Annemie, as a job coach, takes over the guidance. We always start with an internship, which gives both me and the new candidate the opportunity to see if they are a good fit for the role and the team. Both Annemie and I believe in starting slowly, with a few hours or days per week. If that goes well, we will gradually increase the number of working hours and days until the full working day and week is reached. Otherwise, the new employee works as much as can reasonably be expected. After the internship, if the candidate and I are both happy, I offer them a contract.”

“These internships usually work out well, though I had to stop twice because they did not work out. I found this out in the first few weeks of the apprenticeship. It’s no fun to end an internship, but it’s all part of the process. This is when you give people who are struggling to find a job a chance to become your employees. If it works out well, everyone feels okay. We have to accept that this is mostly the case, but not always.”

“I am a family person. My team is like an extended family to me. My husband and I run the company together. Every year, we organise a family day. We invite the families of our team members to an open day. All our employees, especially the young ones with disabilities, feel proud when their parents come to see where and how they work. If support is needed, I will arrange it. For example, Sue once couldn’t come because her bike had a flat tyre. I arranged for her and her bike to be picked up. Sue can work, and her tyre will be repaired so that she can go home safely after work. My simple rule is to treat others as you would like to be treated, and to go one step further – then the world will be a much more fun place.”

“Since my first experience of hiring an employee with a disability, I have learned a lot. In the beginning, Annemie provided me with strong support and taught me what it means to be the supervisor of Sue, who has an intellectual disability, John, who has autism, and Patricia, who has a hearing disorder. Annemie’s support went further; she also trained all colleagues in disability awareness, which they greatly appreciated. All employees have the opportunity to develop in their work tasks. As well as developing their work tasks, I also train my disabled employees in working independently, social skills, safety aspects and critical thinking. I always want to offer them something they can handle. They start as pebbles; we invest in them to help them settle in, and then they become pearls!”

“As far as I can tell, my employees really enjoy working for my company. They all have different roles and responsibilities. Sue, for instance, prepares the recipes, John is good at roasting peanuts, and Patricia loves making the handmade chocolate and peanut bonbons. When I ask them about their future plans, they all say, ‘I want to stay here for the rest of my life’. They like it here because there are hardly ever any conflicts, they can eat as much chocolate as they want, and they can develop professionally. There is a kind of golden rule here: if something doesn’t feel right, they don’t need to get angry; they just need to explain to me individually what bothers them, and I will always consider it and support them for as long as is needed to solve the problem.”

“Their colleagues “without a backpack” take all the time they need to explain how the work should be done. If they do not carry out an assignment correctly, their colleagues support them until they get it right. My young employees with disabilities have learned to stay calm instead of getting upset, as they used to do at school. They have realised that their previous approach was not the best solution, and their current approach works much better.”

“I have decided to continue working by hand. Although it is possible to use machines to make the bonbons, my customers really value the ‘handmade’ aspect of the chocolates, and losing customers is something I would like to avoid. I also realise that, by choosing this way of working and employing people with disabilities to make handmade chocolates, I am requiring a specific attitude from my co-workers. This is why I have decided to include a new criterion in my recruitment process. Now, part of my recruitment criteria is that employees must be open-minded towards people with disabilities and have an intrinsic motivation to support them when needed. They must have the necessary production skills and, once they have them, be willing and able to support and guide others in learning them. They must be patient and empathetic, be team players and really enjoy teaching others. They also need to be open to helping others succeed.”

“I always assign one co-worker to guide each new employee with a disability. I accept the ‘loss of production’ while this guidance is in place. In the beginning, this takes around half an hour per day, but this soon goes down to a maximum of fifteen minutes per day, and within a few weeks, thanks to this intensive guidance, it goes down to almost nothing. The new employee can then work independently and does not need guidance any more than others do. Although it may seem like ‘loss of production’, this is not the case. The senior colleague receives support from the new colleague with a disability and has extra hands available to help with the work.”

“When working with disabled employees, it is essential to have a job coach present. Without the job coach, I would not know how to guide the employees. Annemie supports us in training the new employee, as well as training me and my colleagues. She also encourages potential candidates to be open about their needs, wishes and difficulties. This encouragement is necessary because candidates are not accustomed to doing so themselves. I need this openness to understand the opportunities and prospects within the company.”

“One essential measure is the no-risk insurance policy offered by the social security service. This means that, as employers, we do not pay for an employee’s sickness absence. This policy covers that cost. It guarantees that I won’t incur any extra costs if someone drops out of work.”

“I would certainly recommend that my fellow entrepreneurs open their doors to employees with disabilities. At the same time, I would advise them to look at the person first and let them try out the work. Don’t think in terms of products; think in terms of ‘a team of people’. Remember, it’s all about people — without them, your company cannot exist. Make use of all the legislation, policies and subsidies on offer. Also, ensure there is a good job coach who thinks with their heart, reacts quickly and comes up with solutions, and knows the company, its work processes and its culture.”