Hello, my name is Christina Schneyder, and I warmly welcome to you in our video series “Tips and Tricks for Companies When Hiring People with Disabilities.” I am the Managing Director at the Austrian Federation for Vocational Inclusion. Our goal is to support both companies on their journey toward an inclusive workplace and individuals with disabilities in their search for employment.
In this video, I would like to provide you with some important information about workplace accommodations.

In some cases, it may be necessary to change the work environment.

There are only two types of changes that may be necessary:
The physical workplace adjustments and the adjustments based on soft skills requirements.

Let me start with the physical and obvious.
Due to European standards, many buildings already have some architectural mobility adaptations. If this is not the case in your company, you can, for example, adjust parking spaces, elevators, signage, and restrooms. If you do this, all employees will benefit from it. In Austria, there are subsidies for such structural changes.
But not all employees have the same needs. Some are less visible or well-known, they may require subtle but straightforward workplace adjustments. When you interview a candidate for a job vacancy, ask them what they need to perform their job.

The following adjustments are possible to improve performance:
– Flexible or reduced working hours
– Structuring tasks to establish a systematic work routine
– Consider adding images to written instructions.

So, that’s it for workplace accommodations.
For support with workplace accommodation questions, contact vocational assistance in your federal state. You can find all the information on this at www.neba.at.
And if you want to know more, take a look at my other instructional videos!