JPMorgan Chase & Co. Disability Affinity Resource Group
With permission from JPMorgan Chase, the following is information on their group as follows:
The name of the JPMorgan Chase Disability Affinity Group is Access Ability Network Group. The group was established by employees as a grassroots effort in 1998 with the New York Chapter, quickly followed by Delaware, Texas, Midwest, Ohio and the UK.
The group’s mission and goals include:
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Building awareness of this segment as a source of talent and business opportunities· Acting as a resource for employees with disabilities and their colleagues and family members· Enhancing career and personal development opportunities for people with disabilities· Community involvement
The structure and meeting schedule is championed by Executive Sponsor, Scott Powell, CEO Consumer Banking. Chapters maintain leadership structure comprised of co-chairs, treasurer, secretary and sub-committee leads. Current chapters operate from 7 regions within the JPMC footprint, including the UK. Regional chapters host meetings as dictated by local needs of the chapter, with global meeting forums hosted periodically for all chapters to share best practices. Group will present notable achievements and goals to Executive Sponsor for feedback and support.
The most innovative aspect of the program: In addition to focusing on professional development, recruiting, and community, the group has served as a new business development/technology resource to the firm, for example, marketing accessible ATMs.
The greatest challenge in getting started/maintaining momentum and how to overcome: The group has been in existence for over a decade with new chapters still forming, however, the challenge is to:
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Continue to build sustainability/strategy beyond Disability Employment Awareness Month · Mapping out a few core initiatives to focus on throughout the upcoming year via a formal business planning process · Leverage key external resources for innovative ideas (NBDC).
Guidance to others interested in starting similar groups:
Important to establish clear objectives with formal operating structure, which includes leadership (with succession planning for new member engagement and development) and chapter by-laws. Senior management support is critical to the success and sustainability of the group.Additional best practices JPMC Access Ability has demonstrated include: · Ensuring meetings are accessible, coming up with meeting guidelines and tools for meeting organizers.· Awareness fairs, especially displaying equipment / tools available so that employees feel comfortable self-identifying and asking for assistance. Also demonstrates to managers that disability accommodations are rather simple requests and resources are easily available.
««««« NBDC would like to thank JPMorgan Chase for their contribution to this initiative and encourage all NBDC members to contact Information Services at lfrancis@abilitiesonline.org for information on how to be a part of the Disability Affinity-Resource Group Consortium.
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