With nearly eight out of every 10 people with disabilities not in the labor force¹ — and workers with disabilities earning about $9,000 less a year than their non-disabled counterparts² — Synchrony Financial embarked on a mission to find new ways to recruit this underutilized talent pool.

Last summer we launched a pilot program to actively hire people with disabilities in our Kettering, Ohio location. The initiative was designed to prepare Synchrony Financial to increase hiring from this talented labor pool. A cross-functional team of Human Resource leaders, front-line managers and members of our People with Disabilities Network developed the program, which involved training more than 80 associates and managers. With guidance from the nonprofit, Disability Solutions, we set out to cultivate a new talent pipeline, all of which had a physical or hidden disability. The team partnered with local nonprofits like Goodwill Easter Seals and United Rehabilitation Services, state agencies, and Wright State University to host job fairs and recruit qualified candidates.

The Kettering Chapter of Synchrony’s People with Disabilities Network helps our employees with disabilities thrive while partnering with disability organizations to make a difference in the community.

Since the pilot, Synchrony has hired 42 people with disabilities into full- and part-time roles. The hiring initiative will expand to the company’s Phoenix, AZ., site later this year with the goal of recruiting and hiring more qualified individuals with disabilities.

¹ US Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2016
² US Census data, July 2015