Koinonia Employment Collaborative provides diversity recruitment and training services to connect employers with qualified job candidates from diverse backgrounds. Jason Weppelman presented on Koinonia's history of serving individuals with disabilities through employment. He discussed the benefits of diversity hiring, including increased productivity, retention and attendance. The Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County connects employers to pre-screened candidates through various member organizations. Weppelman promoted an upcoming hiring event on March 31st and encouraged employers to utilize Koinonia's no-cost recruitment and retention services.

1. DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT & TRAINING SERVICES
ERC ROUNDTABLE: MARCH 22, 2016

2. CONTACT INFORMATION
 Koinonia Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County
 Jason Weppelman
 Manager of Workforce Development
 (216) 926-4589
 Jason.Weppelman@Koinoniahomes.org
Jason Weppelman presenting at the 2015
Employ-ABILITY Summit

3. DIVERSITY
More than a word…
 Diversity is more than an agenda item or a
target number to be met.
 It is an OPPORTUNITY to add inherent value to
any business.
 Provides a multitude of talent and ability to ANY
workforce.
 Strengthens business through utilization of
untapped talent and workforce.
 Affirms your business’s core values.

4. KOINONIA • EMPLOYMENT FIRST • AND ME!
 Koinonia History
 Employment First
 My Background
 Revisiting how employment for diversity candidates is
approached
To learn more about Koinonia and our rich
history, explore our special 40th Anniversary
Annual Report by clicking HERE

5. EMPLOYMENT COLLABORATIVE
The Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County is made up of public and private providers that work
together to ensure that their job candidates have access to many employers in our area. Click on providers
name to click through to their website
Cuyahoga Board of
Developmental
Disabilities
Koinonia
United Cerebral
Palsy (UCP)
The Cleveland Sight
Center
ViaQuest Cornucopia
The Veterans
Administration of
Greater Cleveland
LEAP Goodwill
Vocational
Guidance Services
REM/The Mentor
Network
United Disability
Services
Lake County Board
of Developmental
Disabilities
Opportunities for
Ohioans with
Disabilities
Stark County Board
of Developmental
Disabilities
Lutheran
Metropolitan
Ministries
Ohio Means Jobs

6. DISCOVER AN UNTAPPED WORKFORCE
 12.5% of People who have disabilities are
unemployed.
 More than twice the number of people without
disabilities.
 Source Bureau of Labor Statistics Report: Persons with a Disability
Labor Force Characteristics Study, released 6/15/15
 WHY?
 Perception within the community.
 Application/interview/assessment process creates
barriers.
 Accommodation = 4 letter word!
 Difficulty accessing talent.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Report:
Persons with a Disability Labor Force Characteristics Study
released June 15, 2015, the unemployment rate of persons with
a disability was 12.5% in 2014, compared to 5.9% for those
without a disability. To read the complete report, click HERE.

7. ADVANTAGES
Productivity: 90% Provide equal or better rates
Retention: 48% increase in duration of employment
Attendance: 40% less
missed days
Reduced training costs
Safety: 34% fewer worksite
accidents
Post-hire supports to
ensure long-term success
People who WANT TO WORK!
Source: Kotter, J. P., and J. L. Heskett. Corporate Culture and Performance. New York: Free
Press, 1992.

8. CONNECTING WITH BUSINESSES
Employer
Job Seeker
Educating
the
Business
Community
Single
Points of
Contact
Change of
Approach
Consistent
Messaging
Business
Solution vs.
Social
Service
Strategic
Approach
Collaborative
vs. Silos
Diversity
Recruitmen
t Services

9. COLLABORATIVE GROUPS
 Northeast Ohio Regional Employment
Network.
 Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga
County.
 Employ-ABILITY Summit.
 Informational Sessions.
 Exposing the community to the topic of
diversity hiring.
November 5, 2015 – Leading area employers including CVS
Health, Natural Essentials, Giant Eagle, The Lincoln Electric
Company, Marriott International, Key Bank, Cleveland Clinic, and
Forest City Enterprises attended the inaugural Employ-ABILITY
Summit at Corporate College East. Click HERE to watch a
YouTube video of the employer panel discussion.

10. EMPLOYMENT COLLABORATIVE OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY
 Direct access to talent through a single point
of contact.
 Hiring events with pre-screened, applied and
assessed talent.
 Taking the work out of Diversity Recruitment!
 One-stop recruiter serving people with
disabilities, veterans, ex-offenders, minority
groups and more.
Koinonia client Damon and his supervisor Scott, work together
at Fredon Corporation, a manufacturing company that produces
parts for a wide variety of industries. To read more about
Damon’s story, click HERE.

11. STAFFING SOLUTIONS
 Single point of contact with access to hundreds of job
seekers.
 Pre-screened applicants.
 Drug
 Background
 Job seekers from a wide variety of industries.
 Flexible in hours and availability.
 More than traditional entry-level.
 We are invested in the people we serve!
coin-o-NEE-yah
Our name – Koinonia – was selected to
communicate the vision, mission, heart and
soul of what our organization was to stand
for – community, fellowship,
interdependence – a sense of belonging in
every way imaginable.
To learn more, visit
http://www.koinoniahomes.org/

12. Click on article to read…
“There’s many advantages to
hiring individuals with disabilities.
The diversity and inclusion that it
brings to your business is a huge
advantage.”
- Duane Rohr, CVS Health
“Giant Eagle has been hiring
people with disabilities for over
30 years. Once you get over the
fear, and once you start thinking
about people’s abilities and not
disabilities, everything else is
much easier.”
- Jeremy Shapira, Giant Eagle
“In all honesty sake, I have
nobody with a learning disability
that works for me. They might
when they walk through the
door, but I can tell you right now
they don’t have a disability when
it comes to doing their job.”
- Gary Pelligrino, Sr., Natural
Essentials

13. SERVICES AND SUPPORT
 Direct Placement
 Internships/Volunteering
 Community Based Assessments
 Partnership for Performance
 Contract work as needed
 Job Coaching
 Company Diversity Training
Koinonia client Brent recently celebrated his one year anniversary at
Natural Essentials, a manufacturing company in Streetsboro. To read
more about Brent’s story, click HERE.

14. PARTNERING WITH KOINONIA & THE EMPLOYMENT
COLLABORATIVE
Non-Profit
• Providing a pipeline
of qualified,
dedicated workers at
no cost to your
organization
Quality Assurance
• Matching employees
with the skill-set and
motivation to
perform at their
highest level
Potential Tax Incentives
• Initiatives in state and
federal legislation to
encourage the hiring
of individuals with
developmental
disabilities
Section 503
Requirements
• Our experts help
federal contractors be
in compliance with
section 503
requirements

15. THE ADDED VALUE OF DIVERSITY HIRING
 Providing Opportunities
 Pool of highly productive and motivated workers
who have been overlooked in the past.
 Helps comply with diversity initiatives within your
organization or with outside entities. (i.e. Federal
Government Section 503)
 Brings out the best in ALL employees!
 Examples
 Natural Essentials
 CVS
 Positive Public relations
 Buying power of people who have disabilities and
their supporters
 Support throughout the community Koinonia interns volunteer at Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland to
perform a wide variety of tasks to prepare them for employment in our
community. To learn more about our partnership with Ronald McDonald
House, click HERE.

16. EMPLOYMENT COLLABORATIVE OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY
HIRING EVENT! THURSDAY, MARCH 31ST
 Designed for your organization and your entry-level staffing needs.
 Carefully selected applicants are pre-screened, interview ready, and assigned to you specifically.
 Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries
 4515 Superior Avenue, Cleveland 44103
 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
 9:00 AM – Employer setup
 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM – Scheduled 20-minute interviews
 1:00 PM – Complimentary employer lunch
 Click HERE for registration form, return to Jason.Weppelman@KoinoniaHomes.org

17. CONCLUSION
March 10, 2016: Members of the Cuyahoga Employment
Collaborative receive an Award from Ohio Public Images
for their work promoting diversity hiring in our
community.
To contact Jason Weppelman, call (216) 926-4589 or e-
mail him at Jason.Weppelman@KoinoniaHomes.org
Both Koinonia and our collaborative partners are
committed to providing no-cost diversity recruiting
and training to employers throughout Northeast
Ohio.
One call or e-mail can grant access to thousands of
job seekers and many free supports. We want to
ensure the success of your employee recruiting and
retention efforts!