August 28, 2015

Top 10 Malaysian Business Hires People with Disabilities, Sees Profits Rise

Top 10 Malaysian Business Hires People with Disabilities, Sees Profits Rise

No Parrots but Wheelchairs are OKU by Mike Gifford @flickr

VADS, one of Malaysia’s ten biggest corporations, has launched and been profiting from a shining example of successful corporate social responsibility, or CSR, in Malaysia.

VADS (which stands for Visual Arts Data Service), is an enormous Malaysian business providing outsourcing services to companies all over the globe. As part of its commitment to CSR in Malaysia, VADS recently developed a program focused on hiring workers with disabilities.

VADS set up a training program especially for this project, and over time has endeavored to shape its business processes to accommodate members of society living with disability. Called the STEP-UP program, the project has been a huge success, empowering people with disabilities, integrating them into Malaysian society and driving VADS profits upwards.

In Malaysia, as in the rest of the world, there is unfortunately a negative stigma attached to disability. Public opinion is often that disabled individuals cannot perform in functional roles or lead productive lives. Employers often turn down their applications, and although able and hard-working as any member of society, they are relegated to unemployment.

VADS has turned this perception on its head – having only to slightly modify its operation and train workers for open jobs in order to hire employees with disabilities. Though VADS built a special facility for these workers, many of them have migrated to jobs and facilities that have existed unchanged since before the STEP-UP program began.

The STEP-UP program is now featured on the website for CSR Malaysia, a national magazine reaching 50,000 people each month.

The program, and CSR Malaysia, are proof that Malaysian business is increasingly dedicating itself to responsible operation that takes into account people, planet and profit.

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