There’s a growing number of business operations hiring “handicap-able” workers nowadays. These employees are proving not only that can they perform most tasks as effectively as people with complete set of working limbs, but also that they are able to bring something incredibly unique to the way things are done in the day-to-day operations.
However, because not too many of them actually make their way into the most competitive companies, their specific needs and wants are often overlooked by certain aspects of the business.
For example, when it comes to travel incentives, HR departments oftenforget to take the unique condition of these employeesinto consideration. In fact, there have been a few instances wherein such workers were deserving of travel incentives, but they simply opted not to go because the travel opportunity was not compatible with their physical condition—and the last thing they wanted was to be a burden to their fellow recipients.
Fortunately, the occurrence of such situations can be avoided. Incentive travel solutions providers should be able to design travel opportunities for prized employees with special physical conditions. Perhaps one of the most important things for them to look into (so they can effectively accommodate handicap-able workers into the program) is the handicap-friendliness of hotels, inns and other locations included in the travel itinerary they design.
Likewise, they should study the ability of the service providers they work with to assist people with physical disabilities. Some well-travelled handicap-able folks have reported their experiences with certain airlines and have made comparisons with the services they have received. An aging man with a terrible knee condition, for example, reported that a particular Asian airline was exceptionally helpful to him due to his mobility issues; he was assisted from the time he boarded the plane, up to the time he disembarked and waited for his ride at the arrival gate of the airport. He was treated like a complete VIP—a far cry from the service he’d received from an American airline, which he said dealt with him as if he were a complete nuisance.
Equipment rental for the improved mobility of physically challenged individuals is another thing to direct attention toward. Incentive travel solutions companies should be able to present convenience features for these travel incentive recipients, such as high performing motorized wheelchairs. There are wheelchair rental services that offer high-tech electric wheelchairs, like Unimo, which have rubber tracks and can tackle sand, unpaved roads and even ice-covered pavement. Incorporating this component into incentive travel packages will really make a whole world of difference for special recipients. Worth adding to this would be smartphone apps especially for the blind, mute and deaf.
These are issues that any incentive travel solutions company should integrate into their packages. Some progressivecompanies already address these; hopefully, this New Year, more will follow suit.
