WHO: Lime

www.limeconnect.com

WHAT: A not-for-profit organization that connects global corporations with post-secondary students and graduates with disabilities.

WHAT'S IN A NAME:According to Lime President/CEO Susan Lang, nothing. “People say, what does that stand for?” she says. “It just really represents a fresh approach to disability in the business space.”

WHERE: New York

WHEN: Since 2006

WHY: Canadian founder Rich Donovan was attending York University in Toronto and realized that a lot of talented people on campus were intimidated by the normal corporate recruitment process, simply because of their disabilities. Donovan would know. He has cerebral palsy.

THEN WHAT? With no funding or support, Donovan and Lang struck out to get the business world and the disability world to connect.  First stop: Merrill Lynch. “We would not be here today if it were not for Merrill Lynch,” Lang admits. “They saw that there was a lot of success to be had…they believed in us from Day One.” Today Lime has a number of corporate partners.

HOW: In Lime’s words, the organization works to put talent together with opportunities. In real terms, it works like this: The corporate partners pick the schools they want to recruit from, and Lime develops the relationships on campus to find the top talent for them.

STATS: By 2016 the workforce composition should reflect 3% employees with disabilities. All it takes is for the corporate community to unlock that economic potential. “People are just starting to understand the disability component of employment,” Lang says. “I think the main thing we’re doing is helping students to understand their talent is value. We really feel that that is the thing we’re most proud of.” Currently, Lime is in 24 schools in the US, 6 in Canada.

THE NEXT BIG THING: The Global Corporate Standard. Based on the ISO framework, it is literally a guidebook for any company, any size, anywhere in the world, on how to source, recruit, develop and market to persons with disabilities. Plus it includes the tools—internal training, recruitment process, types of accommodation—needed to help companies be successful in their search and hiring of employees with disabilities. “That’s going to be a huge project for us but we think that is going to be the thing that is going to allay the fears that people have about hiring people with disabilities.” Lime will be enlisting the help of its corporate partners, other disability organizations and experts in standard development.

FRESH IDEAS: Plans are in the works to launch Lime Canada. The world may be their orchard but they’re not in a rush to conquer Europe and Asia. “It’s all about small measurable wins and successes,” Lang explains. “We don’t want to go out too quickly and end up regretting it because we’re not able to provide the level of service we want to provide for our partners.”