More than one-third of the employees at the Wilson Street Grill in Madison, Wisconsin, have a disability, but that doesn't stop them from providing top-notch service, says co-owner Nancy Christy. Eleven of the restaurant's 27 employees have disabilities, mostly mental or developmental disorders. "My employees with disabilities are just tremendous employees," she says. "They work hard. They care about the restaurant." In today's tight labor market, any boss would be happy to have such dedicated workers.

Special accommodations

Working with disabled employees requires extra patience and flexibility, but it's well worth the effort, says Christy. At the Wilson Street Grill-which Christy owns with Andrea Craig-the key ingredient for making disabled employees an integral part of the staff is careful assessment of each individual's strengths and weaknesses, says Christy. For example, some mentally disabled employees enjoy and excel at activities such as pouring beverages, filling sugar bowls and cutting lemons, but are not suited to the quick mental and physical demands of taking and delivering guests' orders. So Christy created a back-waiter position that consists of the activities that are important but do not include taking customers' orders.

It's also important to give employees a chance to grow, regardless of their disability, she says, pointing to the example of a disabled employee who started working at the restaurant three years ago as a back waiter. The employee, who has major depression and psychosis, originally worked only an hour a day. Today, she works four to five shifts a week as a full-fledged server.

Management might also need to make special accommodations for disabled employees, says Norman Sewing, co-owner of the Salad Bowl Cafeteria & Banquet Center in St. Louis. About 15 to 20 of his 100 employees are disabled. To communicate with hearing-impaired employees, Sewing and a handful of other employees have learned sign language.

Return on the investment

People with disabilities tend to be appreciative and loyal employees, because they have such difficulties finding jobs, says Sewing. "We had a girl who we took at 16. Now she's 45," he says.

Christy says she's had similar positive experiences with her disabled employees. "I think it's dangerous to say everybody with a disability is a good hire, but we're careful about who we do hire-both with and without disabilities," she says. The focus should be on whether the person can do the job, she says. For those workers with disabilities, "their commitment to work has to do with their self-esteem. They're really in touch with that. This notion of work as a prideful activity is something they definitely feel."