Thinking Creatively, Employing Inclusively
Retired Pfizer scientist Steve Colgan advocates for more inclusion of the adult IDD community in the workplace—and all aspects of society.
Retired Pfizer scientist and Best Buddies Connecticut board member Steve Colgan (bottom row, left) with the Best Buddies Pfizer Groton Chapter he started.
My BeanZ & Co. journey began many years ago. I have a brother with an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) and an adult son with IDD and mild autism. I recently retired from Pfizer after 30 years as a scientist in its Groton facility. As you might imagine, I’m an inclusion advocate. During my career, I launched a Best Buddies Connecticut Chapter and an inclusive jobs program at Pfizer.
How did I do so? By seeking opportunities—and thinking creatively.
Every year Pfizer sponsors a global competition with employees to support their service in the community. I submitted an entry for my work with Best Buddies Connecticut and my entry was named a top-10 finalist, and I won $5,000 for the nonprofit. With this award, I could tell Pfizer was a good environment to start a Best Buddies Connecticut Chapter—and it also sparked an employment idea.
When I was a lab scientist, I enjoyed being creative and knew most of my colleagues as chemists felt the same. However, some were less enthusiastic about routine compliance-related tasks mandated in the pharmaceutical industry.
And so I thought…
“What if we could sequester the duties often considered drudgery by typical scientists to someone well-suited to such tasks?”
I worked with a management team to create a list of lab-based tasks tailored to someone with autism or IDD. These included transporting glassware in and out of the stockroom, monitoring the calibration of instruments, tracking raw materials data in spreadsheets, etc. From there, we worked with Best Buddies Connecticut to interview and hire two employees for roles tailored to their skillsets. Best Buddies Connecticut also provided job support and helped facilitate training sessions for our Pfizer employees on how to interact with people with IDD, what to expect, etc. to make the on-boarding of these employees successful for all.
The results?
They were positive all around. Our employees with IDD took ownership of their work and developed pride in their role at Pfizer. Scientists were able to concentrate on more creative tasks. Morale among everyone was better and the program helped fulfill Pfizer’s commitment to diversity and inclusion within the company.
Imagine the wide-ranging impact of thinking creatively and hiring someone with IDD at your company?
Want to learn more about inclusive employment? Visit the BeanZ & Co. Employer Resources page here.
Steve Colgan is a retired Pfizer scientist, having spent 30 years in its Groton, Conn. facility in various management and lab roles. He is a lifelong advocate of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), having a brother with IDD and an adult son with IDD and mild autism. Steve has served on the Best Buddies CT Advisory board since 2016. His focus area is to advocate for more inclusion of the adult IDD community in all aspects of society.
BeanZ & Co. is an inclusive coffee café employing people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities and demonstrates the possibilities in all of us. The coffee café serves breakfast, lunch, hot and cold beverages, and bakery items for take-out or eat in, and also offers catering services. BeanZ & Co. is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 300 West Main Street, Avon, Conn. For more information visit beanzandco.com and friend them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.