Discover: Giving Ability a Boost

By Joan Leotta

Provisions in the Americans with Disabilities Act have made it easier for some people with disabilities to obtain jobs by mandating reasonable accommodations in the workplace. However, recent US government data indicate that only about 30 percent of adults with severe disabilities who are of working age are employed. In an effort to help those who can work receive adequate training, Discover Financial Services has, for the past nine years, participated in a unique program that offers a fresh start for the disabled.

The Business Organization and Occupation Service Training program, or "BOOST," was created out of a discussion between recently-retired Discover Card Senior Vice-President, Larry Burke and HR professional Debbie Inkley when both were directors on the United Cerebral Palsy Board of Utah. They began talking about ways to give people with physical disabilities greater opportunities to obtain jobs. As a result of that talk, Inkley founded BOOST and Discover Card's Sandy, Utah call center became its first customer.

Part of Discover's Mindset

Over the years, the BOOST and Discover partnership has produced 2,800 graduates from an eight to ten week job skills training program. The curriculum helps high school graduates and GED holders learn how to apply for and obtain jobs. Specifics include material on self-esteem, confidence, and attitude in the workplace. The program tackles working in an environment that accommodates diversity. Courses also cover specific skills applicable to modern workplaces, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Lotus Notes instruction. Marette Monson, BOOST Project Manager at Discover Card's Lake Park Operations Center in Utah, notes that sometimes people in the program need help to overcome confidence issues in addition to knowledge about how to apply for jobs or handle the everyday routines of working. Trainees are not paid during the classes, and no promises are made on job placement at the end of the course. However, to date 75 percent of the trainees have successfully obtained full or part time employment after the program--and not all with Discover.

The program was perfect for Discover because, Monson notes, "Discover is very training oriented." Over the years, BOOST and Discover have extended the program geographically and in scope. It now operates in eight Discover Card locations across the country. The program has also been expanded to include mothers on welfare, recovering addicts, and persons with emotional challenges as well as those with physical challenges as originally envisioned. And the model has been replicated. In August 2002, a Morgan Stanley started its first BOOST program at the Lanakshire Operations center in Glasgow, Scotland. (Morgan Stanley is the parent company of Discover Financial Services.) BOOST has had an impact within Discover. This year the firm is holding a BOOST Awareness Month during which BOOST program managers have opportunities to educate managers and center employees about the benefits of the program. The reaction is very positive--many recommend their friends and relatives to the program.

Impact on Individuals and the Community

Each of the eight Discover training centers around the country facilitates one or two BOOST classes a quarter. Between eight to twelve students are accepted into each class, and the program fills up fast. Typically, double the number of accepted students apply.

Discover partners with counselors from community agencies who supply necessary assistive technology and work with the students. To gain a place in the program, students must be able to supply their own transportation to the classes and have obtained or are currently working on a high school diploma or GED. Monson explains that these criteria ensure that the student has both the motivation to finish the program and the capacity to comprehend the material. The program has strong community ties. Participants are often referred by Discover employees or are recommended by community organizations such as churches, schools, and local and state government agencies. Community groups and other local businesses sometimes become involved in the training by giving presentations and hiring program graduates. Discover does hire many of the graduates, but not all.

"We are often touched by the friendships that grow up in the class among people from different groups," Monson states. For example, she relates: "in one class, the students formed a carpool to help a disabled woman who was taking hours to get to the class on public transportation." Many Discover Centers also hold reunions for graduates. The 2,800 individuals who completed the program and 75 percent who obtained jobs are only part of the BOOST story. Success in this program often leads to greater stability in life. The personal stories of twelve BOOST graduates, including Marette Monson (who has Cerebral Palsy), are included in Dignity, a book compiled by Debbie and Dale Inkley for The Opportunity Foundation of Salt Lake City. proceeds from the sale of this book will go directly to the Opportunity Foundation of America. You can purchase the book for $25 plus shipping and handling. To order call 1-800-347-7485.

Keeping a Low Profile

If you haven't heard much about BOOST before, it's not by accident. Monson explains, "We at Discover did not want people to think that the only reason we were doing this was to gain benefit for ourselves by having the program. We do feel that BOOST benefits us. Through BOOST, Discover has gained many valuable employees." Now that BOOST is solidly established, we feel that we can talk about it without focusing attention on the company." In fact, Discover's President David Nelms often acts as an informal spokesperson for the program, holding breakfasts for other CEOs at which he touts BOOST.

Spreading the Word

The current BOOST curriculum can easily be adapted to a variety of industries and may well extend beyond general job skills." Managers have commented on the drive and tenacity of BOOST graduates," Inkley explains. "The people included as candidates are excited because BOOST offers real jobs for real people, not make-work jobs," Monson says.

Citing her own experience, Monson adds, "BOOST gives people a chance." During her work at Discover, Monson has finished college and graduate school and is now the full-time BOOST coordinator at the Lake Park call center in Utah. To paraphrase the end of Monson's chapter in the Inkley book, opportunity and hope are the keystones of the BOOST program. Without them, Monson maintains, the human sprit atrophies and individual tenacity and perseverance are on a short string. BOOST provides a helping hand so that individuals can sustain themselves, using their experience and knowledge to benefit themselves, their employers, and the community at large. Real people, real ability, real jobs. All they need is a boost.

Note: If you are interested in learning more about the BOOST program, call 1-801-902-4199 or visit the Boost Web site at www.boostinc.com.

Edited by Mary-Louise Piner.