The Irish job coaching market has gone from strength to strength in recent times, as companies increase their talent pool by tapping into under-represented groups. I have previously wrote an article for Thinkbusiness.ie about job coaching services available to people with disabilities in Ireland. However Rangam is the latest entrant into the market. ThinkBusiness.ie described Rangam as ” Rangam is a minority, woman, and disability-owned workforce solutions company with a mission to “Accelerate Meaningful Employment for Everyone”, including autistic and neurodivergent talent, people with disabilities, service veterans, women in STEM, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and other diverse groups.” I interviewed Emma Kearns who is the Solutions Manager – EMEA for Rangam to find out more:

1. How did Rangam begin? What’s your USP?

Rangam is a woman, minority and disability-owned global workforce solutions company offering holistic recruiting solutions for contingent staffing, contract-to-hire, direct-hire, and project-based solutions. We are a business whose foundation is built on a mission from our beginning in 1995 to improve the quality of life for our candidates while providing exceptional service to our clients.

What truly makes Rangam different is our holistic approach with our clients, diverse talent, and inclusive hiring programs. Our philosophy of ‘Empathy Drives Innovation’ influences everything that we do. Our SourceAbled program is an end-to-end solution that integrates talent with disabilities, autism, and neurodiversities into meaningful and sustainable careers. We work in collaboration with researchers, universities, disability, and staffing industry experts with a shared mission of #EmploymentForEveryone. Together, we strive to provide job opportunities for individuals with all types of abilities.

2. How many countries do you operate in now?

Rangam currently operates in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and India with expansions in-progress for EMEA and APAC.

3. The job coaching marketing in Ireland is very competitive, what makes Rangam stand out from your competitors?

Most competitors just offer services specifically for neurodiversity. At Rangam, however, eligibility for our services spans across all disabilities. We also offer our services to candidates with mental health conditions.

4. What are you most optimistic about and what are your biggest fears about launching in Ireland?

Ireland is in some respects a relatively progressive country when it comes to attitudes towards disabilities, with nearly two thirds of the general public agreeing that it is society that disables people by creating unnecessary barriers and almost 75% acknowledging that disabled jobseekers do not receive equal opportunities to their counterparts in wider society. However, Ireland also has one of the lowest disability employment rates in the EU at just 26%. So while there is evidently a great appetite for change, we also find ourselves in a market where employers know they want to diversify their hiring practices, but don’t quite know where to start. It is precisely these employers that we hope to reach and help guide the way on their diversity and inclusion journey.

5. What businesses do you work with? What are the most frequent issues the employers have around employing people with disabilities?

Our talent attraction expertise includes, but is not limited to IT, Engineering, Scientific, Clinical, Healthcare, Administrative, Finance, and Business Professional clients.

One of the major pain points of many companies, not just in Ireland, but in Europe generally, is around supplier diversity and the Great Resignation.  Our goal is to provide the proper support and strategy for companies to begin their initiatives and improve upon their processes to truly offer authentic DEI environments.

6. What will candidates get if they participate in the programme?

The main benefit of signing up with us as a candidate is having a steady stream of support from us at each and every stage of the recruitment process, whether that’s ensuring that the interview process is accessible and tailored to their individual needs or the onboarding and job coaching services we offer to ensure the candidate is supported in-role and has the accommodations and understanding they need to thrive in their team.

7. How did the pandemic affect the company? What are your plans post pandemic?

Our company utilises innovative technological means to provide services and opportunities to all.  This allowed our company to adjust quickly to the changing environment so we could continue to grow and expand upon our network of candidates and clients during the pandemic. 

Our plan going forward is to harness that momentum by expanding our programme outreach, improving processes, and generating awareness around our offerings.

8. Are there any other businesses in Ireland in the diversity and inclusion sector in Ireland that you are a big fan of?

AsIAm is Ireland’s leading autism advocacy organisation and has done outstanding work in driving more neuroinclusive policies, fostering autism inclusion in our communities and advocating for improved services for Autistic children and adults alike across the country. AsIAm has many staff members who are Autistic themselves, including its CEO Adam Harris, and this truly shows in their approach to making Ireland a more accessible place for Autistic people.