The Inclusive Practice Basics – Top Ten Tips For Organisations
Beyond good intentions and the need to comply with equality and anti-discrimination law there are informal ways employers can help make workplaces more inviting and productive for current and future disabled employees. Dr Molyneux’s (leading researcher on disability and SMEs in the UK) research found that disabled people value an inclusive work organisation, continuous workplace learning, good worker-management relations and respect for workers’ rights.
When these conditions are present in workplace culture, workers say it drives them to raise their productivity efforts. Evidence shows the association between inclusive workplace practices and various types of positive enterprise-level outcomes, including reduced employee turnover and improved profitability.
This guide offers you ten ways in which you can help make your workplace more welcoming and productive for the disabled people who you employ now and for those you employ in the future. Remember, we are all only one step away from acquiring a long-term health condition or impairment and we are all equally vulnerable to accidents and the inevitability of ageing.
Taking steps now to make sure your workplace is welcoming and accessible will enable you to be well-prepped (proactive mode) rather than going into crisis (response mode)!
These are ten ‘basics’ that can help you on your journey to becoming a confident disability-inclusive employer:
1) Take time to understand equality law including the need to take positive action (proactive-mode) and make reasonable adjustments
2) Seek out sources of support through schemes such as Access to Work
3) Ask disabled people what reasonable adjustments they would need to ensure they are working to the best of their capability – don’t make assumptions or compare them to others with the same impairment or health condition.
4) Remember that accessibility is key but it will be different for each individual. Impairments impact people to varying degrees and in various ways.
5) Some impairments are hidden, some fluctuate, some are easy to manage and others may take time to find the right solution – be willing to think creatively, and to be flexible
6) Learn from others and ask questions. You are not expected to be an expert on all matters but over time you will be a champion for disability-inclusive employment practice.
7) Train your staff about the impact of non-inclusive language, behaviours and ableism
8) Consider how to make conversations comfortable for your employees to want to talk about their impairments. This will reduce the fear and stigma around disclosure
9) Speak openly about your own concerns as an employer and find solutions in consultation with your disabled employees.
10) Share your knowledge of inclusive practice with your networks – help them to take the steps to become an inclusive employer
This is an extract from ‘A Practical Guide For SMEs Employing Disabled People’ a multi-chapter and in depth look at SMEs and disabled people in the workplace. The full guide is available to our consultancy clients. Find out more here.