How can you ensure your culture change initiative is inclusive of employees with disabilities?
Culture change is a complex and challenging process that requires the involvement and commitment of all employees. However, some employees may face barriers or feel excluded from the change process due to their disabilities. How can you ensure your culture change initiative is inclusive of employees with disabilities? Here are some tips to help you create a culture of accessibility, respect, and empowerment for everyone.
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Jill HoughtonPresident and CEO at Disability:IN
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the tara birchLinkedIn Top Voices | Culture Change Transformation Consultant | Building Bridges Not Barriers | Personal Growth &…
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Ainslee HooperHelping Community Development, DEI, P&C, and HR folk remove invisible barriers & reduce the risk of ableism in their…
Before you embark on any culture change initiative, you need to understand your current culture and how it affects employees with disabilities. You can conduct surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observations to gather feedback and insights from your employees. You can also use tools such as the Disability Inclusion Index or the Disability Equality Index to measure your performance and identify gaps and opportunities. The goal is to find out what aspects of your culture are supportive or hindering for employees with disabilities, and what changes they would like to see.
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As someone who personally experiences a lung disease and identifies as neurodiverse, I find myself particularly attuned to the importance of inclusivity. I make it a priority to actively engage employees with disabilities by fostering regular collaborations with ERG/BRG/advocacy groups. Additionally, I consistently assess and enhance our efforts towards inclusivity, striving for continuous improvement.
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The Disability Equality Index helps companies gauge where they are from a workplace policy perspective by asking the question, “Are my employment policies and practices going to attract and retain talent with disabilities?” Companies can combine this with an employee/business resource group (ERG/BRG) for disabled employees, caregivers, and allies so that they can capture the grassroots perspective on their culture in order to design a culturally responsive inclusion journey to achieve full equity in the workplace.
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Jill you are so right, thank you! But I would say there is an even more basic, and sometimes disappointing, way to see if the company is serious about including people with disabilities. What are the messages they are sending every day? When the company is planning something small like a gathering or large like an expansion, are they taking us into account? Can I get the door open? Can I get into the meeting? Can I communicate in the gathering? A couple of years ago I went to a diversity conference where everything was ADA compliant except the networking event, which required one to walk up a small flight of stairs to attend. Inclusive thinking and perspective isn't hard, but it requires rigorous application.
One of the key principles of culture change is to involve the people who are affected by the change. This means that you need to engage employees with disabilities in the design, implementation, and evaluation of your culture change initiative. You can do this by creating diverse and inclusive teams, committees, or task forces that represent different perspectives and experiences. You can also solicit input and feedback from employees with disabilities through various channels, such as surveys, forums, suggestion boxes, or online platforms. The goal is to ensure that employees with disabilities have a voice and a choice in the change process.
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Setting up an employee reference group especially for people with disabilities is a great way to ensure the changes are done in a culturally sensitive manner. This group can engage other employees with disabilities and provide recommendations feedback on the strategies to ensure the transition is smooth.
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A company's greatest assets are its people. Lean into your ERG/BRG, its executive sponsor, and organic peer-to-peer influence. Authentic and responsive culture change is a classic case of, “Nothing about us without us.”
Another important element of culture change is to provide training and education for all employees on the topics of disability awareness, accessibility, and inclusion. You can offer workshops, webinars, e-learning modules, or other resources that cover the basics of disability etiquette, language, rights, and accommodations. You can also invite speakers, experts, or role models with disabilities to share their stories and insights. The goal is to increase the knowledge and skills of all employees on how to interact and work with colleagues with disabilities.
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In the 2023 Disability Equality Index report, Disability:IN found that 91% of participating companies provide disability-focused information in new hire orientation, and 93% of companies encourage employees to self-identify their disability status. These best practices are the building blocks for a successful organizational change. It's also important to share the multiple definitions of disability; promote stories of disabled talent (through genuine and authentic storytelling); and celebrate disability through strategic annual campaigns for workplace visibility.
To support your culture change initiative, you need to implement policies and practices that reflect your commitment to disability inclusion. You can review and update your existing policies and practices, such as recruitment, performance management, career development, or recognition, to ensure that they are fair and equitable for employees with disabilities. You can also introduce new policies and practices, such as flexible work arrangements, assistive technology, or mentoring programs, to enhance the accessibility and empowerment of employees with disabilities. The goal is to create a work environment that is conducive and supportive for employees with disabilities.
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Disability:IN's Disability Equality Index can be any company's roadmap for building inclusive workplaces. The comprehensive benchmarking tool helps companies inventory current policies with the aim of improving the workplace for disabled talent and caregivers. It also helps companies identify gaps in their strategies and set aspirational goals for new workplace imperatives that improve inclusivity for all employees.
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Access and inclusion action plans are an excellent way for organisations to keep track of where they are at in the journey to disability inclusion. A central point for all strategies.
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A way to make cultural changes in an organization smooth is by ensuring everyone's opinion is included. In the case of disability inclusion, both those employees who are abled differently and the rest should come together to discuss and craft the policies. Inclusiveness should also be at all levels of the organization and also a lived culture as opposed to being tokenized.
Finally, you need to communicate and celebrate your culture change initiative and its outcomes. You can use various channels, such as newsletters, intranet, social media, or events, to share your vision, goals, actions, and achievements. You can also recognize and reward the contributions and successes of employees with disabilities and their allies. The goal is to raise awareness, generate enthusiasm, and foster a sense of belonging and pride among all employees.
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I encourage people to Google their company’s most recent sustainability report. Does it include people with disabilities? Annual reporting is the most effective way to communicate with current and future employees, investors and shareholders, and communities and consumers. Share your workforce representation data; highlight your ERG/BRG; spotlight your disability-focused supplier diversity initiatives. Make your commitment to disability inclusion public by voluntarily reporting on disability in your annual sustainability reports.
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