How you can put disabled people at the heart of your business

Disabled people face some of the largest inequalities across the West Midlands.

These inequalities span all areas of life and many cause a significant impact on multiple areas of an individual’s life, writes Dr Mark Fosbrook PLY, Atlanta Paralympian and Senior Policy Officer for health and disability at West Midlands Combined Authority.

West Midlands Combined Authority has been a Disability Confident Leader for more than three years. As an organisation it understands the importance of being proactive in removing inequalities that exist for disabled people but, that improvements to remove inequalities can take time and are easily disrupted if the systems are not shaped in a robust manner.

WMCA has been exploring what needs to be done to make the West Midlands an Exemplary Region for disabled people. It is safe to say this is not an easy task and requires a lot of thought, however there are some key fundamental things to consider that will make any organisation better regardless of broader plans or signing up to a pledge, charter or accreditation.

1.    Be a nice human – Consider the needs of your staff and how you can support them to bring their best selves to work. A happy, supported workforce will be more productive, provide greater level of thought and create a positive working environment around them.

2.    Place disabled people at the heart of your organisation - Work with existing disabled employees to understand where you develop new policy/practices that empower disabled people. Creating environments where disabled people feel engaged, empowered and respected is really important. This could be done in many ways from regular positive conversations to developing staff networks.

3.    Consider your recruitment - Do your recruitment practices make it easy for disabled people to apply and work through the process? Be proactive in how you can make your offer more inclusive and inviting.

4.    Workplace adjustments - With any employee you want them to bring their full self to work and maximise their opportunity to be productive. If you delay making workplace adjustments, then they are unable to do this and place doubt in their mind about how supported their employer can be.

5.    Be prepared to get it wrong - By creating open and honest spaces you can improve as an organisation and gain the benefit of increased diversity of thought, a more engaged and understanding workforce as well as potentially improved bottom lines. However, be prepared to not always get it right. Disabled people want to see you are on that journey to be more inclusive. When you get it wrong (and you will) be prepared to learn and improve.

You are not alone and the West Midlands is a fantastic place to go on the journey. There are amazing business networks such as Midlands Ability through to CIC’s like SIC and initiatives such as Thrive at Work, Thrive into Work and the many Disability Confident Leaders prepared to support others on their journey.