Taking positive action towards improving accessibility in the workplace does not wait for a strategy in development. The needs of people are often clear, here today, and need support now. For me, accessibility is a committed mindset that from the outset asks the question of us all and within our everyday interactions in the workplace and society, ‘just how inclusive and accessible are we being in our approach?’

In September 2021 SCW embarked on a journey of equality, diversity, inclusion (EDI) and wellbeing strategy development setting our sights on building a culture of belonging as part of the organisational development plan. Having just joined SCW, and experienced the journey as someone new to the organisation, it was clear that an important part of belonging meant there was a need to increase the accessibility of communications for existing and future workforce. 

Aligned and in support of the NHS People Promise and our business plan objective for ‘a strong diverse workforce’, the EDI and Wellbeing team worked collaboratively to understand some of the accessibility challenges facing our workforce, and to introduce assistive technology and programme consultancy to improve accessibility and the wellbeing of our workforce.  

The case for change 

In support of key programmes of work such as hybrid working, sustainability and organisational improvement planning, whilst also recognising and valuing our richly diverse and talented workforce, our work towards building a culture of belonging and the development of EDI and Wellbeing strategy has been underpinned by a core principle:

To apply an insight-driven and collaborative approach, where we engage our workforce to validate and evidence our decisions.

What does belonging mean?

Applying this core principle meant that we needed to take the time to talk to our people and communicate effectively across a wide range of topics as well as equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing. We've been doing this by engaging our employee networks, reviewing staff and wellbeing survey insights, analysing workforce data and listening to the voice of our workforce when we asked the question ‘What does ‘belonging’ means to you?’

From this, we identified a need to go above and beyond what we already have in the way of accessibility commitment and how we provide support and tools. We need to ensure accessibility is at the heart of our communications approach and apply inclusive thinking and decision-making.

A sense of belonging relates to an environment where you feel safe to be yourself, to be creative, productive, to feel happy and content and where you feel you have the support of your colleagues and managers when you need it most. Member of SCW's response to 'What does belonging mean to you?' 

Steps we’ve taken so far…

The EDI and Wellbeing team has been working hard to provide an array of strategic, operational, educational and pastoral support and subject matter expertise across our organisation and in relation to accessibility. Below is a snapshot of examples where we are working to improve accessibility at SCW.

• Working with the communications and web teams, we implemented an accessibility toolbar on our intranet and website and plan to further roll this out to other key workforce platforms. This provides assistive technology and inclusive provision for individuals with permanent and temporary disabilities, restricted mobility, language barriers or preference or other impairments. It enables them to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible.
• We have worked to support the evaluation of accessibility requirements and implementation of this provision on a site-by-site basis (SCW operates across many sites in the south of England), as we look to reopen office spaces and ensure an inclusive and wellbeing approach. This includes working directly with our desk booking service provider to improve Inclusive Access Considerations (IAC) signposting, provisions and alerts.
• We have collaborated with key service functions within SCW such as our Corporate Systems Information Group to table accessibility and inclusion considerations within IT procurement and systems-based decision-making. 
• Our marketing and communications team delivered a new website (April 2021) and intranet (April 2022), both of which are compliant with the Government’s Website Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. We continue to work collaboratively and proactively with the team to improve the inclusive nature of our communications and content.
• Led by our organisational development colleagues, we worked towards our organisational goal of making SCW ‘A great place to work’ by improving the assessment activity and process for our Graduate Management Scheme recruitment. This resulted in greater inclusivity and the removal of diversity barriers for candidates.
• We created a virtual meeting accessibility guide to aid our workforce in ensuring our everyday meetings are as inclusive as they can be. This has helped our SCW colleagues to engage in more inclusive practices and engagement, whilst working in an agile way.

We have also formalised our internally-focused accessibility working group, terms of reference, membership and purpose, defining our vision as: 

‘Everyone at SCW is provided with an inclusive opportunity to increase their awareness of accessibility needs, good practice, and how accessibility impacts everyone and is able to advocate for accessible new digital technology solutions and communication methods.’

And still, there is so much more we can do...

We are by no means at a point of inclusive utopia yet and the landscape or needs in this space are forever changing. However, if we take the recent work, and approach and build on this consistently, I believe we can achieve even great accessibility, a sense of belonging and a great place to work. 

Find out more

• If you work within the NHS, you are invited to attend a Microsoft-led training course on Accessibility for Teams Meetings, Live Events and Webinars. Sign up using your NHS.net account. The training will be delivered via Teams Live Event, beginning at 09:30 and finished by 12:00. Dates available are Thursday 4 and 11 August.
• Listen to this 30 min Podcast: Disability Inclusion and Accessibility in the Workplace - from John Samuel, co-founder and CEO of Ablr360 – a disability inclusion and digital accessibility company that aims to remove barriers for all people with disabilities. In this episode, John shares his story of losing his eyesight and the impact that had on his career. You’ll learn about the accessibility barriers that exist in physical and virtual workplaces, on the web at large, and in employment opportunities and training.
• We used Reachdeck as our solution to help remove communication barriers from our websites, reach a wider audience, and build trust in our brand. Watch a video on YouTube for more info.

Get in touch

At SCW we pride ourselves on the diversity of our workforce and the recent commitment to building a culture of belonging. If you would like to learn more This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..