New plans to make the 成人论坛 a more inclusive workplace for disabled staff
More action will be taken to help disabled staff succeed and progress at the 成人论坛.
Published: 6 November 2018
This project has given us a unique opportunity to hear from disabled colleagues across the 成人论坛, to understand their concerns, aspirations and how we can make the 成人论坛 the best organisation for them.
A review involving staff and the 成人论坛’s Ability network, which supports disabled staff, has made a number of recommendations which will now be adopted. It is the latest in a series of reviews aiming to make the 成人论坛 the most supportive and inclusive organisation to work in.
The review recognised that the 成人论坛 currently has an open culture in relation to disability, with 94.4% of 成人论坛 employees having disclosed whether they have a disability or not. More than 2,000 成人论坛 employees, 10.4% of its workforce and 9.5% of its leaders, have disclosed a disability as defined by the UK Equality Act.
Initiatives including the 成人论坛’s Elev8 Programme and the new 成人论坛 Writersroom initiative The Writers Access Group aim to successfully mentor and develop disabled people across the 成人论坛.
But the 成人论坛 has been clear about wanting to go further. Earlier this year, Director General Tony Hall pledged to increase the numbers of disabled staff and freelancers on production teams, signing up to the Creative Diversity Network’s Doubling Disability initiative.
Disabled staff taking part in the review said they would benefit from hearing from disabled role models at senior level and more awareness among line managers about the diverse nature of disability.
Many of those who took part in the review also said it would be helpful to have a more detailed picture of the nature of the disabilities employees have disclosed and that co-ordination around disability initiatives could be improved.
The recommendations have been accepted by the 成人论坛’s Executive Board and include:
- Increasing the 成人论坛’s target for disability in its workforce from 8% in 2020 to 12% in 2022
- Gain a better understanding of our workforce through asking supplementary questions in our staff census
- Including disabled employees in all development and leadership programmes
- Ensuring recruitment processes and trainee and apprenticeship schemes provide specific support for disabled applicants, which is made clear when people apply for roles
- Introduce a centralised ‘成人论坛 Passport’ to inform managers about the support each person needs
- Mandate disability awareness training for all team managers
Anne Bulford, 成人论坛 Deputy Director-General and Project Sponsor, says: “This project has given us a unique opportunity to hear from disabled colleagues across the 成人论坛, to understand their concerns, aspirations and how we can make the 成人论坛 the best organisation for them. We are committed to creating a vibrant, diverse organisation that values difference and capitalises on the talents of everyone who works here, and supporting the career progression of disabled staff is essential to achieving this.”
This is the final review in a series of culture and career progression projects which have also looked at gender, ethnicity, LGBT and socio-economic diversity. The 成人论坛 will now produce one delivery plan to support the career progression of staff across the organisation.
Tunde Ogungbesan, 成人论坛 Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Succession, says: “These five reviews exploring 成人论坛 culture and the career progression of employees across our workforce have provided an opportunity for colleagues to work together, share their views and ideas and shape the action we are taking now to create a more inclusive 成人论坛.”
成人论坛 Press Office