Hosted by Citi

Whilst the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1994 was seen as a ‘good thing’ in that it made it unlawful to discriminate against an employee or an applicant, in reality it can also be seen as a hindrance due to the fact that employers are fearful of ‘getting it wrong’. And it is this fear, in part, that has contributed to the slow progress around engaging with, and recruiting, disabled individuals; employers are so concerned about not doing the right thing that they prefer to do nothing at all in this space. However help is at hand and the purpose of this workshop was to explore the concerns that employers have and to build confidence to ensure that they got it right in the areas of language and behaviours, making adjustment and interviews and assessments.

In the safe environment of the workshop, delegates had the opportunity to explore some of the areas that they find challenging during the recruitment process. Areas such as what is appropriate in terms of language and behaviour, implementing adjustments and conducting interviews were all covered providing delegates with the opportunity to discuss what is and isn’t appropriate to say, do and ask.

As with all Recruiter Club events there was plenty of opportunity for discussion, debate and questions with Helen Cooke, Director of MyPlus Consulting challenging the delegates to think about what they currently do and whether there is the opportunity to do things differently or ‘better’.

Whilst the delegates all took different things from the workshop, 3 key messages that Helen left them with were:

•       Engaging in conversation is the most effective way to build a relationship with the delegate and to encourage openness

•       Be able to put adjustments and support in effectively and efficiently enabling the delegate to be assessed fairly and consistently with others

•       Ensure your assessors are confident regards their role, and are knowledgeable about what they can legally ask / talk about

Feedback:

““I liked how the whole seminar was interactive which meant conversations were driven by the discussions and ideas we had. This allowed us to address our genuine concerns in a safe environment, and share relevant experiences so that the seminar could be effectively tailored to what we wanted to better understand.””

““By asking questions and not just giving answers, it helped to address some of the mistakes and misconceptions that exist in our business, and helped to understand how other businesses were approaching their inclusion strategy. It was also helpful to consider how many very different ways people face barriers in recruitment, and how we need to be constantly listening and responding to ensure we can tackle these.””

““A key takeaway for me, is that I now understand my expectations in that I do not need to know all the medical details for each disability I come across. Usually, the individual is the expert in their own needs and I should work with them to learn how I can support them through the recruitment process.””

““I gained an appreciation for the scale and complexity of what needs to be achieved, and how important it will be to get real buy-in from senior stakeholders to see change in our culture, policies and processes.””