Client Case Studies - Consultancy.

Assessing equality impact.
In depth research was the key to identifying the issues that a new service delivery contract might create. We considered prospective customers across all diversity strands plus different work situations and attitudes. Throughout, our concern was to maximise the performance of the new contract by increasing its inclusivity, and to ensure legal compliance. The outcome was a range of straightforward and high-level recommendations for internal and national changes that are already being taken forward.

Equality Scheme.
We worked with a large national public body to create its Disability Equality scheme under the DDA 2005. This meant reviewing existing policies, creating an action plan, undertaking impact assessments and, importantly, involving disabled people throughout. Staff needed help to make this new way of working effective .We developed an Involvement Framework which provided a simple step-by-step process that covered everything from data collection, how to interact with disabled people plus feedback mechanisms. This very practical resource gave members of staff confidence to undertake a number of innovative approaches including" speed dating". Disabled people attending such events felt their views were heard and recognised that they had a real opportunity to make a difference.

Capturing the Disability Market.
We really enjoyed training members of our local Chamber of Commerce about how to reduce the risk of disability discrimination and the benefits of including disabled people amongst their customers. One of the manager/owners rushed away to make changes. His restaurant had two members of staff who were proficient in using British Sign Language but he had not used this great Unique Selling Point to gain customers from the Deaf community - a significant group of disabled people. We helped him and other businesses realize that diversity in the workforce can be a huge business asset.

Improving Disability Recruitment.
We certainly faced a challenge when asked by a group of NHS employers to improve their ability to recruit and retain people with disabilities. Understanding their recruitment practices and the working environment were achieved through an audit of policy and procedures and, more importantly, by talking to members of staff.

It was essential that people recognised the need for change and owned the changes to be implemented. We worked with the Human Resources team and, in particular, those responsible for recruitment to raise disability awareness. Then, through a series of action meetings, helped them identify barriers to effective recruitment - they took away a number of simple practical steps for action.

We brought together all the learning and actions into a single report and plan providing a blueprint for the future.

Involving Disabled People Effectively
We worked with a large national public body to create its Disability Equality scheme under the DDA 2005. This meant reviewing existing policies, creating an action plan, undertaking impact assessments and, importantly, involving disabled people throughout. Staff needed help to make this new way of working effective .We developed an Involvement Framework which provided a simple step-by-step process that covered everything from data collection, how to interact with disabled people plus feedback mechanisms. This very practical resource gave members of staff confidence to undertake a number of innovative approaches including" speed dating". Disabled people attending such events felt their views were heard and recognised that they had a real opportunity to make a difference.

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Client Case Studies - Large projects.

New entrepreneurs. Supporting disabled people to move from depending on benefits to self-fulfilment as entrepreneurs gives great professional satisfaction. We have honed our ability to attract an untapped market and help them through every stage of business launch - and more. Using CRM technology, we can track each individual's progress so we can offer more assistance as it is needed. Clients have enjoyed our "Dragon's Den" style exercise in the enterprise workshops - and proved to be canny Dragons themselves. For more about our business support activities, visit www.businessability.co.uk.

Diversity training for businesses. We were one of the lead partners in a three year project delivering diversity awareness training to businesses across South East England. Disability Dynamics researched equality legislation, designed and delivered the diversity training plus the material within the supporting handbooks and website. The project was hugely successful: achieving some 50% over target, within budget and on time. Requests for further diversity training and the equal opportunities improvements made by companies are testament to the value and benefit they gained. For example, people from the Senior Partner to administrative staff attended sessions delivered to one large firm of solicitors. And within 24 hours they had made simple changes to their website to welcome more diverse customers.

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Client Case Studies - Training.

Teaming up with disabled people. This was "eye-opening" training according to one attendee. After an overview of different aspects of disability, including etiquette and insight in to various impairments, we introduced the business attendees to a diverse group of disabled people. Together they undertook interview exercises - each taking turns in different roles. Mixed teams then worked together, accommodating each others' needs and skills in creating fabulous flower arrangements (the men) and hammering together stud walls (the women). With everyone working outside their usual "comfort zone", the teams were supporting each other on a more level playing field. The business attendees had gained a real understanding of the latent potential of disabled people, the barriers they encounter in life and trying to find work plus, their determination and motivation to succeed.

Promotion that opens up new markets.
The business case for new approaches to inclusive marketing is central to this training session. We cover everything from using the right language and outlets to corporate messages and images. Within a few weeks, this team was revising their literature, adopting new writing styles and offering alternative formats.

Confident call centre staff. We have delivered training sessions to several organisations who offer customer contact through call centres. But their teams were unsure how to gather key monitoring data. Not only did this mean that there was little evidence to demonstrate performance but it also raised risks around legal compliance. Within just a few hours of training, exercises and role play, the call centre staff felt much better equipped to manage calls from all sorts of customers. They were able to identify changes needed to their systems and scripts - leaving with new confidence and enthusiasm. For more information about our business support activities, visit www.businessability.co.uk.

Feeling Confident about Reasonable Adjustments
Working with ACAS we were able to add our unique style of training to a series of workshops aimed at raising disability awareness amongst small to medium sized businesses across the South East region. They explored the benefits their businesses could achieve by employing disabled people. Practical exercises using their own job specifications produced new and personal insights and confidence. They gained better understanding of the many simple ways to identify and implement effective reasonable adjustments - and just what "reasonable" means.

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Networked radio series. We created a series of radio programmes featuring disabled people talking about their search for jobs. The programmes were broadcast on numerous local radio stations throughout South East England.