John Lewis Partnership: Getting Started with Disability Inclusion in the Workplace - RIDI Awards
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John Lewis Partnership: Getting Started
with Disability Inclusion in the Workplace
According to official figures, there were an estimated 3.7 million people of working
age with a disability in employment during the first quarter of 2018.
However, while the fact that the percentage of people with a disability who are in work
has now reached the momentous stage of just breaking the 50% barrier, disabled
people still remain hugely under-represented in the workplace: the employment rate
for people without disabilities is 81.1%.
The Recruitment Industry Disability first steps towards becoming more inclusive to
Initiative (RIDI) has one purpose, disabled candidates and offered advice
which is reflected in everything we do: to others who may be beginning their journey.
break down the barriers facing disabled Carole Donaldson and Sarah Ockendon from
people in the recruitment industry. The John Lewis Partnership were joined on
In July 2018, Guidant Global, on behalf stage at the event by Liz Johnson from Ability
of RIDI, hosted an exclusive event at the People, Evenbreak’s Jane Hatton and Simon
prestigious Devonshire Club to highlight the Blockley of Guidant Global. Kate Headley,
early successes of The John Lewis representing The Clear Company was the
Partnership’s disability confident journey and event moderator. The panel shared valuable
share best practice around disability inclusion insight around misconceptions around disability,
to an audience of HR decision makers. the best way to engage disabled talent
Representatives from the retailer, which and the external support which is available.
picked up the ‘Getting Started’ accolade The discussion and key recommendations are
at the 2018 RIDI Awards ceremony, shared summarised on the following page.
their experiences of taking the
CREATING DISABILITY CONFIDENT RECRUITERS
Join our conversation: @RIDI_org ridi.org.uk #RIDIawards events@ridi.org.ukTHE JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP’S STORY
In 2016 The John Lewis Partnership Future plans include formal training for the 120-
embarked on a journey to make its recruitment strong resourcing team, hiring manager training
process more accessible for disabled and additional amendments to the Partnership’s
candidates. A year later, the organisation recruitment website such as Partner profiles,
achieved its initial aim of becoming a Disability where disabled colleagues can share their
Confident employer. The Partnership worked journey. The John Lewis Partnership
with the Business Disability Forum to undertake continued its work with the Business Disability
a thorough review of its processes in order to Forum and the Department for Work and
assist with identifying changes needed. Pensions, and at the beginning of 2019
This has improved both the accessibility achieved its goal of becoming a Disability
of the Partnership’s recruitment process Confident Leader.
and the candidate experience. Significant The John Lewis Partnership beat off stiff
changes have already been made, such as competition to take home the RIDI 'Getting
changes to its external recruitment website Started' Award in 2018, after the judges were
(www.jlpjobs.com), training for the resourcing impressed by the practical steps the
team, improvements to the reasonable organisation was taking to shift the dial,
adjustments process and work on its including partnering with Evenbreak to
recruitment policy. advertise all external roles and using
Evenbreak’s Best Practice Portal, which
provides invaluable resources for the
Partnership’s resourcing team.
CREATING DISABILITY CONFIDENT RECRUITERS
Join our conversation: @RIDI_org ridi.org.uk #RIDIawards events@ridi.org.ukWHY DISABILITY CONFIDENCE MATTERS
When asked what prompted The Partnership operates two well-loved
The John Lewis Partnership brands - John Lewis & Partners and
to focus on disability inclusion, Waitrose & Partners and customers expect
one of the representatives from us to do the right thing: it was a no-
the company relayed a brainer.”
‘lightbulb moment’ where they Speaking on the scale of the The John Lewis
realised that it was not only the Partnership’s initiative, the panellist said,
‘right thing to do’ but it also “We questioned which roles to post on
makes commercial sense as, Evenbreak - but then came to the realisation
“By recruiting candidates with disabilities that every role needs to be as accessible
we can better identify where customers find as possible: true inclusivity makes it easier
barriers.” She continued, for everyone.” CREATING DISABILITY
“When sourcing hard-to-fill roles, why are we CONFIDENT RECRUITERS
excluding a percentage of the population?
CREATING DISABILITY CONFIDENT RECRUITERS
Join our conversation: @RIDI_org ridi.org.uk #RIDIawards events@ridi.org.ukGETTING STARTED
Experts on the day agreed that the first step Succinct advice from another panellist was,
to becoming confident on disability can often “Find someone who is a bit further ahead in
be the hardest to take. However, all attested the journey and look to them for support.”
to the fact that becoming inclusive is not All agreed that communication was
a difficult journey to begin in practice, with key to success. As a representative from
several pointing to the Government’s Disability The John Lewis Partnership highlighted,
Confident scheme as a practical first step. “Many managers are only involved in
One expert on the day promised, once you recruitment once in a while. They need to be
overcome the first hurdle, “You get hooked.” able to speak confidently to HR - the whole
As another of the panel outlined, “Some team needs to be embedded in inclusivity.
people have a preconception that in order They feel confident to ask
to become inclusive they’ll have to knock ‘is this reasonable’. We don’t have all the
down the building and re-write policy. answers, we’re not perfect - but if they don’t
They think that making changes will be ask us, it’s not out there.”
time-consuming and expensive. What is Many on the day identified ensuring that
great about John Lewis Partnership's story candidates and jobseekers feel comfortable
is that they were not afraid to have a go, enough to disclose disabilities as a significant
take risks, and learn from them.” early hurdle to being able to respond to their
The same panellist also highlighted how, from needs. The consensus for overcoming this
a disabled candidate perspective, jobseekers challenge on the day was learning to position
are usually very forgiving. “They know you’re the question in the right way.
not going to go from zero to 100 percent Experts on the day advised that hiring
overnight. I’d venture to suggest that no managers and recruiters take a ‘whole person’
one has all the answers - we’re learning approach to asking for information. For
all the time. But the more disabled people example, rather than simply asking, “Do you
you hire, the more you learn and the have a disability?”
quicker your journey will it was advised that the approach should be,
become.”Representatives from The John “We want to offer you the best experience
Lewis Partnership recounted how they so we know that you’re the best person for
began their journey the job. We want you to perform at your best
with a “co-operative vibe”, seeking support and be safe. Do you need any adjustments?”
from partners. As one pointed out, “The RIDI
website had loads of great advice: learning This approach seemed to gain support from
from others helps organisations to take others in the room, as one disabled panellist
the first vital steps.” confirmed on the day, “I don’t want to
be labelled, but I’ll share if I trust you.”
CREATING DISABILITY CONFIDENT RECRUITERS
Join our conversation: @RIDI_org ridi.org.uk #RIDIawards events@ridi.org.ukSENTIMENT IN THE ROOM
A poll of attendees on the day found that while that companies are doing more to engage
82% believe their company currently welcomes with this valuable talent pool. Over half (53%)
applications from disabled candidates, every of those surveyed said their organisation
single respondent felt that their organisation considers a potential supplier’s approach to
could do more to increase the inclusion of inclusion before making a decision to engage,
disabled people. This suggests both a deeper and over three quarters (76%) said that their
awareness of the disability agenda in recent company has run specific initiatives to increase
years and a willingness to do things better: the inclusion of disabled candidates over
a survey of HR leaders by RIDI in 2015 found the past 12 months.
that 20% of respondents believed that their Perhaps most tellingly, when asked if ‘disability’
company had disability inclusion sewn-up. springs to mind when discussing ‘diversity’,
While, at events such as this, there is 88% of respondents said ‘yes’. In 2015,
always a certain element of ‘preaching to the this figure stood at just 31%.
converted’, there seem to be positive indicators
THE SNOWBALL EFFECT
The consensus on the day was that success We began to make it an agenda point -
breeds success. Small steps can make a huge and kept talking about it - and everything
difference and once a business is on the road to came from there.” The said company is now
disability confidence, the pace of change quickly a Disability Confident Leader, and has won
accelerates: the more disabled colleagues you RIDI Awards for three consecutive years.
have, the better placed you are to respond to In a similar vein, another panellist advised,
individual and disparate needs. “Never feel like the ‘poor relation’ -
As one panellist highlighted, his own company’s if you’re just getting started, think about
success in this area was ‘Built on promises’. what your organisation could look like this
He spoke about how if you talk about something time next year. Statistically, 2% of your
enough, it ‘grows a personality and becomes workforce will acquire a disability or long-
real’: “Disabled people are still the least term health condition each year. Disability
talked about minority group, and five inclusion affects your business whether
years ago, when we began our journey, you are prepared or not - so start making
there no bandwagon behind it. things happen.”
CREATING DISABILITY CONFIDENT RECRUITERS
Join our conversation: @RIDI_org ridi.org.uk #RIDIawards events@ridi.org.ukFINAL THOUGHTS
Disability inclusion levels in the workplace Partnership’s example demonstrates, even
remain low, but we’ve now tipped the 50% mark. sharing the small steps you have taken - and
The numbers are still too high, but we’re moving the benefits that these have created - can
in the right direction. While there is no doubt inspire other companies to do the same.
we still have a long way to travel to achieve Many companies position themselves as
true disability inclusion, bringing influencers an ‘Equal Opportunities Employer’, but getting
together in this way enables us to tackle involved in initiatives such as RIDI sends
difficult questions together. a powerful message to differentiate you from
Events such as this most importantly keep the competition. Take risks, be authentic and
disability confidence front of mind and top of don’t be afraid of getting it ‘wrong’. Think of
the agenda. They offer insight in an open forum, the next step - big or small - and just do it.
wherever you may be on your own journey, No one has all the answers, but by asking
by showcasing the efforts and learnings from questions and learning from others further
other organisations who are breaking down the along the same journey, organisations can open
barriers faced by disabled job seekers. Crucially, themselves to the widest pool of talent available.
they also help us all widen our professional Half a million candidates a year go through the
network of like-minded, experienced contacts. recruitment process, and if you get things right
The answer to becoming more inclusive in terms of disability inclusion, you get them
does not necessarily lie in massive investment right across the board.
in infrastructure or huge software initiatives - As a representative from the John Lewis
it’s the little things that show you’ve got the Partnership summarised on the day,
culture right and no employer should think “Disability inclusion is not just a moral
that they’re not big enough or good enough issue, it’s imperative for business: if we
to start a Disability Confident journey. don’t embrace disability
In our experience, organisations often don’t we will simply leave customers, partners
enter awards because they think they’re not and ideas behind.”
doing enough, but as the John Lewis
Visit our website to find how you
can get involved: www.ridi.org.uk
CREATING DISABILITY CONFIDENT RECRUITERS
Join our conversation: @RIDI_org ridi.org.uk #RIDIawards events@ridi.org.ukYou can also read
