Our Inclusive Workplace Award recognises organisations that are forward-thinking about equality and adopting diversity practices. We are pleased to announce two more organisation who recently received their award…
Holiday Inn Express Greenock and Belville Community Garden Trust. Fiona and Amrit from SUSE recently visited both organisations to present the awards. Here’s what they say about achieving the award.
Holiday Inn Express Greenock
“Our experience of working with people through Supported Employment has been an extremely positive one. Many people moving from placements to paid employment, if it is for them. One member of staff in particular was a model for the rest of the team, he had a great work ethic, pride in his uniform and attention to detail. We saw the difference in his growing confidence but also the rest of the team learnt as much from him as he learnt from us.
When working with employees with Autism or learning difficulties, we quickly realised that our training methods needed to be adjusted to make them visual not verbal. This now works better for everyone. We display images of, for example, breakfast set up in the staff-only areas, which all employees can refer to. We create ‘how to’ videos to help with training, we have eradicated jargon, and operate a buddy system where any member of the team can ask another for support or advice. Overall, our culture is one of teaching. If a team member can be supported to solve a problem and come up with a solution themselves, then they feel more empowered.
Currently we have a team of 14 with 3 disabled employees. Our staff turnover is very low. I have been with Holiday Inn Express Greenock for 14 years and still work with mostly the same team.
We want to change other businesses’ perceptions of employing disabled people. There is often a stigma of it will be too difficult or time consuming, but this is not true.
We work with organisations such as REACH for Autism and ENABLE Works because it is something we should do and we know how important it is to invest in our community.
To achieve the Inclusive Workplace Award we worked with ENABLE and it is good to be recognised. We’re looking forward to working with Apt PSP to further expand on our disability training. We will also continue to develop and work with supported employment organisations as it has proved to be an extremely positive experience for myself, my team and the new employees.”
Belville Community Garden Trust
“We are here to support the needs and requirements of our direct community and make lives better; whether that’s through eco therapy in the garden, life skills training, isolation food boxes, outdoor play, summer camps, cooking experience and cookery or construction courses, or the community allotment, to highlight just some of what we do. Overall, we aim to build resilience in our community.
We have 17 members of staff, including permanent, sessional and local employment scheme placements, plus a further 20-30 volunteers, across the office, kitchen and garden. What this award represents is in-keeping with our ethos – it is what we do! Thank you!”
