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Virgin Media’s ambition to support one million disabled

people into work

AUGUST 2018

“That was our darkest hour,” Virgin Media’s Chief People Officer, Catherine Lynch tells me. However, positively, the moment proved to be a catalyst for change. As a result of the incident, the telecommunications giant launched a new campaign, ‘Work With Me,’ in partnership with disability charity Scope. The three-year initiative, aimed at reaching one million disabled people with employment information and support by the end of 2020 now forms part of Virgin Media’s long-term focus in improving inclusion at work as well as the lives of disadvantaged people through technology.

It’s a necessary step. According to a report by Scope, disabled people are twice as likely to be unemployed, despite the fact that over one million want to work. But through the ,Work With Me, campaign, it’s hoped that this cohort of overlooked talent will be encouraged to get into work, stay in work and realise their career ambitions. It will be a hard slog though. Catherine acknowledges this. “Rome wasn't built in a day," she says. "We have to understand and tackle the barriers and overcome those, to be an inclusive employer. Emphasis that Virgin is not just about targets - "We are open to all,” she emphasises - Catherine is still adamant change is needed now. "We can’t wait another twenty years for disabled people to feel part of our society.”

Getting this message out begins at the entry point: recruitment. To reach unemployed disabled people, Virgin Media has begun advertising some of its roles on Scope’s channels, as relying solely on their own job boards for this reach was problematic. Catherine notes that Virgin’s own recruitment "doesn’t necessarily reach disabled people, as there is a lot of perceived discrimination.” Another way they’re breaking down those barriers is by not mandating people declare a disability on application forms. “There are still certain stigmas associated with things like mental health and related issues,” she says. As part of Virgin's ‘Digital for Good’ strategy, they’re also modifying online tools and processes - such as using a bigger font for dyslexic applicants amd including different communication options. This Spring, Virgin Media also funded Scope’s digital hub, ‘Support to Work’ which has information specifically tailored to help disabled applicants when it comes to finding work.

This also impacts those hiring too. “We’re ensuring our line managers are encouraged to have a representative shortlist,” Catherine says. “And, we’re putting work in place to ensure that when they do find a candidate that they want to hire, we have the funds and the opportunities to actually make that workplace work for the individuals.”

This new reasonable adjustment process also alleviates concerns surrounding hiring disabled candidates, with the scheme enabling the media giant to secure funding to alter buildings and buy equipment to support them. “It’s changing the conversation from this is too difficult to what’s stopping us from making these changes? We’re also changing the language around reasonable adjustments to 'Work With Me' adjustments. Through feedback, we found some people perceived the wording as ‘what is unreasonable then? Does it mean accommodating me is too expensive?’ So, if you remove the budget barriers, the management barriers also come down.”

Managers are also being trained to understand how to embrace disabilities openly, with unconscious bias training and education on the range of disabilities taking place. And visibly, staff at Virgin Media are fully behind this movement, wearing 'Work With Me' badges to show their support. They tell me that the purpose of this is to create an open environment. “We are trying to get managers to be more confident about having difficult conversations and not feel so awkward,” Catherine explains. “Because when they feel awkward they tend to avoid talking. I don’t think anyone goes out of their way to be intently discriminative, it is unconscious and it’s a fear of embarrassment.”

Words by Rianna Fulham | Design by Adam Pettigrew

Virgin Media’s ambition to support one million disabled people into work

Scope’s research found that more than a third (37%) of disabled people don’t feel confident about getting a job. They expressed concern that employers won’t hire them because of their condition.

Virgin Media employs around 27,000 workers,

with a relatively even split between

permanent employees and contractors.

The Work With Me campaign covers

all employees.

L ast year, a deaf candidate arrived at a company for a job interview. However, when he met the manager supposed to be interviewing him, there was no interpreter or help available in order to make

communication effective. Unable to conduct the interview, the manager ended up sending the interviewee home.

10 11AUGUST 2018 | HR GRAPEVINE@HRGRAPEVINEHR GRAPEVINE | AUGUST 2018 WWW.HRGRAPEVINE.COM

Thankfully, the partnership with Scope is helping empower staff to address this. “Having an expert organisation stand alongside you has given me the confidence to do the right thing,” Catherine continues. “For example, I recently attended a round table, where I met the Deputy Chair of Scope who had thalidomide, meaning he has a shortened arm. I went to greet him, and suddenly realised I didn’t know which hand he would like me to shake and I was wary about offending him. Previously I would have stood there and felt really awkward but because of the partnership with Scope I felt able to say: 'how would you like me to greet you?' And he thanked me for asking. It really broke the ice and we had a great conversation.”

Whilst this change in mindset is small, it’s making a tangible difference to Virgin Media’s approach to inclusion - sparking creative workplace and customer solutions. For example, they now equip staff who have hearing impairments with pagers that vibrate, so they know if a fire alarm has gone off. As a result of Virgin's internal inclusivity tack, customer products are now being designed with inclusion in mind. “Things like designing our remote controls so they don’t rock on a flat surface which helps customers who have challenges with dexterity,” Catherine explains. “We’re involving that thought process right at the beginning of our designs – it’s not an afterthought.”

Whilst this drive is important from an ethical standpoint, it makes business sense too. “It is not just for our employees,” Catherine says. “We are trying to equip our staff in our stores and on our contact centre lines to be a lot more capable at handling the requirements of a

disabled customer. They get a lot of positive feedback for doing so, people are appreciative when you have gone out of your way to accommodate them. In turn, they are much more loyal – providing us with the so-called purple pound. So, no we’re not just doing it because it makes us feel good and it is great from an ethics point of view - commercially it makes great sense too and we shouldn’t shy away from that. As an organisation those that operates in a very competitive landscape, those that do this well will have a commercial advantage.”

Josh is a new hire at Virgin Media’s Hammersmith office. The company have made an adjustment under Work With Me to install an access button outside the building that is low enough for him.

They have also replaced the entry doors to be more wheelchair friendly. “He is a wonderful role

model for us because he is happy to appear as an advocate,” Catherine explains. “You do need a

few trailblazers like that to help break down the stigma. He has now created an opportunity for

others who might need that access here.”

“The purple pound is a term used to describe the spending power of disabled people. It is worth £249 billion. Research from Scope found that three-quarters of disabled people and their families have left a shop or business because of poor customer service or a lack of disability awareness.

Whilst Catherine says it’s easy for her to see the benefits, as the cause is close to her heart, getting buy-in from the Board does require that commercial mindset. “For me, this feels like something that we all need to wake up and take accountability for as a HR community,” she says. "But I don’t think it is just for HR, business leaders need to see the value in it too. And if you show them the benefits from a commercial perspective, as well as the fact that the customer experience can be enhanced, it can then be translated into an ethical personal perspective.”

By being brave and taking the lead, Virgin Media is hopeful they can help other businesses too. “In terms of the social impact we’re trying to create, we want other businesses to work with us,” Catherine notes. “I am truly proud to be part of this campaign as it’s better to be on a journey and learning than doing nothing. We’re happy to make mistakes and admit our shortcomings because they are teachable moments.”

Richard Branson struggled with dyslexia growing up, dropping out of school aged just 15.

Sir Richard Branson

It is time we lost the stigma around dyslexia. It is not a

disadvantage; it is merely a

different way of thinking

“

12 HR GRAPEVINE | AUGUST 2018 WWW.HRGRAPEVINE.COM

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