Sopra Steria: Fairness and inclusivity are top of our agenda

Emily Harrison is Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Sopra Steria. She shares the positive action the organisation has been taking to improve accessibility and inclusivity.

 

Emily Harrison

 

Taking action to deliver inclusion for all disabled people

It’s easy to think that treating everybody fairly means treating them the same. But sometimes we need to do things differently to make sure we’re being fair to everyone. It’s a fact that some people face specific issues and barriers at work that others don’t. And this is particularly true for people with disabilities, certain health conditions, as well as for neurodivergent colleagues.  

At Sopra Steria, we’re committed to becoming a truly inclusive workplace. We know we still have work to do but we’re taking positive action to make sure that everyone gets the workplace adjustments they need to be at their absolute best.

During 2022, we became a Disability Confident Level 2 Employer. But we don’t plan to stop there.  In 2023 we’ve taken steps to become a Disability Confident Level 3 Leader. So making continuous improvements to how we support workplace adjustments is a top priority.

 

Delivering a disability confident culture (and being accountable for its impact)

In June this year, we set up a cross-business Disability Inclusion Working Group in partnership with our UK businesses; SSCL and NHS Shared Business Services.

This dynamic group brings together people from across the whole of Sopra Steria to not only deliver but to also be accountable for a UK-wide disability inclusion plan. The group is working together to:

• Build a disability inclusive and confident culture across the organisation.
• Remove barriers to the performance, development, and progression of disabled and neurodivergent colleagues.
• Listen to, value and act upon feedback from disabled and neurodivergent colleagues.

 

Making it quick and easy to ask for a workplace adjustments

Colleagues across the organisation told us that the process for requesting and agreeing workplace adjustments was too complicated. They also said that too many people were involved in approving any related costs. We’ve listened and made some changes:

• We’ve introduced a Disability Awareness training programme for all People Managers. This is designed to increase managers’ abilities so they can fully support colleagues with disabilities and health conditions. The programme includes modules on understanding disability, identifying and providing workplace adjustments, as well as the importance of effective communication and inclusive language.
• Tracey Collier joined us recently in a newly created full-time role of Workplace Adjustments Specialist within our HR team. Tracey will support and guide managers and colleagues across the organisation to quickly and effectively deal with requests for workplace adjustments.
• Since 2022, Brian Wall has been making a big impact in his role of Accessibility Subject Matter Expert. He’s been raising awareness of how important accessibility is across the organisation and has started to simplify the process to request assistive software and technology. Brian’s launched a new assistive technology catalogue, assigned a dedicated budget, and streamlined the approvals process to make it easier for people to ask for adjustments. 
• We plan to shortly launch a new and improved Workplace Adjustments policy and process that is simple and easy for everyone to use.  
• We’ve upskilled our HR and Recruitment teams, so they know how to best offer and support workplace adjustments at every stage of the employee experience. 

 

 

Talk to us – and let us help you achieve your true potential. 

So many companies promise a lot but fail to deliver. At Sopra Steria, we’re passionate about inclusivity and fairness. We focus on doing everything we can to help everyone to be the very best they can be. 

If you need specialist technology or software to help you do your job, showcase your talents and achieve your potential – get in touch. We’re here to help!  

 

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