Our response to the Survey

We responded to the message below, as follows:

how about doing the reverse? Could we formulate a questionnaire, to pose to South African businesses, to ask them how open they are to people with disabilities. I am sure that we could put something together and it may be interesting? I would suggest some questions along the lines of:

1. In terms of the Employment Equity Act, what % of your employees / managers / owners / stakeholders are people with disabilities?

2. Are all your in house training facilities fully accessible to all (formats / timings / venue / etc)?

3. Can you confirm that your web site is fully accessible?

4. In terms of any literature that you produce (leaflets, brochures, cheque books, etc) do you offer these in different formats (large print Braille, etc)

5. Do you have facilities in place which will describe your services in a manner to which they can be understood to a person with cognitive impairments?

6. Are all your facilities (both public & private areas) fully accessible to all? And what measures do you have in place to ensure this continues?

7. Have key staff (front line receptionists, bank tellers, line managers, etc) attended Disability awareness & sensitisation training?

I am sure that we can add some more questions between us all… The answers may need some verification (not that we don’t trust them…). The results could then be published in a table…

Although somewhat tongue in cheek, I think that this may have some merit. The questions would have to be carefully formulated (which if there were some genuine interest, we would be happy to put together), and the collection of data would have to be correctly done & transparent. The results would then have to be mathematically assessed (which again we could help with). And then we would have to publish the results…with perhaps follow ups to see if things are improving…

research surveys lack Disability Confidence

A friend of ours recently had an interesting experience regarding telephonic market surveys:

I participated in a telephonic Markinor survey this morning (for Standard
Bank clients).

It ended faster than I would have liked.

After a dozen or so "leader" questions it became clear that the survey was
about in-bank service, i.e. over the counter, bricks 'n mortar banking. I
said that, if at all possible, I avoided banking halls because most are
inaccessable to wheelchairs, and the accessable ones have counter-tops which
come up to my nose height. I don't like conducting my financial business
feeling like a 4-year-old at a sweet store.

This was not what Markinor wanted to hear.

I was quickly informed that if I did not use bank branches, or their banking
halls, then my contribution to the survey was not required. Re-affirming
them of my reason for not doing so did not appear to change their view. They
could not see that lack of wheelchair access, or lack of suitable teller
counters, was in effect a lack of service.

So Markinor will be providing Standard Bank with the finding of their
service level research, but it will not reflect that their service to
disabled clients is lacking. Hmmm . . .

Logo

People who know us will have seen our interesting logo. We are really delighted with it. While being simple and clear (and hopefully memorable) it also defines some important approaches that we use.
It is triangular; denoting the various 3 stage approaches that we have.
Red: stop! Assess the barriers.
Often companies (and people) (end to miss this step out, and start trying to fix problems in an uninformed, ad hoc (and therefore ultimately expensive) manner. Also not just physical barriers need to be assessed; many disabled people will admit that some of the biggest barriers are other people's attitudes and preconceptions. therefore, we also have products that will gauge the level of Disability confidence in an organisation.
Green: Go! Remove the barriers.
Again, we ave not just referring to physical barriers, although this stage would include acting upon the findings of any access report.
Blue: Continue! Maintain a barrier-free environment.
The process is ongoing. Checking that new staff are up to speed; ensuring that any changes to the physical environment are sensitive to Inclusive Design. Hopefully this goes hand-in-hand with increased numbers of employees, customers, and other stakeholders with disabilities. Thereby improving the financial bottom line.
The Triangle also acknowledges the 3 stage approach, as practiced by the Employers Forum on Disability:

1. Engage
2. Equip
3. Deliver

But more on this another time!

Political Incorrectness or just crass?

Normally I hate political correctness, and go out of my way to stamp it out...

But I was sent a photograph recently which really made my blood boil - I have attached it below.

I am trying to analyse why this is making me so angry?

• Is it the political incorrectness? Although I often refer to myself as a Raspberry (Ripple = Cripple).


• Or is it the derogatory way that a wheelchair user is portrayed? Something to be avoided / abhored...?

Whatever it is it really makes my blood boil. I think I shall send it to the local talk radio (Cape Talk) and get them to shame the company behind it...