November 2019

WARWICKSHIRE MEANS BUSINESS

Plugging into the Purple Economy

November 12, 2019, was Purple Tuesday when Warwickshire businesses played their full part in the national initiative to heighten awareness of the value and needs of customers with disabilities. In this exclusive guest column for Warwickshire Means Business, Mike Adams, chief executive officer of We are Purple, reflects on the campaign's rationale, objectives and origins in Warwickshire.

 

Earlier this year I attended an event at Warwick Racecourse, hosted by Warwickshire County Council, where we unofficially launched Purple Tuesday.

That highly successful event provided the first sense that Purple Tuesday was going to be big - and I was delighted to see Warwickshire businesses involved on the day itself, among the more than 2,000 participants nationally.

Purple Tuesday is an international call-to-action focused on changing the customer experience for disabled people. It calls on organisations from all sectors and sizes to take decisive practical actions to meet the needs of disabled customers.

Purple Tuesday is part of Purple’s vision for organisations to see disability as an opportunity, both in terms of existing and potential employees and customers, and to be part of addressing the inequality that exists for disabled people through increasing the accessibility of everything they do.

The understanding of accessibility and inclusion is changing rapidly throughout the business world. No longer is disability associated only with ramps and lifts, but serious consideration is being given to websites, noise and spaces, and in supporting staff with good customer service for disabled people and their families.

For each Purple Tuesday participating organisation a minimum of one new commitment – an activity which hitherto had not been considered – was made to improve the customer experience.

Commitments included:

*  An accessibility review of an organisation’s main website which, for many individuals, is the initial gateway into the business. Most barriers can be removed very quickly and at no cost. To review the accessibility of a website, take the ‘no mouse’ navigation test. Unplug your mouse and see how far you get just using the keyboard. This will provide a raw barometer of your site.

*  Encouraging your frontline staff to learn hello and goodbye in British sign language. When we go abroad we know using a few words in their language makes a real difference and the same applies to the deaf community.

*  Changing the signage on accessible toilets from the traditional wheelchair symbol to ‘Not every disability is visible’ livery, recognising that 80% of the 13.8m disabled people in the UK are living with hidden disabilities such as Crohn’s or Colitis and will need to use these facilities.

*  Undertaking disability awareness training to ensure staff are confident in providing a good experience to every customer. We know the fear of saying or doing the wrong thing, and unintentionally offending a disabled person, is the main reason for staff swerving the conversation altogether.

It is great to see Warwickshire County Council leading the way in this, having already piloted some physical access audits. Meanwhile, other businesses have made commitments to review the access of their own premises, not just in terms of ramps, lifts and toilets, but reception desk heights, signage and acoustics.

Purple Tuesday is the right thing to do for customers. With 50% of people in the UK having a disabled relative and/or someone in their close network, disability will have resonance for all staff who work for businesses. And we know shareholders and/or fundholders are expecting the organisations they invest in to explicitly demonstrate their inclusion credentials.

If you were involved in Purple Tuesday, please seriously consider becoming a Purple Member as a way of making good on your commitments and accessing a range of support and practical benefits from Purple for the next 365 days.

For those of you not involved in Purple Tuesday it is not too late to join. It takes less than five minutes to register and we will add your name and logo to the Purple Tuesday website. One of your commitments should be to become a Purple Member to kick start your journey.

To use the racecourse parlance, getting your business to improve the customer experience for disabled people and their families, is an odds-on winner!

* To read about how Warwickshire businesses supported Purple Tuesday this year, please click here.

* To become a Purple Member please contact: membership@wearepurple.org.uk

* To register for Purple Tuesday please visit: https://purpletuesday.org.uk/get-involved/

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