BDF Toolkit - Microlink

What are barriers, and why should I remove them?

Effective people managers are key to strong businesses and productive workforces. This is especially true in today’s world, where businesses have had to adapt their ways of working and managers are communicating and working with their teams in new and different ways.

Business Disability Forum’s People Manager Toolkit, sponsored by Microlink, is packed with information and tools to help people managers to feel empowered to lead their teams effectively.

The following scenario shows how, as a people manager, your consideration of adjustments has an impact on all areas of managing individuals and teams, from productivity and performance to motivation and career progression.

The People Manager Toolkit is free for Partners of Business Disability Forum and a paid-for resource for Members and non-members.

Purchasing the People Manager Toolkit will also give you additional access to our series of People Manager Guides. Members will be able to purchase the toolkit and guides as a bundle at a discounted cost and an Early Bird discount will be available till the end of December. Prices for Members start from £3,250.

Scenario

When Ken receives a fit note from Maria, a member of his team signed off with back pain, he remembers noticing that Maria had recently seemed to be in discomfort or pain. Maria frequently flexed her wrists and when standing placed her hand on her back. On her return to work Ken arranges a ‘back to work’ interview where he asks her if she thinks work had contributed to her back pain.

The initial discussion

Maria tells him her GP has advised her not to work at a computer. As Maria’s job is completely computer-based, Ken cannot see what he should do. He asks Maria what she finds most difficult and she tells him she has shooting pains up her right arm when she uses her mouse and her wrist swells up at night. She also had to stand up frequently because she thought her chair was giving her back and neck ache which had led to migraines at night that stopped her sleeping. Maria is worried that not being able to use a computer will mean she will lose her job.

Ken tells Maria that he needs to speak to others in the organisation and asks for her permission to mention her back and arm problems to the HR and IT teams.

Maria gives her permission and they agree that her work will be restricted to reading reports from home until a solution can be found. Ken talks to HR who help him to organise a workplace assessment for Maria.

You can find out what happened in the assessment, final outcome and more in the Toolkit

The toolkit contains practical advice for people managers about the barriers that their disabled employees, colleagues and team members might face wherever they may be working, and how they can support everyone in their team to thrive and work to the best of their ability.

The toolkit is formatted to suit the way you work, with a host on online resources that you can access at the touch of a button.

The toolkit contains six sections:

Managing new starters
Managing adjustments
Managing people remotely
The process of performance management
Managing grievance, disciplinary and capability proceedings
Managing attendance.

Each has an introduction and a range of resources including videos, podcasts and concise, practical written guidance.

For more information about purchasing, contact Adrian Ward, Head of Disability Partnerships at adrianw@businessdisabilityforum.org.uk

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