In January 2023, Celebrating Disability delivered a talk to Space & Time Media. They had almost five years of DEI experience under their belts but were right at the beginning of their disability inclusion journey. They were open to ideas and wanted to start with an overview of awareness for disabilities both in general and in business. Over 80 employees attended and afterwards commented on the friendliness of Celebrating Disability, their patience, and their excitement for their future in disability inclusion.

“[Esi] seemed to understand what we needed and the direction we wanted to take our business and she’s given us excellent guidance and support on this journey.”

The Background

Space & Time Media is an independent marketing agency “driven by diversity and inclusion”, in their own words. Their journey into Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) began 5 years ago, according to Nicki Thornley (HR Director) and Kellie Millar (Recruitment Manager) for S&T. However, they hadn’t dived too deep into the world of disability inclusion, and wanted to focus on this as their next step towards a more inclusive work environment.

They knew there was room for improvement when it comes to disability inclusion, but weren’t sure where to start. They thought that by asking for some advice, they might know where to go from there.

“We were speaking to another disability training company who we found had a very complicated system using multiple spreadsheets,” Nicki said, which made the process confusing and overwhelming . “Kellie began searching for other alternatives and came across Esi on LinkedIn and also after listening to the Celebrating Disability podcast and arranged a meeting for us.”

After discovering Celebrating Disability, Nicki admitted that upon hearing founder Esi’s “fresh, friendly, and practical approach” Esi’s own lived experience and her passion for disability equity, they decided to go forward with a full interactive talk.

Our Successful Proposal

The partnership arrangement began with an informal conversation, which quickly evolved into a formal proposal for an educational talk to be delivered to internal staff. Esi worked closely with Space & Time Media to develop a talk that would not only educate but also inspire actionable steps and changes within their organisation. They agreed that since the company was not fully aware of the disability inclusion process, the talk should be an overview of disability. It should also have some focus on how disability impacts the business, for both employees and customers, and the steps needed to make the process an inclusive one. This collaborative approach ensured that the content was relevant, impactful, and aligned with the company’s goals of creating a more inclusive workplace.

“[Esi] seemed to understand what we wanted and the direction we needed to take our business and she’s given us excellent guidance and support on this journey.”

Fundamentals of Disability Inclusion

The talk took place in person for Space & Time’s London office and was streamed virtually over Mentimeter, an interactive presentation software which allows participants to anonymously answer questions and vote on polls for the other 4 offices across the country. That way, Space & Time’s employees could ask in real time about topics that people are often concerned about asking. For example, speaking candidly about what constitutes a disability, or what language is appropriate to use, without making anyone wrong or creating an uncomfortable session. The software also allowed us to download the slides to send to Space & Time for internal company use afterwards.

The interactive talk was an hour long, and around 80 staff members listened in. The talk began with some questions to get the participants thinking, such as, ‘What percentage of disabilities are visible?’

Nicki and Kellie commented on how they appreciated Celebrating Disability getting into topics that may often feel taboo, like what language to use when discussing disabled people. They said that being ‘“taught the correct language” made it a lot easier to learn without judgement or criticism if anyone thought or said something incorrect.

Space & Time Media approached the training session with no apprehensions, expressing a sense of excitement and eagerness to learn. The atmosphere during the session was vibrant and engaged, reflecting a wide range of employees’ genuine interest to learn. Before the talk even took place, Kellie and Nicki both noted that Esi’s story, which highlighted that simply accessing public transport or getting up a flight of stairs served as a particularly impactful moment, opening their eyes to the real-world and daily implications of disability inclusion.

“We found it very insightful in particular when Esi informed us of how many barriers she’d had to overcome just to get to our office,” Nicki informed me.

It was a reminder that any potential clients or employees interested in working with Space & Time were already at a disadvantage accessing some of their 5 office locations due to the structure of some of the buildings. It proved to everyone that all aspects need to be considered when choosing an office location and making sure even the building offers equal opportunities for all (i.e. an older building that was not built with accessibility in mind) they can work together when choosing an office location and do as much as they can to avoid future situations.

The feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the session’s insights and practical relevance.

Takeaways

The training session had a profound impact on Space & Time Media’s culture and practices, leading to significant positive changes within the organisation. The most notable shift has been the implementation of a more inclusive hiring process, which now actively seeks to accommodate and support candidates with disabilities. This change has fostered a more open and supportive environment, encouraging employees to feel comfortable and safe disclosing their disabilities.

“Following on from our talk with Esi we have become Disability Confident Employers and looking to make the next step to Disability Confident Leader,” Nicki said. “Our DEI strategy has included line manager training, workplace adjustments, [and] unbiased recruitment using interview scorecards.” They now feel very confident supporting disabled employees applying for roles with us.

Next Steps

Space & Time Media’s journey towards inclusivity has been greatly enhanced by our interactive session. They have started incorporating additional information about access support in their hiring processes and they’re now thinking differently about hiring disabled people.

The company remains committed to this journey, with ongoing initiatives aimed at securing their Level 3 Disability Confident Employer status. They highly recommend Celebrating Disability to anyone, no matter where they are on their inclusion journey, with trust and admiration also due to  Esi’s knowledge and positive impact. This collaboration and partnership highlights the positive changes that focused disability inclusion training can bring to an organisation.

Amy Thinks

Whilst speaking to Kellie and Nicki, I got a sense for their unwavering commitment to DEI and genuinely making a difference in their company – not just in metrics or data, but in the experiences of those working for Space & Time. They were incredibly proud, and rightly so, in their achievement of reaching a Level 2 Disability Confident employer, but did not take much time to revel in it, stating that this is just the start of what they plan to do.

They are already in the midst of applying for the Level 3 Disability Confident Employer status, a rare thing for many companies to achieve. Space & Time is a testament to their commitment, not only to their current employees but their prospective ones too. The fact that Celebrating Disability could be part of this journey is amazing to see, and hopefully something we will see more of in the near future.