What is the Disability Smart Self-Assessment?
Our online Self-Assessment tool gives you the opportunity to assess your starting point, and progression, against each of the ten sections of our Disability Smart Framework. At Business Disability Forum we always talk about a need for a holistic approach to disability inclusion – a strategy that looks at behaviours and culture across the whole business or organisation. Our ten sections therefore cover core business areas that are generic across sectors:
- Leadership
- Learning and development
- Workplace adjustments
- Recruitment
- Retention
- Customers and service users
- Procurement
- Communication
- Built environment
- Technology.
What questions will I be asked?
You will be asked just over 130 questions in total across the ten sections mentioned above. They reflect measures that should be observable and having an impact in your organisation relating to; your leadership teams and how they champion disability inclusion, your policies and procedures, your delivery and review mechanisms. Finally, a couple of questions in each section explore attributes that we feel would reflect if you are advanced in your approach to disability inclusion. You don’t have to complete 130 questions at once, you can complete the Self-Assessment section by section and keep returning to it.
Will I be expected to know all the answers?
The short answer is ‘no’. At this stage, particularly if this is your first assessment, there will be questions you are unsure of and areas that you may want to consult colleagues about. For some questions you may want to answer with your best estimate without consultation internally. Remember that this self-assessment is for you, it is not validated by us and it is a tool to help you identify gaps in your policies and procedures, your disability inclusion activity and how you review your progress.
We recommend that you answer as many questions as possible and as honestly as possible for this to be effective for you. Avoid any ‘Not applicable’ responses as we believe that, in the vast majority of cases, this should not be an option.
Will I get help filling this in from Business Disability Forum?
Yes. Some of our Members and Partners agree a time to do this together with their Business Partner or Senior Business Partner. We can explain the questions as you go, give them context and help you consider your response. Others will complete it online independently and then discuss their results with their Business Partner or Senior Business Partner. Whatever way you want to approach this, we will support you.
How does the scoring work and what can I interpret from the results?
It is a straightforward scoring system where you will receive a percentage score for each section that is calculated on the number of measures you positively fulfil (‘Yes’), minus the ‘Not applicable’, against the maximum score you could achieve. Results from each section build up to an overall score. The maximum overall (and section) score that an organisation can achieve is 100 per cent.
In general if you score below 70 per cent in any one section, we recommend that this needs further review and you will be able to note which individual responses negatively impacted your score. Follow up discussions with your Business Partner or Senior Business Partner will identify your challenges in these areas and ways forward.
If you fill in all the sections of the Self-Assessment you will have the option to download a report. This will discuss the sections where you scored lowest first and then run through the others. Each page signposts you to our resources you have access to, Networks or Taskforces you might want to join and other services at Business Disability Forum. We advise that you talk to us for further advice on how to prioritise actions going forward.
Do I repeat the Disability Smart Self-Assessment?
We strongly recommend that you do. Use the first exercise for creating a baseline and then repeat your Self-Assessment every six months or a year or when you know there have been significant changes in your organisation that mean you would like to review where you stand. This tool is part of your membership, please use it as many times as if useful for your organisation.
Some Members and Partners move from the Disability Smart Self-Assessment to a Disability Smart Audit, which is a fee based consultancy based exercise and requires evidence and validation. You can find out more about the benefits of the audit approach and explore it as an option with your Business Partner or Senior Business Partner at any time.
How do the logistics work in terms of logins?
It is the ‘super user’ who has access to the Self-Assessment for your organisation. The ‘super user’ can invite colleagues to fill in particular sections and can do so by using the ‘Manage’ field in the tool and adding users. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to speak to your Business Partner or Senior Business Partner.
Is the Self-Assessment available in alternative formats?
Yes. Please contact to your Business Partner or Senior Business Partner so we can ensure we can send you a format that is most effective for you.
