
Client Profile: Bank of Ireland
When it comes to truly embracing a commitment to disability inclusion, Bank of Ireland certainly is regarded by many as a leader in this area.
With over 10,000 employees from different counties, countries and cultures, Bank of Ireland have committed to embedding Diversity and Inclusion within their organisation. By fostering a culture of inclusion this company enables their employees to not only progress to their full potential as staff members, but to understand and represent the needs of their customers.
The bank has six primary Employee Network Groups who work to ensure continued progress in Diversity & Inclusion across the company. These groups include; Multicultural, Gender Balance, Intergenerational, With Pride, Parents & Carers and Accessibility.
Ability Focus began the process of working towards the delivery of Remote Disability Awareness Training in June 2020 by initially linking in with Kate Butler, Inclusion & Diversity Lead at Bank of Ireland. We then started working closely with Alan Wright who is the Accessibility Optimisation Lead in co-ordinating a remote working programme suitable for participants tuning in from both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
As always, training was delivered in 4 x 1-hour Sessions, each one delivered securely via Zoom. Some of the topics covered included legislation & Reasonable Accommodation, diversity within disability, communication, discrimination and appropriate disability etiquette. This was a diverse training group with participants represented from a number of sectors including senior roles in HR, recruitment, operations, health & safety and of course, finance.
For Bank of Ireland, disability inclusion goes much further than disability awareness training. It is a core aspect of organisational practice and embedded in company culture. Working with Bank of Ireland it became apparent early on to us that the passion and drive from people such as Alan Wright are the reason why this bank are so highly regarded when it comes not only to disability inclusion, but diversity and inclusion as a whole.
It was an honour to be selected by Kate Butler, Alan Wright, Vincent Brennan and the team at Bank of Ireland to deliver Remote Disability Awareness training to their staff. To receive such a kind testimonial from Alan Wright having worked closely with him really means a lot to Ability Focus as a disability awareness training company.
"Stephen, thank you so much for providing Remote Disability Awareness Training to our colleagues at Bank of Ireland. Your natural approach, extensive subject knowledge and passion was abundantly evident throughout each and every session which made the training enjoyable and engaging.
The knowledge gained by us around the core aspects of disability, especially on the topic of: Legislation & Reasonable Accommodations, gave us greater confidence when engaging with colleagues and to create an inclusive and diverse place to work where our colleagues can be themselves and perform to their full potential"
- Alan Wright, Accessibility Optimisation Lead, Bank of Ireland.
If you are considering Live Online (Remote) Disability Awareness Training for your organisation contact Ability Focus on (01) 699 1150 or email info@abilityfocus.ie