How to Improve Disability Inclusion & Representation at Work

In this week’s interview, KPMG UK’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Manager Mark Russell, shares how the company is working hard to improve disability inclusion and increase representation of people with disabilities in the workplace, which helped to secure this year’s Disability Smart Award for the Inclusive Recruitment category from the Business Disability Forum.

Fair Play Talks: As the winner of this year’s Disability Smart Award for the Inclusive Recruitment category, can you share a bit of background on why you entered the award and why you won it?  

Mark Russell: Ran by the Business Disability Forum (BDF), these are the most recognised awards of their kind, with hundreds of organisations entering. They are also a good way to benchmark our firm’s work in terms of disability inclusion.

As a firm, we have been a partner of the BDF for over a decade and they continue to provide us with tailored support, guidance and training, which has been central in our firm’s disability inclusion journey.

Our focus on this agenda is not a recent piece of work but has been part of our long-term holistic approach. For example, in 2005, we formed WorkAbility, our employee network promoting disability inclusion. And in 2014, we first set a public target on disability representation, which we continue to report on annually.

We’re continuously challenging ourselves to go further, and this inclusive recruitment award recognised the efforts of our student recruitment team in particular.

Fair Play Talks: Why is it important for KPMG to attract more diversity, and specifically people with diverse abilities across all levels of your organisation?

Mark Russell: We don’t want someone’s background, identity or circumstance to be a limit to where ability and hard work can take them at KPMG. We are committed to attracting the best talent while ensuring our workforce also reflects the communities we serve. Diversity of background, thought and perspective brings with it fresh approaches to complex challenges and ultimately results in better decisions, services and performance – so it’s not just the right thing to do, the business case for doing so is just as clear.”

Fair Play Talks: KPMG UK has a goal of having 15% disability representation at senior level by 2030, how do you plan on achieving that target. What is the current rate as a result of your successful campaigns?  

Mark Russell: When we first set an external target in 2014, we had 1.5% representation firmwide against our initial target of 3%. We now have 8% representation across our most senior grades, so we’re continuing to make progress but still have some way to go.  We focus on our senior colleagues in our targets, not just to align with the other targets we’ve set, but because inclusion isn’t just about getting in but also about how you get on and progress.

Fair Play Talks: Can you share a bit more detail about some of the more successful campaigns that helped to attract more disabled people to join KPMG?

Mark Russell: We have various initiatives helping to attract more diverse talent. This includes expanding our outreach activity to encourage more applications from those with a disability or long-term condition. We have a flagship event called Thrive, hosted in-person in our Birmingham office as well as virtually. This provides candidates with a disability or long-term condition with an opportunity to hear about the support we can provide at KPMG. Candidates are informed of the various opportunities available and how we seek to remove some of the barriers that may prevent or discourage them from starting the application process.

We also hold events with Blind in Business, aimed at providing blind and partially sighted students with an overview of KPMG programmes. This is a chance for them to hear directly from KPMG colleagues who are visually impaired as well as a chance to carry out mock interviews with our recruiters.

The feedback we’ve received from these events has been hugely positive, helping to settle nerves and uncertainty applicants feel when considering a career in professional services.

Fair Play Talks: Can you share some of the challenges that disabled people face when looking for work, or wanting to progress at work, and how is KPMG helping employees/potential recruits get gainful employment and progress?

Mark Russell: As someone who is disabled myself, I think the challenges are multi-faceted and there is no silver bullet. When we look at statistics at a national level, there is around a 30% employment gap between disabled people and non-disabled people since these insights were first collated. If you then try and find companies that report on the number of disabled employees they have, you will find only a handful out there. With the Disability Discrimination Act only enacted in 1995, ‘ablism’ is not in the public’s consciousness in the same way as other forms of discrimination, so I think there are many factors at play which make people either hide, mask or even in some cases completely withdraw themselves from certain parts of society.

The positive though, is that this is changing, and we are seeing a greater emphasis being placed on the value disabled people bring – from greater presence in media, through to organisations like ours making positive commitments around inclusion and representation of disabled people.

For me personally, I can relate this back to my own lived experience, as I have become more comfortable with my own status of disability. I told my story in the KPMG UK’s annual report a few years ago and I stated that I lost my sight 20 years ago but found my vision at KPMG. I strongly believe that the more people out there talking about disability inclusion, the closer we’ll get to normalising the conversation.      

Fair Play Talks: Can your approach be easily adopted by other organisations in your sector, and others?

Mark Russell: Yes, it’s ultimately about inclusion for all – identify the barriers to opportunity, entry and progression for those with a disability or long-term condition and remove them. It’s about having an equal playing field for all.

Fair Play Talks: What advice do you have for organisations wanting to improve accessibility within their organisations?

Mark Russell: Disability is so broad and includes so many conditions, both visible and non-visible, so it’s important to look beyond the surface. Talking about and highlighting the importance of accessibility is a great way to do this, as we can all relate to accessibility issues regardless of a disability or long-term condition.

Fair Play Talks: Finally, how did you feel about winning this year’s Disability Smart Award?

Mark Russell: I feel incredibly proud of the work I have done in this space, and proud to work for an organisation that supports those with a disability or long-term condition through tangible actions and commitments. While the recognition is of course welcome, there’s still more to do.

RELATED ARTICLES

HSBC’s Group Head of Digital Experience and Accessibility Malintha Fernando MBE, shares the organisation’s vision to become the world’s most accessible bank through its Accessibility Hub programme.

Virgin Media O2 Sat Jabanda-Wilson shares how she has championed disability inclusion across the company to remove barriers for disabled and vulnerable consumers and staff.

Check out the winners of the Disability Smart Awards 2023 here.

This year’s Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) Awards are still open for nominations.