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Attitudinal Surveys

Our Attitudinal Surveys are all carried out by Jeremy Opperman & Associates.  The Surveys have been designed by Jackie Opperman, Senior Social Worker.

Management Attitudinal Assessment (MAS)

This survey is typically conducted as part of an integrated process aimed at Disability integration and includes Assessing Barriers, Removing Barriers and Maintaining a barrier free environment.

Methodology

	The survey is executed by experienced and independent practitioners.
	Interviews are conducted one on one and are confidential.
	Reports are scrambled for confidentiality and collated  to produce a clear overall evaluation and a list of recommendations.

 Purpose

To assess the knowledge and understanding of key line managers about Disability as it relates to:

	Their personal lives.
	Society in general.
	The work place and employment opportunities.
	Their employees with disabilities.
	Potential customers and market share.
	How to strategically place Disability in the company.

  Outcomes and Results.

Over 95% of managers interviewed have shown a general lack of awareness of the realities of Disability in society or the commercial world.

Through reflection and a deeper understanding, managers:

	Show a keener willingness to know more about disability.
	Realise how personally significant disability can be.
	Appreciate how indifference and general lack of awareness can affect the workplace being open to disability integration.
	Begin to understand how significant a market share disability is and can become.
	Admit to how stereotypic and limited job opportunities are for Persons with disabilities.
	Realise how inaccessible their work places often are.
	Become champions in committing to action in addressing disability equity.

Common Recommendations

The survey is concluded with a thorough evaluation of the apparent trends and indications of the status quo within the organisation towards disability in a number of key areas.

This evaluation is supported by aggregated recommendations and endorsements made by the participating managers.

Typically these recommend:

	An assessment of accessibility within the specific working environment.
	Wide spread awareness training.
	Increased involvement and commitment of executives.
	Reviewing existing job opportunities for people with disabilities.
	Increased skills development and career pathing.
	Greater focus on disability market share.

 This survey is a powerful and empowering processes in the Disability Solutions suite of services. It provides such impartial and unequivocal insight into one of the most significant aspects of and barriers to disability integration, misguided and stereotypic attitude and lack of awareness.

When managers come to realise their own ignorance and prejudice, they become staunch advocates of the necessary change process.

 Some examples of statements made during the survey

“Matching is important, but we tend to stereotype and make assumptions and thus choose sedentary or low stress jobs for them.”

 When we look at the area of disability we need to look at what the PWD can do regardless of the disability.”

 “It would be risky placing PWD’s in an environment that is ignorant and with people who are misinformed. People are the biggest barrier, attitude is important, we need to be awareness oriented and we need to realise the needs of PWD’s 

 “One manager felt that X a blind employee was stuck in his role because of his own fear of failure. The company was just as stuck, as they did not know how to use him and his skills effectively”

 “Our environment needs to change and adapt, both on a human and physical level. On a human level we need to look at our values and our levels of acceptance versus judgment. On a physical level, we need to look at accommodation and accessibility”

 “We need to look at ourselves first. Why would we want to employ PWD’s? What is our motivation? Is this based on Social responsibility and altruism? What about the bottom line – we need to reach a stage where we value PWD’s as part of our market. We need education, information and sensitisation.”

 “…when a PWD is employed, we need to meet to address how best to meet their needs so that the PWD can competently fill their job requirements.”

 “Generally, society has disabled PWD’s with their attitudes. The PWD needs to be strong to cope with this and the adjustment of who they are now.”

 “We need to be proactive and approach life differently. We have to brainstorm on how we can wow PWD’s as clients and employees. We need to do more than what is required – we have to become interactive and personalised”

Survey of Employees with Disabilities (SEWD)

This survey is typically conducted as part of a process of Assessing Barriers, Removing Barriers and Maintaining a barrier free environment.

 Methodology

	The survey is executed by experienced and independent practitioners.
	Interviews are conducted one on one and are confidential.
	Reports are scrambled to protect confidentiality and collated to produce a clear overall evaluation and a list of recommendations.

 Purpose

The purpose of the survey is to assess the experiences of people with Disabilities relating to:

Life with a Disability

	Being employed with a Disability.
	Perceived attitudes of the employer towards Disability.
	Their rights and needs of Reasonable accommodation in the work place.
	Their level of empowerment and self-determination in the workplace.
	Perceptions of job opportunities, career planning and skills development.
	Exploring their ambition and motivation towards career development.

Outcomes and Results

Most Employees interviewed express a large degree of relief and positivity for being part of this interview process and having the opportunity (often for the first time) to speak about their disability in the context of their career and the workplace.

Through reflection and a deeper understanding, employees with Disabilities:

	Acknowledge their disabilities and value their differences.
	Learn to identify their requirements and accommodations needed to enhance job performance.
	They learn to assess and evaluate the effects of their disability on their work function, capacity, the workplace and others perception of them.
	They are challenged to differentiate between inherent limitation of disability and barriers imposed on them in society. This allows them to identify their role and take responsibility for it, which will lead to a greater sense of self-empowerment
	Recognise the limitations of stereotypic thinking in organisations and question this limiting tendency for themselves.
	Can consider how to place disability strategically in the company.
	Can express, if they wish, a sense of ambition and a career.

Likely Recommendations

This survey is concluded with thorough evaluation of apparent patterns and trends within themselves and the organisation towards disability.

The evaluation is supported by aggregated recommendations made by participating Employees with Disabilities.

Typically these include:

	The need for a vehicle to represent their interests and requirements, such as a Disability Desk.
	A need for a simple and standardised operating procedure.
	A need for consultative focus on accessibility; attitudinal and physical.
	Greater participation in career planning .
	A need for the acknowledgement of their contribution and place in the organisation.

 This process takes the “Dis” out of Disability, and enables them to recognise their worth and value for themselves, so as not to be reliant on the workplace to inappropriately boost them.

The result, participants realise that they must take responsibility for their place and role on the organisation.

 Examples of statements made by Employees

 “I need recognition, not only as a person, but as a person who has hope and will achieve. What stands in my way is stereotypic thinking and company politics”

 “Disability and possible needs are an afterthought – its not in the mind. If you struggle, you need to rescue yourself. If you need to rely or trust other here, you hand over your power.”

  “I am shy, and I find it difficult to communicate. Sometimes I get angry when I am not accommodated, but I don’t express this. When I have been accommodated others have raised the issues to managers, and they have complied. What I would like is for managers to be sensitive enough to see what my needs are.”

 “…asking for accommodation makes me feel weak – like I need to be considered. I don’t want to stand out – I want to be seen as part of the team and acknowledged for my competency and not my disability.”

 “Accommodation should depend on the disability and the need and not the manager. One shouldn’t be accommodated because you are lucky enough to have a kind manager. There needs to be basic rules to refer to.”

 “I don’t like being discriminated against, and when I am not accommodated I feel it is discrimination. I avoid this conflict and feel frustrated.”

 “I need to be recognised as a person doing good work. I think my disability gets in the way of this recognition. I am treated differently and my pay increase has been less than others.”

Reference Accounts

	South African Revenue Services (website)-  Sensitizing workshop, Management attitudinal assessment, employees with disabilities assessment. Media consulting.
	Old Mutual SA (website)- Management attitudinal assessment, employees with disabilities assessment, Awareness training and strategic workshops.
	Levi Strauss -  Attitudinal assessment and awareness training.
	Nedbank Retail (website)- Management attitudinal assessments. Strategic workshop.
	Woolworth’s (website)- Management Attitudinal assessment, employees with disabilities assessment, Disability strategy consulting
	Standard Bank Cape (website)- Management attitudinal assessment.

Send mail to guy@disabilitysolutions.co.za with questions or comments about this web site.