Jump to a video summary of our organisational culture finding.
We found a direct link between an inclusive culture and content. We heard that organisations with an inclusive culture were able to improve content. As one participant who has seen improvement in their organisation said, “…it’s the way we work now.”
One participant reflected on a change to their executive team. The executive team had become more diverse. The impact on accessibility practice was transformational:
“We moved from having a senior management team who are all white, middle-aged, middle-class men, to a senior management team who are ethnically diverse. It’s become a much more diverse management team. They are taking EDI and accessibility seriously. They can see the difference it makes.
“We work for residents. We need to understand and empathise with our residents. And have a workforce that is representative of them. [We need to consider] the barriers people might face to access services. And access information about those services.”
There was no longer a question at a senior level about why this work should happen. Now there was a question of how it could happen. They resourced accessibility because it is “the right thing to do.”
In another interview, we heard how a new chief executive built a culture that puts people’s needs at the heart of the work. Operational improvements included:
- staff networks with a real voice to influence change
- robust policies and internal guidance
- inclusive language training for all staff
The organisation has not fixed everything. There are clear areas for future improvement. This includes improving the accessibility of content. But this organisation is on a positive journey. This is a notable example of an inclusive organisational culture having a positive impact on content.
In less inclusive organisations, some made improvements. 25% of interviewees made improvements to mitigate an operational risk. For example, the threat of an accessibility audit from the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO).
Inclusive communications 