Inclusion Means Governance and Training

Disability. Yes, but which kind? It could be obvious, but disabilities are not all the same: they can be physical, cognitive, sensorial, behavioral. And they can be temporary rather than permanent, due to discomfort an individual experiences in their personal sphere and is perhaps reflected in their working life. Bocconi alumna Serena Porcari experiences the thousand facets of disability every day in her work as CEO of Dynamo Camp and President of Dynamo Academy: “With Dynamo Camp we have now accumulated twenty years of experience in inclusion, so much so that today some of the people with disabilities we have welcomed have become collaborators and work with us. Dynamo Academy is conversely a consultancy for companies that intend to commit to the development of social sustainability and inclusion,” she says.

What are the main critical issues in the management of disability in a company? For example, there is the fact that companies prefer to pay fines rather than hire disabled people. 

The issue of fines is certainly true in smaller companies, however, at least in our experience, not many let this procedure be activated. Rather, we note that companies often define inclusion plans and disability policies in line with their strategic vision, but then these policies are not implemented at all organizational levels and thus their benefits often fail to materialize. Sometimes, however, the opposite also happens: valid bottom-up initiatives by individuals which however fail to obtain the commitment of the company's top management. Companies have various tools at their disposal to make inclusion effective, but it is necessary to activate the processes to use them; if this does not happen, it becomes easier to pay the fines rather than commit to an inclusion path.

Companies that turn to Dynamo Academy intend to get valuable advice on how to invest resources in community and inclusion. What advice do you give them?

First of all, create opportunities for employee engagement on issues of personal fragility and involve them at all organizational levels in a concrete way. To give some examples, with respect to what Dynamo Academy offers, we help them experience what it means to live with a form of disability through some specifically designed modules: we let them try climbing in a wheelchair or walk blindfolded, or we ask them to give a presentation without being able to use words, perhaps using a suitable digital technology. Secondly, we observe how important it is for companies to provide roles and office structures specifically devoted to the management of disability and inclusion, such as Disability & Inclusion managers or ERGs (Employee Resource Groups). They are often the result of “sophisticated” governance of sustainability. Many examples prove that when these company figures exist, things start to happen. Where they are missing, however, sensibility towards these issues remains in the abstract. This second point, which concerns governance, is linked to a third, which comes only after having acted on the issue – namely reporting.

Then there is another aspect, which you focus on in a particular way: training.

Yes, this is a key aspect. Companies that truly believe in inclusion always integrate employee training. This is an essential element. When I talk about inclusion and accessibility, in addition, I am also referring to the integration of technologies, which today have an incredible potential and can contribute enormously on this front.

Are there any positive experiences that have emerged from your work with companies, beyond the best practices we have talked about?

In our experience, when a company has a culture that considers inclusion a value, with the tools mentioned a leap in quality occurs. What we call caring spirit, or caring culture, which is precisely at the basis of the desire for inclusion, becomes a leadership style in certain companies. The next step is to delve deeper into how this can become a strategic factor for business performance and company results.

We talked about inclusion from the corporate side. But how do disabled people experience their presence in the company?

Just over three years ago, our research conducted with Euromedia Research on a sample of 800 individuals highlighted a significant fact: in the face of a generally positive perception of the corporate environment, those who suffered a pathology or disability experienced the work environment with greater difficulty and the resulting data were often in contrast with the overall sample. While 18.6% of the total sample felt they had been subjected to discriminatory behavior, this percentage rose to 41% among people with disabilities. It is therefore clear that there is still seeping dissatisfaction. I also believe that the lack of inclusion is felt more acutely for non-physical pathologies and in particular for cognitive and behavioral or intellectual disabilities. Pathologies or disabilities that are often not immediately visible. And for this reason, once again, training of all employees is essential.