How to... Find a Good Disability Equality Trainer

Lived experience of disability is key.

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Today's newsletter is about Disability Equality Training.

Disability equality training is essential for every organisation, especially for staff working directly with customers. It is also vital for all hiring managers and management. A good disability equality trainer will influence an organisation's customer experience if the company is willing to learn.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Here are my 10 key criteria when I advise clients on their training strategy:

1. Lived Experience

   • Ideally, the trainer should have lived experience of disability and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people.

   • They should identify as disabled so that they can use their own experience. That makes the training more engaging and credible.

2. Disability Equality training, not Awareness Training

   • An excellent customer experience for disabled people should be the centre of the training, not their impairments; for most organisations, Awareness Training isn't enough. What staff should learn is how to deliver excellent service to disabled customers and what rights disabled people have. Awareness Training is often very medical-focused and won't be enough to improve the customer experience. Trainers should know the difference.