While the dust is settling on your travel passport, there is another type of passport that is growing in popularity. The Workplace Adjustment Passport.
Workplace adjustments are changes to the work environment that allow all employees to work safely and productively. The Passport formalises the agreement between the employee and employer to remove ambiguity around the requirements for an employee to function effectively at work.
With many organisations quickly iterating their flexible work policy to accommodate working from home, the opportunity to leverage these gains to provide inclusive, accessible environments both in the home and work office has emerged. As businesses return to the office workplace, employees that are considered vulnerable or at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, will naturally have greater trepidation.
NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (NSW DPIE) is one organisation who has acted quickly to implement a workplace adjustment passport program.
Facilitated by the Well InForm platform, the Program provides new and existing employees who have specific requirements, the opportunity to request and formalise workplace adjustments. “Creating a safe and trusting environment for people with disability to disclose their needs is critical” says Ann-Marie Mahony, Diversity Officer at NSW DPIE.
The Well InForm platform provides seamless integrations to create, approve and manage an Adjustment Passport so stakeholders can focus on maintaining a person-centred approach to each interaction.
For Ann-Marie, the Workplace Adjustment Passport “establishes a commitment between me and my manager recognising my needs, whilst removing the need to repeatedly explain my adjustments to relevant stakeholders during my tenure. It puts me in control of my workplace adjustments and when and how I want to share these within the organisation”.
As many businesses push to provide a more inclusive workforce, now is the time to lead a proactive, larger scale review of the work design to not only protect the health of the workforce but to enable them to perform to the best of their ability. The challenge is ensuring people feel safe to disclose their disability or adjustment requirements by providing a positive and supportive experience. Ann-Marie concludes, “We are on our journey to a more inclusive culture, driven by our individual and organisational values and supported by our Passport Program that facilitates a person-centred experience”.
Not sure where to start? View our Workplace Adjustment Passport page or get in touch with our team.