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Many businesses recognise the value of having a diverse workforce, but did you know that people with long-term conditions (LTCs) form a huge untapped talent pool?
People with long-term conditions offer an innovative solution to the UK skills crisis – many are highly skilled and qualified, and they’re looking for meaningful work with inclusive employers like you. The next step is to tackle the systemic barriers that are standing in-between talented individuals and the business need for their skills.
As a charity that supports these individuals who are seeking work, the biggest barrier we see is a knowledge gap – business leaders want to recruit diverse talent, but don’t yet have the understanding or skills to empower people with long-term conditions in the workplace. And that’s why Astriid is here to help.
According to recent survey findings, 90% of our candidates feel managers lack information and understanding on how to best support them in the workplace. This isn’t surprising news to us, as we also know that just 4% of companies include health and disability in their Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) strategy… despite the fact that around 1 in 5 of the UK population is disabled.
Here at Astriid, we have unrivalled expertise in long-term conditions and inclusive employment. We support people with neurological, musculoskeletal, and autoimmune conditions (including fibromyalgia, Long Covid, lupus, and many more) and help facilitate meaningful working relationships where both employer and employee can thrive.
Everybody on our team manages their own long-term conditions or disabilities, and we use these lived experiences to shape our work. This has led us to develop a unique set of tools to support forward-thinking leaders and managers who want to cultivate meaningful diversity and inclusion in their workforce. We focus on:
Let us partner with you to transform the challenge of long-term conditions into an opportunity for your organisation to flourish. We offer training and workshops, assessment and accreditation, in-depth research and bespoke consultancy, so if you’re ready to move forward, simply register your details and we’ll be in touch!
Head of Consulting
Catherine has ten years of disability inclusion leadership, policy and research expertise. She is a thought-leader in long-term and energy-limiting conditions in the workplace and Founder of Chronic Illness Inclusion.
Associate Consultant
Alison is an experienced Training Consultant, Facilitator and Coach with lived experience of chronic illness. She has worked in HR, and then Learning and Development for an international city law firm before freelancing mainly with top law firms and the public sector. Alison has an MSc in Organizational Behaviour and is CIPD qualified.
Charity CEO
Steve has led the Astriid charity since its launch by the founder, David Shutts OBE, in 2018. His career has been centred on business consultancy and marketing, and he now has responsibility for the development of effective corporate relationships.
Communications Consultant
Pippa is a writer, speaker, and content creator who's named as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK. She has a particular interest in inclusive and sustainable employment practice for people with energy-limiting conditions like her own.
Researcher
Katy is a keen researcher with experience in the non-profit sector. Her area of interest is in improving workplace accessibility for those with long-term health conditions. She is an advocate for disability inclusion, derived from her own lived experience and from her role in Astriid's Job Matching team where she helps candidates access meaningful work.
Our assessment and accreditation scheme allows your organisation to measure progress on including people with long-term conditions and disabilities, identify priorities for change and enhance your reputation as an employer of choice for disabled talent.
The scheme is divided into four main elements, and centred around the factors that matter the most when it comes to inclusive recruitment, retention and performance.
The four areas of assessment are
The most powerful way to benchmark your organisation’s performance on long-term conditions and disability inclusion is by really listening to your disabled employees and their managers.
But how do you do that when more than half of disabled employees choose not to identify as disabled at work, often through fear and anxiety?
Our deep dive into disability inclusion in your workforce provides the answer.
We have developed a unique research tool, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. We enable a safe and confidential environment for disabled employees to feel heard, be counted and become part of the journey for disability inclusion.
Our research tool measures not just workforce representation but inclusion and belonging at work among disabled employees, and confidence and skills among those who manage them.
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