Epigroup is a health and safety company that provides consulting, training and labour hire services in Perth. The company is committed to promoting diversity through inclusive employment.
“I have autism, I have dyslexia, so that means that I do have learning disabilities, and I do struggle with that on a daily basis,” says Mackenzie Baskerville, Safety Consultant at Epigroup.
Baskerville, who is neurodivergent, decided to “unmask” when joining the company. She explained her condition to her current employer from the get-go.
Flexibility holds the key to supportive work experiences
Despite sensory overload being one of her ongoing challenges, Epigroup has been fully supportive, with flexible workplace adjustments such as quiet pods and dimmable lights, in addition to working from home options.
“Flexibility allows me to stay home on the days where I know that there’s more employees in the office and come in on days where I know it’s less busy,” Baskerville says.
Tech solutions instrumental in empowering others
Lesley Brown, Lead WHS Consultant at Epigroup, has severe hearing loss and used to heavily rely on lip reading before getting a cochlear implant.
“Since I’ve had a cochlear implant in the last couple of years, it’s made my life a lot easier but I still need support in the workplace,” she says.
While accessibility tools were designed to support people who are hard of hearing, like Brown, they’ve transformed into features that promote universal accessibility over time.
“Hard of hearing and the d/Deaf community were the ones that required closed captions as an accessibility thing, and it’s become more widespread now that everyone uses it,” she says.
Brown, who speaks fluently, also decided to unmask from day one at Epigroup.
“Typically, in previous roles I would join and then see how safe I was to disclose before disclosing what I needed,” she says.
“And when I joined Epigroup, I made that conscious decision that I wanted to join an employer [where] I felt safe to do that straight away.”
How can businesses become more inclusive?
“I would really recommend that they stay curious,” Brown says.
“Staying open and staying curious and trying to learn about different disabilities and individual needs is really important.”
Tim Lawler, Epigroup WHS Consulting Manager, agrees that curiosity holds the key to unlocking potential. “The biggest learning for me is just how important even the little stuff is,” he says.
Lawler explains that Epigroup works closely with employees such as Baskerville and Brown on relevant workplace adjustments.
“It’s their level of expertise and understanding that’s going to really help us,” he adds.
When the business world needs different
Unlike other businesses that often miss or dismiss the need to understand and improve the work experience for people with disabilities, Epigroup is proud to embrace skills-based hiring.
“Our journey with recruiting people with disabilities is the exact same process that we follow for recruiting anybody,” says James Teakle, Director of Epigroup.
“We look at their skills and experience and their alignment with Epigroup’s purpose and values.”
Describing himself as “not an expert on disabilities or disabilities in the workplace”, Teakle is on a mission to cultivate awareness and a supportive environment for his employees.
He also notes the benefits of enhancing accessibility: “It’s actually just given us a lot more structure, which has helped us with not just employees who have disclosed disabilities, but also employees who have unique needs.”
“Our whole business, including customer outputs, are enriched by all of these different viewpoints and experiences, and I just don’t think you get that if you’re only hiring people of a similar profile,” he says.
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Contact Ability Link to learn more about how CCIWA can help you achieve your business goals through disability employment.
