How cloud services are widening the inclusion and diversity door for employers

One of the many benefits of cloudware is its accessibility. It is, therefore, potentially of great use to employees with a disability, or people who do not want to enter into a full-time working agreement, such as young parents, students and workers on zero-hours contracts.

The government’s guidelines on discrimination and disabilities state that it is against the law for any employer to discriminate because of a person’s disabilities or limitations. In addition, as an employer you’re obliged to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to avoid putting disabled employees at a disadvantage to non-disabled employees. This may include adjusting their working hours, or providing specialist equipment to support employees in their role.

Investing in business systems that alleviate the problems faced by those with working limitations can help benefit both the employee and the company itself. But how exactly is cloudware able to help you develop a more flexible and accommodating working environment?

What are the main challenges facing workers with a disability?

In this day and age there is no reason for an employee to be held back by a disability, physical limitations or personal circumstances in a professional environment.

That said, workers with an impairment or disability will face inescapable challenges. For example, those with mobility restrictions may find it difficult to move around an office or type at speed, while people with sight difficulties may struggle with certain computer setups. By using modern cloud-based technologies to their full advantage, the majority of these issues can be overcome. In fact, problems that were once insurmountable no longer need to hinder the progress of an employee, or, indeed, the growth of a business.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides a list of reasonable adjustments that employers can make to accommodate disabled staff in the workplace, but read on to discover how you can use the latest cloud technologies to support the varying needs of your employees.

The Cloud makes remote working a viable option for businesse

Sometimes it might be necessary for an employee to work at, or be trained at, a different location. Perhaps a disabled member of staff needs to have immediate access to equipment which assists them, such as ramps or rails, and these haven’t been installed in the office; perhaps a new Mum or Dad wishes to work from home so they’re able to juggle work with their parenting duties.

Whatever the reason for having to abandon the typical 9 to 5 office arrangement, cloud services can often provide the solution.

Cloudware is accessible from anywhere, on any device, so a cloud-based training or collaboration platform would be the perfect choice for workers who may not be able to make it to your company’s HQ on a daily basis, but still have the skills and experience to contribute something vital to your team.

Employees can access all the data they need in the Cloud, anywhere, anytime, regardless of their physical location. As long as they’ve got a good broadband connection, they’ll still be able to get online, get their hands on the data they need, and complete their work to a great standard.

Keeping workers connected

Cloud-based communication tools, including web conferencing platforms, ensure that an employee no longer needs to worry about staying in contact with their colleagues and clients if they’re not physically based in the office. Remote staff can collaborate just as effectively by logging in and making use of a huge range of web conferencing features.

Platforms such as Skype allow users to make audio and video calls, send and receive files, and even share their own screen with other attendees if they need to give them a visual aid. It’s as if employees are sitting in the same room together, even if they’re miles, or even oceans, apart.

Worried about timekeeping? Employees’ working hours can be kept in check using cloud project management applications; similarly, customer relationship management systems can keep remote workers in the loop when it comes to interacting with clients or prospects. In most eventualities, cloudware helps to eliminate discrimination by bringing staff all the tools they need to work fast and work well.

Reducing investment

Providing disabled access, and making additional onsite adjustments for disabled staff, is sometimes too expensive a job for smaller companies, particularly those with limited office space. Allowing disabled staff to work from home, or another site which adequately meets their requirements, eradicates the need to invest in these kinds of facilities. The only outlay in terms of costs will be the monthly subscription to the cloud services that enable the employee to access the information they need to work effectively. It’s as simple as that.

This also means that if an employee, fully-abled or not, only joins the company under a short-term contract, the employer doesn’t need to spend money investing in specialist equipment and changes to the working environment. Under most agreements, cloud subscription fees can be downscaled or cancelled with minimum fuss.

Conclusion

Cloudware makes working from day to day a much more convenient and accessible affair for both the disabled and those who wish to work fewer hours. Introducing cloud systems into the workplace benefits both the employee and employer, and allows for a more flexible way of working that’s better suited to the demands of 21st century businesses.

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