New research carried out by Business Disability Forum (BDF) finds good workplace adjustment processes and organisational values to be the most important aids to the retention of disabled employees.

The second stage retention report follows-on from research released by BDF in July 2015, about the extent to which organisations have in place the types of practices associated with good retention and development of employees with disabilities and long term health conditions. The latest report, looks into the employee perspective, the second stage research involved 352 employees from across large private and public sector employers and compares the findings with employer perspectives to gain a more in-depth understanding of the biggest barriers and most effective aids in this area.

All employers and disabled and non-disabled employees identify that the skills and confidence of line managers is the single biggest barrier to the retention and development of disabled employees. As with their employers, just over half of employees reported this as the largest barrier to their retention and development.

In the same way, more than half of all employers and employees also identified how fundamentally important organisational values are to whether there is good retention practice.

Commenting upon the research, George Selvanera, Director of Policy, Services and Communications at BDF said:

It is encouraging the extent to which disabled employees largely point to the same factors as affecting their retention and progression as their employers. The skills and confidence of line managers being especially significant. At the same time, disabled employees place even more priority on adjustment processes that deliver the right adjustment quickly and to having opportunities for targeted development such as coaching and mentoring to build their skills and confidence. This research reminds us that giving visibility to disability and equipping line managers and HR professionals with the skills, confidence and tools to help disabled colleagues succeed and grow are fundamental for any organisation seeking to say they are disability confident.