May 9, 2024 -- Coles Group has been recognised for its continued commitment to closing the disability inclusion gap by Australia’s peak body for workplace inclusivity, ranking number one out of 40 organisations in the Access and Inclusion Index 2023.
The Australian Disability Network announced the winners at the Disability Confidence Awards, acknowledging organisations who are implementing new initiatives, improving processes, or making systematic changes to their workplaces to become inclusive of employees and customers with disability.
As the top performer in the Access and Inclusion Index 2023 – jumping from third place to first in two years – Coles Group continues to demonstrate its commitment to making its workplace, culture, services, and products welcoming, accessible, and supportive of people with disability.
Coles Group Chief Executive Officer Leah Weckert said the organisation was incredibly proud of its ranking in the Index and was committed to continuing its momentum in closing the disability inclusion gap for its team members, customers, and the communities it serves.
“Disability inclusion has been an integral part of the Coles Group strategy for a number of years and we are delighted to have made changes across our business to reflect this, most notably in our employment and workforce representation, with 7.6% of our 120,000 team members identifying as living with disability,” she said.
“While we are proud of our growth in this area, we are committed to further improving the representation of our workforce who have disability, and supporting their development by providing them with the tools to progress their careers at Coles.
In brief
Coles Group says it placed first among 40 organisations in the Australian Disability Network’s Access and Inclusion Index 2023, moving up from third place in 2021. The ranking was announced at the Disability Confidence Awards. CEO Leah Weckert said disability inclusion is part of the company’s strategy and cited workforce representation, with 7.6% of 120,000 team members identifying as having a disability. Since the prior index results, Coles has expanded its low-sensory Quiet Hour to five days weekly across its supermarkets, provided disability confidence training, and introduced mentoring and accessibility initiatives. The company also reports testing its digital services with people with lived experience of disability and consulting customer groups on improving the accessibility of more than 50 Own Brand products.
Key takeaways
- Coles Group ranked first among 40 organisations in the 2023 Access and Inclusion Index.
- The company says 7.6% of its 120,000 team members identify as living with disability.
- Quiet Hour now takes place five days a week in Coles supermarkets nationally.
- Coles reports that 90.5% of team members have completed Disability Confidence Training.
“The Australian Disability Network’s Index is an important benchmark, and sets the tone for Australian organisations to continue to implement improvements and initiatives that help close the disability gap – no matter what rank you achieve.”
Since the last Access and Inclusion Index results in 2021, Coles Group has made a number of improvements and changes to its in-store accessibility and digital customer accessibility including:
- Expanding Quiet Hour, the low-sensory shopping period in Coles supermarkets, to five days a week in all stores nationally.
- Implementing Disability Confidence Training to customer-facing team members. Currently 90.5% of team members have completed training and all new team members are required to complete.
- Participating in the Australian Disability Network PACE Mentoring program, matching 10 people with disability from outside Coles to our talented leaders for career mentoring.
- Annual testing of Coles Group’s digital experience across the Coles website, mobile app and other digital assets, with a focus group of Australians who have lived experience with disability.
- Launching an Autism Support Hub for leaders and team members.
- Working with customer focus groups to identify opportunities to improve the accessibility of more than 50 Own Brand products.
The Australian Disability Network, which has more than 460 member organisations, helps businesses improve access and inclusivity in the workplace and remove barriers that limit employment and career progression for people with disability.
BACKGROUND:
What is Coles involvement with the Access & Inclusion Index?
- Under Coles’ Diversity & Inclusion focus in the area of Accessibility, it has publicly committed to take part in the Australian Disability Network’s Access and Inclusion Index to make sure it’s always working to improve its inclusion score.
- Coles submits a Self-Assessment to the A&I Index every two years and has fulfilled its commitment to improve its score each time as per below:
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At a glance
- Company
- Coles Group
- Announcement
- Award
- Location
- Australia
Key figures
- Index ranking
- number one out of 40 organisations
- Team members identifying as living with disability
- 7.6% of 120,000
- Team members completing training
- 90.5%
- PACE mentoring participants from outside Coles
- 10
- Quiet Hour availability
- five days a week
- Own Brand products considered for accessibility improvements
- more than 50
People
- Leah WeckertChief Executive Officer
