Essex County Fire & Rescue Service set the tone for inclusion excellence with Read&Write for Work
Essex County Fire & Rescue Service (ECFRS) is one of the largest fire and rescue services in the UK, serving the county of Essex and protecting over 1.8 million residents. With over 50 fire stations, its service responds to a variety of emergencies, from fires, road traffic collisions, specialist rescues, and more.
To ensure their team of over 1,500 employees can best support their communities, ECFRS has invested in assistive technology to advance their inclusion journey. As a Disability Confident Employer, their mission aligns with Texthelp’s goal - to empower employees, unlock potential, and foster an inclusive and diverse workforce.
Ryan Gibson, Digital Skills Officer, and Scarlett Perrin, Learning and Development Advisor, both co-chair their Service Digital Accessibility and Inclusion Group and are passionate about finding new ways to help their employees succeed. Two years ago, the Service decided to provide our Read&Write for Work software to all employees as a truly inclusive approach with Texthelp onboard as their inclusion partner.
Outcomes
- ECFRS chose Read&Write for Work because "it breaks down barriers and makes it easier for people to get involved with things that were previously not accessible."
- After upgrading to an enterprise license of Read&Write, ECFRS are able to empower all of their diverse workforce: “This helped us to provide further accessibility options for our staff and their families, and encouraged us to push further in the digital accessibility space."
- Read&Write supports multilingual & neurodiverse team members: “Having options to support them in accessing information in a way that works for them is vital to bring out the best in people."
- ECFRS employees shared their favourite Read&Write features:
"Some excellent feedback on the features across our organisation includes the use of Dictation, the Dictionary, Screen Masking, Voice Notes, and Audio Maker.'"
A new chapter of inclusion with Read&Write
Ryan explains ECFRS’s original journey with Read&Write, which required employees to request additional learning support to access the technology. After rethinking their inclusion efforts, Essex Fire made accessibility and inclusion a key element of their Digital & Data Strategy, and opted for a full adoption of the software to all of their workforce - removing the need for disclosure and allowing every individual to explore the incredible benefits. Describing it as an investment for their organisation, Ryan says:
“We upgraded to an enterprise licence which helped us to provide further accessibility options for our staff and their families, and encouraged us to push further in the digital accessibility space."
"It breaks down barriers and makes it easier for people to get involved with things that were previously not accessible. By challenging the idea of 'that’s what we’ve always done' and considering what can be done, we explore options that make people’s work lives a bit easier and unlock their potential using such tools."
“We want everyone in our service to feel confident when using technology, so that we all move forward together. Reducing digital exclusion and promoting digital accessibility is an important objective for us. By ensuring everyone has support to access the right tools, enables confidence, ability and equal opportunity in the digital workspace.”
Nikki Hudson, Inclusion and Diversity Partner of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service further highlights how it strengthens their overall inclusion strategy: “It’s helped us with other aspects of diversity. It’s really ultimately helped us have those required conversations and that our colleagues know that we mean it when we say we want to be inclusive. So it’s one of the key tools in our toolbox. It generates a feeling of inclusion just having it available on every machine.”
Empowering neurodiverse and multilingual teams
ECFRS highlights how Read&Write can assist all employees but serves as a particularly supportive tool for neurodivergent and multilingual team members. Ryan and Scarlett emphasise the importance of enabling employees to 'bring their whole selves to work,' and how this strategy helps provide a sense of empowerment and belonging in the workplace.
They state: “We work at many different locations across the county, using various devices, with people who have varying strengths, needs, and knowledge."
"Having options that break down barriers for people in their day-to-day lives and support them in accessing information in a way that works for them is vital to bring out the best in people."
"Embracing our differences enhances our ability to serve our communities better - whether it's our multilingual firefighters comforting people in their first language, our Prevention team effectively communicating intervention messages, or our Control Room staff working as a team to receive and process emergency information clearly.
“Our staff have a large amount of responsibility, trust, and influence, and the more we promote inclusion, raise awareness, and share knowledge, the better we can do our jobs."
Nikki Hudson also noted: “We don’t need our people to prove their neurodivergence to us either. This is where we overcome this. So we are saving money, not only in terms of making our people more productive but ultimately by minimising those other barriers that often come with accessing this sort of support.
"But actually the emotive element when we engage the many parents in our service and we create the space that say we are creating a workplace that your children can be their very best in, actually that shifts everything because we do so much for our children than we might do for ourselves. And those that are not parents can see the investment of us investing in future talent.”
Unlocking potential and inclusive learning
With a large percentage of their workforce consisting of firefighters, Essex County Fire & Rescue Service explains that many team members prefer practical learning: “We aim to promote engagement across our service and ensure that materials are accessible to all. Like all inclusive solutions, there is benefit for everyone.
"So, learners who prefer listening to content, highlighting and colour-coding text, or spending extended time on screens can benefit from blended learning methods, and this system provides significant benefits."
“As more of our learning becomes digital, having the ability to listen to something out loud as opposed to reading pages of text on a screen is beneficial to all our staff. We know that people retain information in different ways, and although one option won’t work for everyone, it is important that everyone has an option that works for them.”
Employee feedback on Read&Write
Ryan and Scarlett have received an incredible response from their workforce regarding Read&Write, with positive feedback from both neurodivergent and neurotypical employees.
They mentioned: “A remarkable success story has been with our trainee firefighters; they must complete a development pathway to become competent in their role. This includes hours of online training, and for some, this could take even longer due to their typing skills, spelling, and grammar. So, being able to use the Dictation and Dictionary tools is a game changer.
“We have also recently started accepting voice notes in colleagues' portfolios when applying for promotion, which has had a significant impact on those who struggled with this process previously. Some excellent feedback on the features across our organisation includes the use of Dictation, the Dictionary, Screen Masking, Voice Notes, and Audio Maker.'"
Shaun Drynan, Crew Manager at Basildon Fire Station shares his personal experience:
"I have worked for ECFRS for 19 years, and before we got Read&Write software, my life was a lot more difficult. I now use this every single day, and it has really changed my life. "
"I suffer from Dyslexia, and I read by memory. If I can’t identify a word, I use the software to read that word for me. My main weakness is spelling, so I use the Dictation tool to write training notes and emails. Thank you for creating such a good overall tool!"
ECFRS’s tips for success with inclusive tech
- Provide access to all to remove barriers: “I would strongly recommend providing Read&Write to all employees from the start as we have found this to be a huge success. We discovered that a large number of users don't necessarily identify neurodiverse requirements but still use the software for other beneficial reasons.”
- Promotion of Read&Write Free for Family: “We all agreed how fantastic it is that our employees can share the gift of inclusion with their families. We try to promote it as much as possible via our internal outlets and in digital training sessions.”
- Drive awareness and technology training: “Continue to increase awareness of inclusion and diversity at every opportunity through communication and training. Providing either online, group or 1-2-1 training gives the perfect opportunity to promote and demonstrate the Read&Write software.”
- Emphasise how it can support everyone: “Don’t just advertise it just as an accessibility tool but as a tool to help everyone. Each person will benefit in a different way and an enterprise licence provides support for all colleagues without limit.”
- Internal communication is key: “We promote Read&Write through our Digital Accessibility and Inclusion page on our intranet service, as well as through our Digital Skills Officer. Managers are also encouraged to use these tools so they can better support their teams. When we onboard new employees, our ICT service desk ensures they are fully equipped and informed on the support available.”
Want to find out more about how Read&Write can empower your team?
Book a chat with our inclusion experts to discover the transformative impact inclusive technology can have on your people and business!