Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Michael Barrington Hibbert On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have a Disability
An Interview With Eric Pines
Taking risks is essential, especially if you are in the initial stages of your career. I was given opportunities to work abroad and learn new things, but I didn’t take them. I realise how much of a rich experience this would have been for me both personally and professionally. It might feel a bit daunting, but taking risks is a vital part of growth and success.
As we all know, over the past several years there has been a great deal of discussion about inclusion and diversity in the workplace. One aspect of inclusion that is not discussed enough, is how businesses can be inclusive of people with disabilities. We know that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. What exactly does this look like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experience about the “How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Are Disabled “.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Barrington Hibbert — CEO and Founder Barrington Hibbert Associates.
Michael has been recognised as one of the most influential Black British Leaders by the Financial Times and has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of his services to promote diversity within Financial and Professional Services. He has over 20 years experience of the Executive Search Industry and an extensive global track record in primary and secondary banking and markets appointments, both on the sell and buy side.
Michael is a firm believer in the importance of social impact and levelling the playing field, and seeks to instil this ethos into all that Barrington Hibbert Associates do.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
People are always quite surprised at just how unconventional my route into the world of finance and professional services was. Starting out as a professional footballer both in the UK and the US, I went on to attend university in the United States after receiving a scholarship.
After graduating, I started my career with Morgan Stanley in New York. Going from the sports field to working with balance sheets and equations was a huge change and working with one of the premier brokerages on Wall Street was a real baptism of fire.
After that I returned to the UK to work for Odgers Berndtson which was all about real life experience and being sector specific around financial services. It was here I really learned the ins and outs of the industry, before going on to set up my own firm in 2010. Based in London, Barrington Hibbert Associates is an Executive Search, Leadership Development and Diversity Advisory firm specialising in Financial and Professional Services, and I am proud to say we are the longest established Black owned, C-suite, executive search firm in Europe. I’ve learned a lot of lessons about the skills we need to keep propelling ourselves forward. Three which stand out:
I’ve been doing what I do for over 20 years, and I can say with complete honesty that while I may have made mistakes along the way, I made sure to learn and grow from this. To be able to grow a business, an entrepreneur must be able to keep going, and when necessary, have the strength to adapt and evolve.
As someone who came from a background that is traditionally underrepresented in financial services, it was a challenge to show resilience in a room where no one else was from a similar background to me. I really had fight to prove myself, and fight for the opportunities to grow, and take the firm in the direction I wanted it to go.
Can you share a story about one of your greatest work related struggles? Can you share what you did to overcome it?
There have of course also been personal challenges to overcome, namely imposter syndrome. When I first began working with Odgers Berndtson, I was surrounded by people who were academically gifted, and people who had been through private education and gone to the top universities. I on the other hand hadn’t been to Oxbridge, a Russell Group or an Ivy League University, and I came from a lower socio-economic background.
My colleagues weren’t bothered about this, and didn’t treat me any differently, but I was very conscious of it. I really battled with self-doubt and felt like I couldn’t be my authentic self, as who I was simply wasn’t good enough. I worked to overcome this by receiving coaching. My coach reminded me that we all have our challenges and doubts, and it was important to own them. I learnt to be my authentic self and get comfortable with sharing that authenticity with my colleagues. This in turn helped me to overcome my own self-doubts.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
The murder of George Floyd was a horrific injustice, and one that should stay with us for many years to come. It has been positive to see that in the last two years, organisations have really opened their eyes to the importance of diversity, inclusion and belonging. This means BHA has been able to focus on bringing about cultural transformation. This has often involved working with large businesses, bringing about transformational change, and making sure that there is belonging across the organisation for ALL employees.
This has included going into organisations and interviewing hundreds, sometimes thousands of team members about their experiences working within these organisations. The wonderful thing about this is that leaders are listening, and many are using the feedback we have gathered to then drive action and meaningful change.
Having the opportunity to sit down with CEOs of some of the largest financial institutions in the world and having these important discussions, and then seeing them implementing some important strategies to promote inclusion and belonging has been so impactful.
This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have an inclusive work culture?
There is of course always the business case. Research has shown that inclusive cultures foster better innovation, growth, belonging and ultimately returns. However, along with this, creating work cultures where everyone feels like they belong, regardless of their backgrounds is just the right thing to do.
It’s so important that people from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in corporate spaces for example do not have to go through the same negative experiences that we have heard many, others go through in the past, and with this in mind, I think I’m in one of the most powerful areas in terms of being able to level the playing field and create opportunities for many who would not have previously had them. Addressing inclusion creates a sense of good and fostering belonging in the workplace is transforming our workplace cultures, and the benefit of this filters out into our society.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what this looks like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Can you please share a few examples?
While we need to holistically address inclusion, disability is an area that we have been guilty of overlooking for some time. When businesses hear that they will have to make reasonable accommodations for people with access needs for example, there can be a knee jerk reaction or panic about what this may entail. In reality, the biggest demand is for employers to be flexible and open to making reasonable changes that will foster a culture of inclusion for all, including of course talent with disabilities. In practice this could look like adapting workstations or equipment, accordingly, providing additional training, offering flexible working, and providing accessible workspaces, as well as ensuring any company events take access needs into consideration. It’s important that companies also find the right balance in terms of how to discuss these accommodations.
There have been some positive changes in terms of creating more inclusive environments for people with disabilities. For example, I have witnessed some town hall sessions for large organisations incorporate individuals doing sign language on stage to ensure that those who are hard of hearing or deaf are able to follow the sessions. Organisations are also becoming more proactive in terms of recruitment and are partnering with suppliers who can bring forward talent with disabilities. Flexible working has also really enabled people with disabilities who were previously excluded to enter the workforce.
Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? If you can, please share a few examples.
In terms of physical changes, workplaces should consider how they can remove physical barriers. This can include creating parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities and ensuring that doorways and entrance as accessible. If there are multiple floors in a building, there should also be accessible lifts. Workplaces should also consider how they can incorporate and make use of assistive technology and ensure that special equipment such as adjustable desks are in place.
As well as thinking about more physical changes, workplaces also need to consider their cultures. For example, how are they working to discourage language and, and how are they working with employees to ensure that they understand the acceptable and appropriate way to offer support to their colleague with disabilities.
Furthermore, firms shouldn’t make a huge show of demonstrating all their accommodations, nor should they be treated as secretive or something that is rarely mentioned. Accommodations should simply be part of the day to day of the workplace
Can you share a few examples of ideas that were implemented at your workplace to help promote disability inclusion? Can you share with us how the work culture was impacted as a result?
At BHA we talk a lot about the importance of inclusion, and we could not do this effectively if we were a homogenous group of people ourselves. Our physical offices are accessible, and we have partnered with organisations to bring in talent with disabilities. We also have a flexible working policy where people can work according to their own requirements and needs. Having people in the workplace who have disabilities and who can share their lived experiences increases awareness and advocacy. It enables us to engage these experiences with our clients and encourage them to view inclusion through a wider lens.
This is our signature question that we ask in many of our interviews. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Career”?
When I started my career, I feared failure. Over the years, I have witnessed that some organisations foster a culture of fear and employees don’t feel empowered to make mistakes, which are such an important part of learning and growing. SO I would encourage everyone to embrace failure and learn to live with and take responsibility for your mistakes. Taking this on board allowed me to take bigger risks with my business, which in turn lead to bigger and better outcomes.
Building on this, I would also say don’t dwell on your mistakes. Stop and absorb the lesson and then move on. I’ve spent so much time worrying about the things I’ve done wrong, when I really should have just thought about what lesson I can take and move forward with it.
I’d also say don’t be afraid to ask tough questions. I came from a cultural background where respect was emphasised. Rather than asking questions, I was expected to just listen, so questioning someone of seniority to me was a difficult concept to grasp. My development was impacted in my early stages because I was worried to ask questions. Now I ask as many questions as I can to ensure that I understand any given situation and can respond accordingly.
Networking is essential and coming from a lower socio-economic background than many of my initial co-workers, and I used to think I just had to work twice as hard as everyone else, but talent and hard work can only get you so far. Networking and relationship building are vital. I used to avoid networking as I felt that I was so different to my many colleagues and didn’t have anything in common. However, when I started receiving coaching and learned to overcome this, the difference networking made to my career was huge.
Finally, taking risks is essential, especially if you are in the initial stages of your career. I was given opportunities to work abroad and learn new things, but I didn’t take them. I realise how much of a rich experience this would have been for me both personally and professionally. It might feel a bit daunting, but taking risks is a vital part of growth and success.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story about how that was relevant in your own life? ‘
I don’t know about a single quote, but I would say to embrace failure and take yourself out of your comfort zone.
This really resonated with me in 2020 as we faced the pandemic. As an executive search agency, we quickly realised that the industry, organisations and the workforce itself was going through a huge shift. Everything was pivoting, and we needed to do the same. So we had to step outside of our comfort zone, and decided to expand into coaching, and essentially listening to people. This has of course now become a significant part of our business. To keep progressing professional and honestly personally, you have to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Yes, you’re going to make mistakes, but you can learn from them. If you want to move forward, you have to be willing to do things differently.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Many of us from minority or underrepresented backgrounds grew up believing that we must be twice as good as our peers to achieve any semblance of success. Why should anyone have to be twice as good? Why can’t we be in a world where there is equality of opportunity, and where being as good as is needed is enough to achieve the things for which you are striving?
It’s so important that people from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in corporate spaces for example do not have to go through the same negative experiences that we have heard many, others go through in the past, and with this in mind, I think I’m in one of the most powerful areas in terms of being able to level the playing field and create opportunities for many who would not have previously had them. Addressing inclusion creates a sense of good and fostering belonging in the workplace is transforming our workplace cultures, and the benefit of this filters out into our society.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
To keep updated on what we’re doing at BHA, you can follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (@BHA_UK), as well as keeping an eye on our website. Also it must be said, I have also ticked off one of the points on my bucket list by appearing in Authority Magazine so thank you for having me!
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Michael Barrington Hibbert On How Businesses Make… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.