The new Equality Act 2010 and its effect on interviewing

The Equality Act becomes law in October 2010 and although not all of it will be implemented immediately it is important that employers understand how it will affect your organisation’s current practices and what you need to do to be on the right side of discrimination law.

Because of criticism of certain confusions caused by current discrimination law, the Equality Act attempts to simplify elements of it so that both employer and employee are able to recognise discrimination, pre-empt it and effectively eradicate it. It harmonises and replaces previous legislation (such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) and ensures consistency in what you need to do to make your workplace a fair environment and to comply with the law.

How the Equality Act affects interviewing and recruitment?

If you are recruiting someone to work for you, equality law applies to you whatever the size of your organisation or whatever sector you work in.

Question – Are you discriminating without realising it?

Which of the following could be classed as discrimination? Answers at the end of this newsletter.

1. The job you have advertised requires travelling to lots of different places to see clients. You quote on a job advert that the successful applicant has to be able to drive.
2. You would like to see more women in your workplace so you screen applications to ensure that you have a short list of women only – to ensure that a woman is appointed to the post?
3. You refuse employment to a turban-wearing Sikh who refuses to wear a safety helmet on a construction site?
4. You decide you’ll ask all applicants how many sick days they have had off in the last 12 months.
5. An applicant states that they had a sex change operation 8 years ago. They are the best candidate for the job but you fear that some of the people in the department they will be working with wouldn’t feel comfortable with them so you reject their application.
6. You decide not to employ a person who uses a wheelchair because they have to work on the second floor of the building and you don’t have a lift.
7. An employer rejects someone for a management job just because they are 25 years old and much younger than the people they would be managing.

In this newsletter we have tried to lay out what the new act affects and how to avoid the claim of discrimination being levied at your organisation. The Act covers many areas of recruitment and it is important that potential employers review the following aspects of recruitment:

• Thinking about what the job involves and what skills, qualities and experience a person will need to do it
• Job adverts
• Application forms and CVs
• Shortlisting applicants to meet or interview
• Interviews, meetings and tests
• Recruiting women who are pregnant or on maternity leave
• Equality good practice
• Using positive action to recruit a wider range of people
• Using monitoring forms during recruitment

We won’t be covering all of these in this newsletter but if you are unsure or require information about the wider aspects of the act such as disciplinary procedure, pay and working conditions, training, development or working hours then you will find more information at the end of this newsletter.

What does The Equality Act protect?

At the moment, there are several different laws to protect people from discrimination. We are afforded protection if we fall under the category of Protected Characteristics; those which are relevant to the act are listed below. You cannot discriminate against someone on grounds of:

• race
• sex
• sexual orientation (whether being lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual)
• disability (or because of something connected with their disability)
• religion or belief
• being a transsexual person (transsexuality is where someone has changed, is changing or has proposed changing their sex – called ‘gender reassignment’ in law)
• having just had a baby or being pregnant
• being married or in a civil partnership (this applies only at work or if someone is being trained for work)
• age (this applies only at work or if someone is being trained for work)

The Equality Act 2010 simplifies the current laws and puts them all together in one piece of legislation. Also, it makes the law stronger in some areas. Most of the Equality Act will start to apply in October 2010 and this newsletter covers the main changes coming into effect then and the changes/adjustments that must be made to comply with the Act.

Among the key provisions affecting interviewing and recruitment are the following:

Pre-employment health questionnaires: This new provision prohibits employers asking job applicants questions about their health and whether they have a disability.

Discrimination by association or based on perception: The ban on discrimination by association will be extended to protect spouses, partners, parents and carers who look after a disabled person or older relative from discrimination.

How this affects the interview

Unlawful discrimination can take a number of different forms:

• You must not treat a person worse than someone else just because of a protected characteristic (this is called direct discrimination). One of the most obvious infringements of this is asking someone if they were thinking of having kids in the next few years.
• You must not do something to someone in a way that has a worse impact on them and other people who share a particular protected characteristic than on people who do not have that characteristic. Unless you can show that what you have done, or intend to do, is objectively justified, this will be indirect discrimination. ‘Doing something’ can include making a decision, or applying a rule or way of doing things. You insist that all job applicants must be able to drive even though the role can be carried out using public transport.
• You must not treat a disabled person unfavourably because of something connected to their disability where you cannot show that what you are doing is objectively justified. This could apply if you turn down an applicant who has mobility disability even though this doesn’t directly affect their ability to do the job.
• You must not treat a person worse than someone else because they are associated with a person who has a protected characteristic; e.g. you don’t employ someone because they are a carer for someone with a disability.
• You must not treat a person worse because you incorrectly think they have a protected characteristic (perception discrimination) e.g. you think that someone looks younger than they are so you don’t employ them.

In addition, to make sure that disabled people have the same access, as far as is reasonable, to everything that is involved in getting and doing a job as a non-disabled person, you must make reasonable adjustments.

If an applicant asks for information about the job and the application form (if there is one) in an alternative format which they require because they are a disabled person then you must provide this, so long as it is a reasonable adjustment – and it is likely to be.

If an applicant needs reasonable adjustments to participate in any interview or assessment process, then you must make them. When you assess an applicant’s suitability for the job you must take account of how reasonable adjustments could enable them to do the job.

If, after taking reasonable adjustments into account, they would not be the best person for the job, you do not have to offer it to them. But if they would be the best person with the reasonable adjustments in place, you must offer them the job. In any event, it would make sense for you to do this, as you want the best person for the job.

Tip for avoiding discrimination

Don’t ask questions which may suggest that you have already decided they are the wrong person for the job because of their protected characteristics. For example, saying ‘Don’t you think you’re a bit young for this job?’

Ask questions which relate to the job.

It is a myth that equality law says you must ask everyone exactly the same questions. There is no reason for you not to ask about things that are different for a particular candidate, or follow up an applicant’s answers with questions that relate to what they have just said.

However, you should be focusing on the same broad subject areas with each applicant. This is because otherwise you may be applying different standards to different applicants based on their protected characteristics, and this might lead to unlawful discrimination.

No-one else can ask these questions on your behalf either. So you cannot refer an applicant to an occupational health practitioner or ask an applicant to fill in a questionnaire provided by an occupational health practitioner before the offer of a job is made (or before inclusion in a pool of successful applicants) except in very limited circumstances, which are explained next.

The point of stopping employers asking questions about health or disability is to make sure that all job applicants are looked at properly to see if they can do the job in question, and not ruled out just because of issues related to or arising from their health or disability, such as sickness absence, which may well say nothing about whether they can do the job now.

You can ask questions once you have made a job offer or included someone in a group of successful candidates. At that stage, you could make sure that someone’s health or disability would not prevent them from doing the job. But you must consider whether there are reasonable adjustments that would enable them to do the job.

Answers to the earlier quiz

ALL of the previous examples could be classed as discrimination under current UK law. For more information refer to the following websites. Remember these laws are there to protect us ALL and to give us a fairer playing field in all aspects of employment.

For Further Information

For more information these websites will give you the answers you are looking for.

Worth making sure you know ACAS guidelines as these are the guys who set out the recommendations by which UK employment tribunals base their judgements

www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3017

This is the website for the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This is probably the most comprehensive of all information available on the web for clear and informative information regarding the Equality Act.

www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/new-equality-act-guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance

For the question about Sikh’s and Personal Protective Equipment – this gives the rationale behind that question and more.

www.europarl.europa.eu/stoa/publications/studies/19992001_en.pdf

Sounding assertive

People respond to our vocal delivery or in other words how we come across. To understand how the voice conveys messages, recall a time when you have overheard a muffled conversation going on behind a closed door or on the other side of a wall. You almost certainly had a good idea of the type of feelings of the people concerned without seeing the visual behaviours. Also, as very young children we can pick up the feelings of our parents without even being able to understand the words. Most toddlers are only too aware that a parent is angry with them! A key part of assertiveness is the confidence we display when asking for what we want. We will always adjust our reactions if we assume the other person is confident or unsure in their demands. We can help ourselves greatly if we confident vocal tonality when we need to be assertive. There are four ways that your voice can convey messages:

1. Loudness
2. Rate
3. Fluency
4. Affect

Loudness

The volume of your voice says a great deal about your feelings at that moment. There are two ways in which loudness affects the impact of your communication. First, is the basic volume you use – the way you speak most of the time. You may, for instance, have the habit of talking so softly that others find it difficult to understand you. Whatever the reasons for such a quiet tone, the impression it often creates is one of timidity and uncertainty. On the other hand, you might talk so loudly that other listeners become uncomfortable around you. Excessive volume usually suggests aggression, anger or boorishness, even when you have no such feelings.

Unlike the people who always express themselves at an inappropriate volume, others may speak too loudly or too softly only at certain critical times. For instance, you might find that your normally pleasant voice turns into a shout when you are angry. Or you might almost lose your voice to just a whisper when you are upset. Needless to say, either of these extremes will usually diminish the effectiveness of your message.

Rate

Some speakers talk too rapidly and others too slowly. A speedy delivery often conveys a sense of nervousness or aggression, while a low, overly hesitant manner often appears to indicate uncertainty.

The average rate of speech is between 100 – 120 words per minute, thus providing a gauge against which you can measure your own speed.

Fluency

In addition to speaking at an appropriate rate and volume, another important factor is flow or fluency; the absence of unnecessary sounds or phrases such as “uhm” and “er”, “you know”, as well as other distracting vocal mannerisms such as repetitious words and long pauses. You might already be aware of using some of these in your speech. If not, try asking others who know you well whether you use any.

Affect

The affective ingredients of your voice include both tone and inflection. These elements are major tools for expressing your feelings. Think of the number of messages you could convey with a single sentence such as “I hope you will call me”, just by changing the tone. These simple words could communicate excitement, affection, sarcasm, anger or disinterest, depending on the variations in the pitch chosen by the speaker.

Practcal tips for sounding confident

There are several things you can do to produce a more confident vocal delivery. Some of these include:

1. Practise your pitch and control by recording your voice and listen to the playback and critique yourself or ask a colleague to help. Review it for tone, rate of delivery etc.
2. Learn some voice inflection exercises to help you avoid a monotone sound.
3. Put a SMILE into your voice. It’s easy to do and your voice will sound friendlier.
4. To become more confident in your voice, speak with fluency and without hesitation. Confident people also intonate their voices and put emphasis on words or parts of words.
5. Low pitched voices carry more authority but can sound boring, monotone and dismissive unless the speaker varies their tone and intonation.
6. High pitched voices sound positive and action orientated but also need a variation in pitch and pace otherwise they sound hysterical.

Exercise

Managing your verbal communications. You are a sales team manager and need to speak to one of your team about her performance at work.

“Hi Michele. Sorry to have to bring this up again but I’m a bit worried about your sales results. It’s not a big thing and I know you like spending more time chatting with customers on sales calls because you find that the consultative approach to selling more enjoyable. It’s just that the numbers are starting to slip slightly and I’m a little worried. I think you should be a bit quicker with your calls. I know you’ll do your best”.

In response she agrees that she should make more calls but is over target and is happy with her current performance. You reply:

“Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re doing a great job and I don’t want you to think I’m having a go at you. It’s just that I’d prefer it if you made a bit more effort. Anyway as I said it’s no big thing”

Rewrite the transcript removing any verbal qualifiers.

There is a saying: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t get there; but if, by chance, you do get there – you won’t know you’re there“.

In order to avoid this being true of either the trainer or the trainees in a training session, a clear, realistic and measurable OBJECTIVE must be stated by the trainer. This is the most important step in preparing a training session as you need to be able to answer the following questions before you start writing your training session.

“What do I want the delegates to do as a result of this training session?”

“What do I want to accomplish by giving this course?”

“What outcomes do I require the trainees to achieve once the training has ended?”

An objective is a statement of the goal to be achieved by the trainees by the end of a training session, in terms of recall and understanding. Objectives can be useful in several ways:

• to assist in planning a presentation or training session
• to help the trainer eliminate irrelevant information
• to focus the attention of the trainees
• to ensure that both the trainer and trainee know where they are going
• to test the recall and understanding of the trainees.

It is essential that you determine your training aims and objectives at the onset. Too often, trainers concentrate on “What am I going to say?” Alternatively, you need to concentrate on “Why am I giving this training session?” The rest of your training will be designed to support this answer.

How to write realistic aims and objectives for your training session

No matter which format you choose, your aims and objectives must be attainable and measurable. It is essential that the results you expect to achieve are realistic. If not, failure is guaranteed. At the same time, you must be able to measure your results. If not, how will you know if you succeeded in your message?

Sample aims and objectives

• To teach the understanding of current discrimination laws, and to train staff on the implications relating to recruitment, appraisals, benefits, pensions and retirement.
• To train senior management to use Microsoft Outlook to manage day-to-day priorities, and how it can be adapted to co-ordinate their departmental strategies
• To train staff on customer care strategies and to ensure that they understand how customer care needs are to be implemented as part of the organisation’s ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ initiative.

Rules for writing objectives

An objective should be phrased in a positive way, and should outline the outcomes of the training. It should begin with, “At the end of the session you (i.e. the trainees) will be able to…”, or” after this session you will be able to….”

It should also indicate the standards that the trainees must be able to attain, to determine the success of the training: “… so that we will be able to use this with every customer enquiry…..” or, “…..by using this we’ll be able to cut waiting times down by half the current level”.

The objective should then continue to state the following:

1. The Performance
2. The Standard
3. The Consolidation

1. The PERFORMANCE or behaviour of the trainee when demonstrating their improved ability and understanding. The more measurable your statement of performance, the more focused the session.

Sample performance statements:
“The new software will enable you to programme the computer in half the current time”
“Once you’ve learned the new programme you’ll achieve 95% accuracy on the data input”

Measurable performance words 
List Construct Know
Write Describe Understand
Identify Explain Enjoy
State Demonstrate Appreciate
Prepare Achieve
Define Grasp the meaning of

2. The STANDARD to which the performance must comply, e.g. legal standards, company standard, speed, quality, numbers to be completed. This is vital for the effective evaluation of the training session. If the trainees do not have a standard of competence/completion how will the trainer know if the session/course has achieved its aims. It’s often difficult for the trainer to understand what standards he/she is aiming for but this must be established at the outset.

Sample standard statements:

“You’ll be able to write training programmes for all types of delegate in 5 hours against the current time of 18 hours.”

“You’ll be able to use animations on all of your PowerPoint presentations to create impact.”

3. Test understanding as well as recall. This we call the CONSOLIDATION of the training. It is when the trainees are tested for their competence, understanding, recall etc. This may be tested on the training course by exam, observance, demonstration, quiz, oral tests etc. The trainer should always make the trainees aware what form the testing will take. [Note : make trainees aware of the CONDITIONS under which the performance is to be tested, e.g. without the use of notes/reference material, under normal working conditions, alone/with the help of others, may also be included]

Establishing your key messages

For a training session to have impact the trainer must be clear about the Key Messages that the training must establish in the mind of the audience. Research shows that 38% of what is learned is forgotten in 2 days and 65% in 8 days so ensuring your message ‘hits the spot’ is essential. This is vital when the training takes the format of a presentation and there is limited opportunity for interaction with the audience.

Throughout the training the trainer must reiterate and reinforce the key messages if the training aims and objectives are to be achieved. To determine the main ideas, think of how you would respond to these questions:

• What ideas and messages will best lead to my objective?
• What ideas do I most want my audience to remember?

Key Messages should:

• State conclusions
• Accomplish specific aims and objectives
• Be interesting
• Be few in number

Examples

These could be the main ideas for implementing an organisation’s customer service programme.

• Main Idea 1: Satisfied customers are essential to the success of any organisation.
• Main Idea 2: Every organisation has both external and internal customers.
• Main Idea 3: Quality customer service is a learned skill.

Once you state your Key Messages, then you need to identify the information that will communicate and support these ideas.

Sources of supporting material

• Inside the organisation – product descriptions, statistics, intranet, newsletters and reports
• Outside the organisation – internet research, trade journals, newspapers, books and database services
• Personal – insights, examples and anecdotes

Types of supporting material

• Examples
• Comparisons
• Findings
• Statistics
• Graphs
• Audio-visual media
• Testimony of experts

Examples

Key Message 1: Satisfied Customers Are Essential To Our Success

1. Case studies that link quality customer service to the improved profitability of organisations
2. Examples of successful programmes of competitors
3. Projections to show the impact of improved customer service on profitability

Key Message 2: Every Organisation Has Both External And Internal Customers

1. Highlight the difference between internal and external customers
2. Current examples showing how employee morale has been improved

Key Message 3: Quality Customer Service Is A Learned Skill

1. Review of customer service concepts that are relevant to your organisation
2. Proposed plan to train employees in customer service
3. Timeline for implementing the plan

Exercise

Review part of a training presentation you have designed. Write down the answer to the following questions and discuss your results with an employee.

What message do I wish to convey in this part of the training session?

How does the information I am delivering help to establish my Key Messages?

What else could I use to reinforce my Key Messages?

There are some things which we can do in such situations, so that we are more likely to handle them successfully:

Be Prepared

You may know a situation is likely to arise from information you already have available. If this is the case, it is important to use this information to anticipate what is likely to happen and how you are going to handle it. Other preparation you can carry out, where you have no prior knowledge of a situation, is to be sure of your facts and policies, e.g. complaints’ procedure.

Keep the Situation Calm

By being careful not to overreact to initial comments, you are more likely to understand the problem. It is important you show customers that you understand the problem, and how they feel. Let them know that you can help them and that you want to help them. Focus on the issues concerned and not the personalities as this will help maintain the customer’s self-esteem. Above all, be positive in your handling of the situation.

Look For Solutions

Even if a solution is not apparent, keep calm and aim to be positive. Explore possible options, as very often, giving people a choice and getting them to think, will help to calm them down. Encourage the customer’s help in finding an acceptable solution. Try to view each problem as an opportunity.

Show You Care

Customers with a difficult situation can be frustrated when faced by an organisation. By responding with empathy and showing you understand, you can demonstrate that you do care about their situation, and that you do want to find a solution. Your aim should be not only to resolve the problems but to make customers feel they have been treated fairly. By staying calm and being professional, you can often resolve such situations. By listening and showing understanding, you will find it much easier to resolve difficult problems.

Three Key Principles

There are three key principles it is important to consider in dealing with difficult situations:

1. Maintain or improve the other person’s self-esteem.
2. Listen and show you understand the problem.
3. Involve the customer in solving any problems.

In dealing with such situations, it is useful to have some sort of a framework to follow. This will help you ensure that you cover everything that you need to, and it will provide you with a means of making sure you resolve the problem.

Greet the Customer in a Friendly Manner – The way you address a customer can greatly affect your success in dealing with both difficult and routine situations. A friendly manner can gain quick co-operation and lets customers know that you are interested in their needs. In addition, you are setting a positive tone for the rest of the conversation. If you start out on the wrong foot, it will be even harder to win the situation around.

Ask For Details of the Customer’s Enquiry – Find out as much as possible about the apparent problem from all available sources. This is an information gathering stage where you need to gain information from the customer through effective questioning. Let the customer understand the relevance of the questions you ask. You cannot help with a situation until you know all the details. Customers who have lost confidence in the organisation may be reluctant to discuss details with you and they may need to be encouraged by your assurances that you can help. Listen and respond with empathy to their situation, and let them know that you want to help.

State the apparent problem – If you are giving bad news, or the problem has been brought to your attention by a colleague, you should state the apparent problem. Tip: try to state it from the customer’s point of view. This gives you a starting point and gives the customer a chance to say whether you have understood the problem correctly. It is important to understand exactly what the problem is before you can solve it.

Check and indicate you understand the situation – This is an opportunity for you to summarise the situation as you understand it. It will demonstrate to customers that you have been listening, and that you do understand the situation. It will also give customers a chance to add anything that has been missed. A genuine effort on your part to understand their position will enhance their self- esteem.

Identify the real problem (if different from the apparent problem) – When you know all the facts, you may feel the apparent problem is not the real one. For instance a spate of customer complaints (the apparent problem) may be caused by a lack of training given to a newly appointed staff member (the real problem).

Openly express your position – Let them know that your objective is to satisfy them. At the same time tactfully tell them what you can, and cannot, do. Be careful not to imply that their point of view is wrong. Tactful honesty will give them a clear understanding of what you can do to resolve the situation.

Assess the alternatives – Try to identify all the possible solutions. At this stage do not worry too much about how practical the solutions are, it is important to generate as many possible solutions as you can.

Select the best solution – This can be the most complex stage. Very few changes can be made in isolation, and therefore a solution which seems beneficial to you, may have a detrimental effect on someone else in the organisation. Each alternative solution therefore must be carefully weighed against the benefits and possible drawbacks each would provide.

Reach agreement on specific actions – There is no point in solving problems unless action is taken to implement the chosen solution. If possible, reach agreement on a final solution. If it’s a problem that cannot be resolved immediately, establish an action plan for solving it, explaining what you propose to do. Where the solution is complex, the action plan is essential, spelling out what is to be done, by whom, and when. Ask for the customers’ ideas, or offer suggestions. By including them you will enhance their self-esteem. Make sure that you both know what will happen next.

Thank Customers for Their Co-operation – Let them know that you appreciate their help and co-operation in resolving the situation. Complete the conversation by sincerely thanking them as this will enhance their self-esteem and their satisfaction with the organisation.

Such situations may result in a customer wishing to take up the complaint with a manager or even to make a formal complaint. Most organisations will have a complaints’ procedure. In these cases, it is important not to pass any judgement on the situation, but to fully inform the customers of their rights under the complaints’ procedure and of the action they need to take.

Excellent presentation skills give you a platform to demonstrate your sales skills, leadership qualities, communication skills, influencing abilities and promotion potential. Our objective in our presentation seminars is to teach you the skills and techniques that will give you both the confidence and competence to enjoy making presentations in all situations. We will be giving action points to sharpen your image; reduce nerves; allow you to appear both confident and competent and increase your credibility in the eyes of colleagues and clients.

PODCAST 1

In this live podcast, Total Success’s Senior Trainer, Warren Wint is giving critique to a delegate’s presentation and looks at the two area in terms of delivery:

• Vocal Image
• Body language

Topics also covered include:

• valid content
•  flow of ideas – concept
•  quality and credibility
• conviction and competence
• what audiences expect when you’re delivering information

Presentation Skills 1

PODCAST 2

In this live podcast, Total Success’s Senior Trainer, Warren Wint is showing delegates how to maximise on body language and visual image to increase the power of expression.

He covers these five areas:

• eye contact
• facial expressions
• gestures
• dress

Presentation Skills 2