How Tilting the Lens co-designs an accessible workplace culture

Ahead of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) in October, we have gathered some key insights from recent client projects to explore how employers can move beyond good intentions to lasting impact. Achieving meaningful workplace inclusion is rarely linear. For many organisations, the journey stalls before it even really begins.

When Tilting the Lens partners with organisations to improve workplace culture, we get a unique look at how both employers and employees experience accessibility. We consistently observe that although the day-to-day challenges look different, the underlying barriers are usually similar across organisations. Both employers and employees are often held back by a shared apprehension: the fear of getting it wrong.

This piece is about what we have learned from both perspectives, and how we work alongside clients to bridge the gap, and build genuine momentum for system change.

The hesitation around reasonable adjustments

What we observe:

There can be a mutual hesitation to formalise reasonable adjustments. Employers worry the process will be legally complex or cost a fortune. Employees fear the bias that comes with asking, or may be concerned that the adjustments will need trial and error. Many worry an adjustment will change how colleagues view them, prompting those with non-visible disabilities to keep masking, and those with visible disabilities to downplay their needs to fit in. Ultimately, employees overcompensate, and employers are left guessing what their team actually needs.

How we help:

We aim to ease pressure on both sides by demystifying the reasonable adjustments process, making it feel less like a legal minefield and more like a normal part of supporting a team, like payroll. We also promote simple habits, such as normalising access checks at meetings and simplifying internal communications, which signal that the culture is safe, and cares about its people. It also encourages employees to request support to ensure they are set up for success and free from judgement or bias. 

Inconsistency across management

What we observe:

In almost every project, we see a disconnect in how different line managers handle accessibility. Employees often feel that getting the right support comes down to luck. Some managers are naturally brilliant and will informally move mountains for their team, often because they already understand accessibility or have lived experience with disability. On the other hand, many well-intentioned managers feel completely ill-equipped to even start a conversation, fearful of saying the wrong thing.

How we help:

We remind leadership that we cannot expect managers to be medical experts. Instead, we co-create clear, empathetic internal processes so that support is systemic, not down to luck. By providing practical, empathy-driven guidance, we ensure managers feel confident, and employees feel psychologically safe, no matter who their boss is.

Read our ASOS Employee Hub case study

The hidden realities of mental health

What we observe:

One of our most consistent findings is the gap between those who have self-identified to management, and those who only identified as having a disability to us as part of our anonymised research. Through our culture audits (anonymised surveys and research) and listening circles, employees frequently self-identify as Disabled or share their lived experiences with us, when they may not have done so with their manager. Recently, we see this most acutely in relation to mental health and depression. The fear of bias surrounding mental health remains a powerful barrier, keeping people in the shadows without support.

How we help:

As an external partner, we are privileged to hold a safe, non-judgemental space for these hidden experiences. We use the anonymised themes from these conversations to help employers understand the invisible realities of their workforce. This helps us guide leadership in building the psychological safety required before they ask employees to self-identify.

Bridging the gap between strategy and reality

What we observe:

Even in organisations with award-winning DEI strategies and impressive external comms and commitments, a disconnect sometimes exists between external messaging and the day-to-day reality for Disabled employees. When internal support doesn’t match external promises, trust quickly breaks down. This can stem from a lack of internal resources, minimal executive buy-in, a need for more training for people managers, or a general lack of clarity on where to direct requests for reasonable adjustments.

How we help:

We work with organisations to build a culture of accountability and radical transparency. We ask the important questions: If you state externally that you value diversity and lived experience, what does that mean in practice? If you are a Disability Confident Employer, how does that show up in day-to-day culture? To build trust, an organisation must be honest about where it is now and how it wants to move forward.

We partner with clients to reduce this gap by:

• Communicating small wins: Establishing open channels to share daily actions, like rolling out meeting access checklists and ensuring captions are embedded in all meetings, to demonstrating ongoing progress.
• Building visible feedback loops: Implementing “you said, we did” frameworks so employees see their feedback leads to real change, or at least that ”you said, we listen” is acknowledged even if not acted on instantly.
• Creating safe spaces for input: Offering informal, anonymous options for employees to share their access needs and ideas without pressure to disclose immediately.
• Marking key moments authentically: Using awareness events such as Global Day for People with Disabilities as catalysts for genuine internal dialogue, not one-off PR campaigns.

Ready to redesign your system?

Good intentions alone don’t fix broken systems. Action does. As we approach National Disability Employment Awareness Month, stop asking if your workplace is inclusive. Ask if it is safe enough for Disabled talent to actually lead, take risks, and fail without penalty.

Big shifts start with small, everyday habits. This can begin today or tomorrow: 

• Check access first: Make access checks mandatory at the start of every meeting.
• Reduce barriers: Eliminate or reduce corporate jargon and make your team’s communication clearer.
• Ask what is broken: Start an honest conversation about the hidden obstacles in your team’s daily routines.

These small daily actions build trust. They create the momentum needed to get more Disabled people into leadership positions. When we get this right, we can build a workplace where Disabled talent doesn’t just survive an organisation; they can lead it.

As we said at the start of this piece – no matter where an organisation stands in its inclusion journey, intentional, human-focused actions ensure that equity and accessibility are prioritised and embedded. If you’d like to talk to Tilting the Lens about supporting your organisation’s inclusion journey, use our contact form or email us at team@tiltingthelens.com.