Enhanced programme: Provide a business support and development package
Top Tips
Provide a comprehensive business package which provides training, audits and information support
Monitor progress against your project plan on an ongoing basis and mitigate potential risks
Communicate progress with your stakeholders regularly
Promote VisitEngland’s Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Toolkit
As part of the programme, participating businesses should be signposted to the VisitEngland Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for Businesses. This provides practical guidance and top tips to support their accessibility improvement work, including action checklists and technical guidance for building refurbishments.
Facilitate a peer mentoring programme
Create a peer mentoring programme for participating businesses. This can be achieved by matching them with someone from a similar business type with a more developed accessible tourism offering, or with someone who has gone through a similar development process within their own business. Developing a relationship with someone with greater experience, skills or knowledge can help individuals to learn and businesses to grow. Along with providing support, a mentor can act as a ‘sounding board’ throughout the process.
There are benefits for mentors too, giving them an opportunity to consolidate their knowledge and continue their own learning and development, with the added satisfaction that they are supporting others.
- Determine who will manage your peer mentoring process: your Project Manager, your PAM, or another member of your team?
- Recruit peer mentors by:
- approaching businesses who have successfully participated in your Kick-Start programme;
- reaching out to venues in your region who have a good reputation for their accessibility and inclusion;
- reviewing organisations in your area who have won accessibility awards;
- reaching out to your VisitEngland Regional Development Lead for inspiration.
- Be honest and upfront about:
- what the process involves;
- how much time they will need to commit;
- the likely frequency of meetings.
- Select individuals who are:
- approachable, friendly, knowledgeable and willing to listen, share learning, support and challenge;
- from the same part of the tourism value chain as their prospective mentee e.g. transport provider, accommodation provider, attraction;
- from a similar sized organisation;
- able to allocate time to the mentoring process.
The Peer Mentor Brief provides:
- an example role description for Peer Mentors;
- guidance to support recruitment and selection;
- tips and an example slide deck for peer mentor training.
Providing some basic training for mentors at the start of the process will:
- help to set and manage expectations within the group;
- build relationships between mentors;
- develop a common understanding of what the mentoring process entails and how to manage it effectively;
- agree ‘top line’ topics and/or key outputs for each meeting.
Thissample agenda for hosting a mentoring workshop offers a framework to support this process.
“It’s been really good to have the peer mentor programme: that I can just pick up the phone to [my mentor] and say, we’ve come up against this roadblock, how did you manage this?” – experience provider.
Provide Accessibility Champion training
There are many different elements which create successful and sustainable change but, ultimately, it is people who make change happen. Having skilled, knowledgeable and motivated individuals within an organisation who can champion improved provision, and support colleagues through a process of change, is therefore extremely important.
England’s Inclusive Tourism Action Group (EITAG), which comprises a range of leading accessible tourism stakeholders, created an Accessibility Champion brief for individuals fulfilling this role. It is important that the Accessibility Champions within this programme receive training to support them in fulfilling this brief.
Provide Accessibility Champion training, preferably delivered in person, for one or two key individuals within each participating business.
The Accessibility Training Provider Brief provides:
- an example role description for the training provider;
- suggested KPIs for a training provider within this process;
- guidance to support recruitment and selection.
A list of training providers who specialise in access and inclusion is provided in the business toolkit. You may be able to find a PAM who has the skills and knowledge to be able to provide Accessibility Champion training alongside their other deliverables within the process.
You may want to:
- appoint an Accessibility Champion within your LVEP, such as your project lead, and have them attend the Accessibility Champion training provided for participating businesses;
- encourage all your businesses to consider creating this role;
- keep track of those businesses who do create this role as part of your KPIs.
- create a support network bringing Accessibility Champions together to share experiences. You could ask:
- What has worked to help colleagues get on board and take ownership?
- What has been a challenge?
- What improvements have their businesses made?
- What difference have these made to the business?
- What difference have these made to their customers?
Quotations from users
“[On Accessibility Champion training] we felt very motivated. We felt like we could go back, as you should do as a champion, and explain to others what they should be doing, or how we could maybe change what we are doing as a group to make it better for somebody. Lots of ideas [and] thought-provoking things” – accommodation provider.
“That was very, very useful because without that expertise you don’t know whether you’re actually trying to think of the right things, and then that has given us the confidence - and it’s focused my mind on one or two activities that would be really suitable to roll out and to make it more obvious on the website” – experience provider.
Offer customer service training for front-line staff
Front-line staff are central to providing a warm and inclusive welcome and creating a positive first impression. Sometimes, these key team members may lack confidence in welcoming visitors with accessibility requirements. This may because they are unsure about the best way to help or are worried they may accidentally cause offence by ‘saying the wrong thing’. It is therefore important to provide training which gives them the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to create the warmest of welcomes for everyone.
You may opt for this training to be delivered online or in person. There are advantages and challenges with both delivery options, depending on factors such as your budget, the size and types of the businesses involved and your timescales for delivery. Whichever method you choose, you need to ensure that training materials are suitably engaging, interactive and impactful. The training delivery options tool (coming soon) will help you decide which is best for you.
The main outcomes of the training should be:
- a greater understanding of the potential barriers disabled tourists face;
- a greater understanding of the size of the accessible tourism market;
- improved skills and knowledge to provide excellent service and a warm welcome to people with accessibility requirements.
The Online Training Provider Brief provides:
- an example role description for the online training provider;
- suggested KPIs for an online training provider within this process;
- guidance to support recruitment and selection
Quotations from users
“The online training gave staff more confidence in interacting with visitors with accessibility needs; the common positive impact being that it conveyed to staff that to be welcoming and helpful they can just ask what they can do to help and to treat people with accessibility needs as they would other visitors”
– quote from Evaluation report, North York Moors Accessibility Project, 2022“(The training) definitely made them (staff) aware and less afraid to just dive on in and ask, ‘how can I help you’? rather than being frightened of upsetting somebody that comes in in a wheelchair”
– accommodation provider
Provide business accessibility audits
An accessibility audit, carried out by the PAMs, gives each business a ‘snapshot’ of their existing provision from an access and inclusion perspective across the whole visitor journey and highlights areas for improvement. An audit report also provides useful evidence to support funding bids to support the implementation of the recommendations made.
Some businesses may have concerns about accessibility audits. This may be due to uncertainty about the audit process itself and what is involved, anxiety about what an audit might highlight or concern that recommended improvements will be costly and therefore difficult to implement. Providing information and reassurance about the process at an early stage is therefore important.
Facilitate an accessibility audit for each business which:
- evaluates the information, facilities and services provided for visitors who:
- are deaf or have hearing loss;
- are blind or partially sighted;
- have mobility impairment or are wheelchair users;
- are autistic;
- have learning disabilities;
- are living with dementia;
- have other accessibility requirements such as special dietary requirements.
- considers the whole visitor journey, including
- website accessibility information;
- arrival and parking;
- entrance;
- the visitor experience including signage, wayfinding and interpretation;
- departure.
- includes a detailed report covering the above elements
- provides an improvement plan with short, medium and longer-term recommendations.
To manage this process effectively, it may be helpful to:
- give businesses an overview of the audit process to provide reassurance;
- manage expectations about the likely timescale between the audit and the production of the report. This can take time, given the many areas to be evaluated;
- suggest that business owners are included in the audit process, for example by:
- walking round with the auditor for part of the site visit;
- taking part in a short ‘wash up’ meeting at the end of the day, during which the auditor shares the key things which are likely to appear in the report. This gives businesses an early ‘heads up’ about what to expect.
- evaluates the information, facilities and services provided for visitors who:
Quotations from users 2
“[On the accessibility audit] Somebody coming in with a different set of knowledge and expectations about your place is absolutely invaluable if it’s done right and if it’s done in partnership with the place that it’s happening” – attraction.
“[On the improvement plan] What we did is we broke it down into the quick wins, the easy things that we can just make happen either overnight or over a course of weeks or months, and what’s on our wish list” – experience provider.
Offer seed funding to support improvements
The provision of a small amount of funding for businesses offers an added incentive for them to take part in the programme. It also helps to speed up the pace of change by facilitating small improvements which make a big difference.
Provide a programme of seed funding to support business improvements. This may require working with another stakeholder, such as a local authority, who may be able to access funding for this purpose.
It will be helpful to:
- consider how much funding to allocate e.g. £1,000 per business;
- determine whether any funding should be match-funded;
- think about what does and does not qualify for funding. For example, it could cover the purchase of equipment, or the cost of a web developer to update the accessibility information on a website;
- provide a list of ‘fundable’ items such as those available in the downloads section of this toolkit for inspiration;
- make the process of applying for the funding simple;
- consider whether funding should be conditional. For example, stipulating that funding is provided upon the successful completion of the other elements within the process;
- determine how long businesses have to apply and spend the funding;
- consider what evidence you require to demonstrate the need for the item (for example, does it need to have been specified in an accessibility audit?);
- determine the evidence you need to demonstrate that the funding has been spent as intended, such as an invoice or receipt.
Quotations from users 3
“A little bit of cash that’s not dealt with too bureaucratically, to just go and buy some things to make some immediate improvements, I think is a really good thing: just that little bit of seed money to get started to do a few things” – attraction
“I think what this project has provided is impetus to do some stuff. So it’s a good kick-start from that point of view, and somebody giving us £1,000 has meant we’ve just gone and done those things. I think we would have done them eventually but probably not as quickly. It’s just pushed us on which is a good thing” - attraction.
Facilitate a mystery shopper programme
Having access to, and acting on, feedback is an important means for any organisation to learn, develop and improve. When that feedback comes directly from customers it can have extra impact and be an added catalyst for improvement.
A mystery shop is different to a business accessibility audit. An audit is a professional, objective and complete report that considers the needs of all disabled user groups, whereas a mystery shop is an individual’s personal view formed from an actual visit.
Provide a mystery shopping programme for participating businesses.
When recruiting mystery shoppers it will be helpful to:
- reach out to community stakeholders who may be able to support recruitment;
- provide a clear brief about the role and what is required;
- select people with a range of accessibility requirements to ensure they are representative of the target market;
- ‘over-recruit’ to allow for illness or a change in circumstances;
- remember that some of your mystery shoppers will need the support of an essential companion;
- aim for each participating business to have at least two ‘mystery shopper’ visits from people with different accessibility requirements.
You will also need to:
- decide who should facilitate the process. This may be your Project Manager, your PAM or a member of your LVEP team;
- ensure that mystery shopper feedback forms provide a balanced view, incorporating what is being done well, along with areas for improvement;
- determine whether businesses are seeking feedback from visitors with particular access requirements and match up mystery shoppers with businesses accordingly;
- budget for a payment for each mystery shopper. Consider paying a flat fee, for example £50 to cover time and expenses;
- facilitate this payment for each mystery shop, for example on receipt of completed feedback forms;
- ask businesses who charge an entry fee to provide complimentary tickets;
- ask accommodation providers to provide complimentary dinner, bed and breakfast;
- consider the best time for the mystery shops to be undertaken, for example towards the end of the programme to generate feedback on any improvements which have been implemented as a result of an accessibility audit;
- facilitate feedback to participating businesses, making sure feedback forms have been made anonymous;
- consider the accessibility requirements of each mystery shopper and ascertain whether any adjustments are required to enable them to fulfil their role e.g.:
- the provision of a printed, rather than a digital feedback form;
- the provision of a feedback form in large print;
- the ability to provide feedback in alternative formats.
The Mystery Shopper Brief provides:
- an example role description for mystery shoppers;
- guidance to support recruitment and selection;
- a sample mystery shopper feedback form for use in the process.
Quotations from users 4
“I think it’s an important part trying to test out people’s experiences so it should be part of the plan, it shouldn’t be just an afterthought” – Mystery Shopper
“We got really nice feedback. And it was really helpful that the things that we’re planning are the right things. Also the things that we have already done are being done by the team because they were mentioned by the Mystery Shoppers. It was a nice midway review to show we clearly have made progress” – attraction
Create Detailed Access Guides for businesses
Encouraging businesses across your destination to provide accessibility information is part of the Kick-Start programme.
Within the Enhanced programme, Detailed Access Guides are created for participating businesses by AccessAble, who then host these on their website, which is viewed by over 6 million people a year. Whilst this increases the cost of the programme, it ensures that the Accessibility Guides are produced, the standard of information provided is consistent and high-quality and that accessibility information is searchable on a consumer platform.
Smaller venues often rely on third party providers to update their website information and this process can be expensive. They may therefore be unable to add a link to their new Detailed Access Guide to their website straight away, as they may choose to wait until a number of other elements require updating to maximise the value in paying for a web developer.
Organise and fund a Detailed Access Guide for each business through AccessAble.
It is important to note that AccessAble provides a 20% discount for LVEPs when co-ordinating and booking On Site Assessments for 5 or more businesses together ; contact them directly for a bespoke quotation.
Quotations from users 5
“It (the Accessibility Guide) is certainly not something I thought about beforehand. It’s certainly not something that I thought we really need, but it has proven really popular. Through Google Analytics, we can see since we’ve launched the Accessibility Guide it’s become one of our top 10 most clicked on things on our website” – experience provider.
