Bankinter trains employees in assisting people with disabilities
The bank is opening a voluntary online course for all staff members; however, it will be mandatory for employees at accessible branch offices and for recruitment officers in the HR Department.
Bankinter, along with Ilunion, a social initiative by the ONCE and its foundation, has made an innovative online course about assisting people with disabilities available to all its employees via the corporate Intranet. This course will allow bank employees to understand necessary steps to assist people with physical or intellectual disabilities properly, whether they are customers, colleagues or friends.
The course will address specific cases of disabilities: hearing, sight, intellect and mobility, some of which can also relate to more elderly customers. The goal is for employees to understand the particular aspects of each disability and the best way to help in each case.
The steps in the course were defined with specialists from Ilunion and are based on premises that may seem very basic but are not always considered due to carelessness. For example, act naturally toward the person being helped while also treating them with dignity and respect, be flexible, use proper language, offer help without trying to impose, ask before helping, etc. These are some of many factors and small details that we ignore, along with others that are more specific or unknown.
The course, which will start in early September, will be required for the employees of the bank’s seven branches with Universal Accessibility Management System certified by UNE 170001. This includes the bank’s main branch office on Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid. It will also be required for recruitment staff in the HR Department, in order to properly engage future candidates with a disability applying for a job in the bank.
The course is also open optionally to other bank employees. Even this summer, 150 people from various areas in the bank (including the sales network and central services) have signed up.
This initiative is part of the ‘A bank for everyone’ project, which follows the bank’s inclusive strategy to build a more inclusive and diverse bank through active management of disabilities in its value chain. Its commitment takes form through accessibility policies, management systems and programmes to eliminate physical and technological barriers and set up volunteer projects and support for the not-for-profit sector.
