Large Print, Braille & AudioThese are still the most popular formats we produce, but we are seeing an increase in Easyread and BSL.

We have seen a steady increase in the amounts of accessible formats produced for our clients, and Easyread and British Sign Language (BSL) are also on the increase. We believe that this is simply because more people have realised that they can request this as a right and our clients have realised they can sell more effectively if they tell their customers what it is they are selling in the fi rst place.

The next obvious step for our clients is to then market the information as positively as possible and make sure that their potential new customers have full access to the special offers and information that they have on offer to them.

Predictive Element to the Act

Remember that there is now a predictive element to the Equalities Act. You now have to consider that you will have customers who cannot read print effectively and you must ensure that you are providing equal services to them.

If you wish to market your products and services more effi ciently we can arrange to come and discuss this further. So why not call our MD, Alan Matthews or a member from one of the teams? Those customers who have, have not regretted it.

NEWSLETTERIssue: Summer 2013

Not Only a Disability Service!The excellent talents of the MPH Studios Team are not only for making your video footage acces-sible, they are also a production company in their own right.

Our Studios Team is renowned for their professionalism and excellence; they can provide a full service from script to screen and can advise on how to use this in the most effective way. Manag-ing Director Alan Matthews said, “If you want to see examples of the excellent work the team have done, just visit the link https://vimeo.com/mphstudio. These are promotional fi lms and graphics produced by the team for our own promotional materials and they can provide this service for any of our clients.”

“We have a range of services”, said Jon Davidson, Senior AV Technician, “It is sad that because of the superb work the company does in the commercial disability sector, we are often overlooked for the other commercial services that we provide. We have dry hire studio facilities in both TV and Audio, and we can provide the technical teams and the equipment. This is particularly relevant for our clients who have fi lmed footage on their website. We have excellent duplication, printing and dispatch services in both DVD and audio, and of course we have our own graphics section.”

Claire Lockwell, Studios Administrator also added, “We aim to give the client all of the assistance and guidance that they feel they need, and at the end of the day they walk away with a produc-tion which they have been engaged in and have had a say in how it looks. We can fi lm anywhere around the UK or internationally if needed. It is completely up to the client how they wish to fi lm their product.”

Audio reaches many more people than just those who are visually impaired. It is an effective way to target an audience, quickly and effectively.

For more information why not contact us at studios@mph-uk.com or call us on: 0191 438 6063 ext 0-256.

Our Training and Conference Centre on a New Venture!Sick of paying outrageous prices for your training or meeting venues? Tired of the same old menu’s and sandwiches? Why not talk to our Training and Conference Centre Manager, Lyndsey Burdis, or speak to Debbie Bell the centre administrator and ask for information on our exciting new venture.

Not only can you book the conference or training space at our own purpose built facility here in the North East, Lyndsey and her team can now also book your travel and accomodation, and visits to attractions around our region if you wish.

This comprehensive new service is aimed at taking the strain out of organising your training or conference sessions. This end to end service can include the booking of restauraunts and shows, and the arrangement of transport to all venues.

Lyndsey, pictured above with MD Alan Matthews, said, “I was not sure what the MD would think of my idea, but when I suggested this to him in my monthly review he loved it. Our aim is to use the whole expertise of my team to make our clients training or conference meetings as relaxed as they can be. I have links with many of the hotels and entertainment venues in our region which will allow us to tailor to our clients needs. If the client wants their visit to be intensive and busy, this is no problem, or if they want it to be relaxing and gentle we can arrange a spa day or suggest alter-native options.”

Full details of this service can be received from Lyndsey by: Calling her on: 0191 495 2895 or by emailing her at Lburdis@mph-uk.com.

Access – Means Access To Your Buildings As Well As Your ServicesIt is important to remember that when we speak of access, it is also incumbent upon you to make sure staff have access as well as customers, and that both have access to your buildings, services and to your information. This not only makes it easier for all, it makes perfect business sense also

The Equalities Act covers the rights of employees, business visitors and customers who should be able to expect good access to your premises and places of business.

Jim Taylor, Principal Access Consultant for MPH said, “Our clients can get so caught up in ensur-ing communications are made accessible that they can forget that access to your website and buildings are also covered by the act. Here at MPH we offer all aspects of accessibility including staff training, building consultancy, and access to policies practices and procedures. They all make up your overall access strategy.”

Jim went on to say, “Much of what will need to be done can be done under the normal routine re-furbishment and general maintenance programmes that you have as an organisation. There is no mystique around what we do. Our job is to ensure that you, as our customer, get the best advice available. We are not a pressure group for disabled people, we are a commercial organisation which is there to protect, advise and guide our clients”.

Good access for a disabled person means good access for everyone; you will never make a build-ing less accessible if you follow the correct advice.

Jim and his team work around the world advising our clients on all aspects of accessibility.

If you have any queries about access, in all of its forms, or wish to raise this with Jim or his team, contact him on: 0191 438 6063 ext 0-257 or email him at jtaylor@mph-uk.com.

Security and Health and Safety Are Major Areas of Investment for MPHBy the nature of the work we do at MPH, we spend a substantial budget each year on our security and H&S programmes. Although we cannot go into too much detail here, there are some general areas which take investment. Training of the staff in fraudulent behaviour, whistle blowing, inter-nal procedures etc. takes a substantial amount of time and effort from the management team. Add to this the investment in CCTV systems, alarms, monitoring, physical security, swipe entry system and secure print areas and the costs are substantial as they should be.

CRB checks on staff, as well as high level security checks are implemented and new staff undergo an intensive induction in the reasons behind the policies and practices we have and how and where they fi t in with this. Steve Frake one of the companies internally based solicitors said, “If staff are ill-informed, then they will not understand why, for example, they should not have their mobile telephones with them. This is a particularly diffi cult one with some of the younger members of MPH, as it is like having a part of them removed! When it is explained to them the consequences of being caught with their phone and why the policy is in place, they start to buy into it.”

Helen Cleary, another MPH internally based solicitor added, “It is great to see how engaged the staff are with all that we try and do. I know that the MD insists on the staff being well informed and many of the ideas for improvements that the company has had, have come from members of staff.”

As many of you know we undergo external inspection as well as our own internal reviews and this offers us the chance to have a programme of continuous improvement. Our Admin Manager, Carol Matthews, is about to undergo the NEBOSH qualifi cation for health and safety as this is another area which we have a programme of improvement. Although customers wish to see economical services, they also do not want us to compromise on the levels of H&S and especially the levels of security which we undertake.

MPH has a number of policies covering these areas and if you wish to inspect, please contact our HR department on 0191 4386063 ext 0-230 or email at hr@mph-uk.com for more information.

Engage Your Staff with TrainingYour staff will understand how important it is to treat your disabled customers with patience and dignity, if you let them know that it is important to you as a company.

Where we have offered training to our clients, it has proven to be extremely effective. Our role is to look at what you wish to achieve as a company, engage with your staff and develop training which is fi t for purpose in this area. We have certainly seen our call centre training and front of house training in Disability Confi dence proves to be extremely effective in gaining staff buy-in and an improved customer journey, for all customers.

“Effective training is not being dogmatic and saying you should do”, says June Brewis, the MPH Training Provisions Manager, “It should set out the reasoning behind why the company wishes something to be done in a certain way, what the benefi ts are to the customer and to the company, and where the staff member fi ts in. We are fi nding that many staff members of our clients are simply frightened of saying the wrong thing to a disabled customer or that the customer might complain about them! It is one of the fi rst messages that we give in our training, these are customers fi rst and disabled people second, they can be as good, bad or as indifferent as any other customer they may get in front of them or on the telephone.”

“We use simulation exercises very effectively”, said Group MD Alan Matthews, “This is not to show what it is like to be a disabled person, however it does show some of the problems that disabled people face. Disability is a very personal thing. You can have two people with exactly the same disabilities, with the same levels of mobility or services and one copes extremely well because of the support mechanisms they have in place, and one does not cope very well at all because they live with another dependant, perhaps an older relative and the problems they are facing makes life very diffi cult indeed. This is why we never sell our clients an ‘off the shelf’ package when we offer our services, we look at their requirements, their marketplace and other services they offer, and try to maximise the impact on things like training or how they inform all staff about what they are trying to achieve.”

Direct Mailing, Marketing or Transactional Mail? When a customer joins a bank, telecom, utility or other type of company, they do not understand that you may use a different set of databases for your marketing, than you do for direct mailings or transactional mail! Likewise, they do not know that Marketing may not use the database that billing use and therefore cannot understand why, when they have asked for a specifi c format, they do not always get it.

The Single Duty Equalities Act means that you now have to make sure that any communication which goes out to a customer who has requested an accessible format, goes out to them in that format every time. This is regardless of whether it is a mailing, marketing communication or a statement or bill. This may seem onerous to you, but think of it logically, if all you are only telling your customers what they owe you, they will never buy services from you as they do not know what else you have on offer.

Production Manager Maxine Casey, pictured above, says, “We have been asked now and again by most of our clients to send out a letter apologising for their customers getting a standard communication when they have been registered for Braille, large print or any of the other accessible formats that we offer. Yet we have many clients who send out their direct mailings, marketing and transactional mail very effi ciently. It can be done, and when it is done well and at the same time as the rest of the mail, it is as effective as the standard print version. Remember, we can also print your standard print and match it to the accessible formats. If I was to offer any advice, it would be to make sure that you consider the accessible formats at the same point that you consider the standard print. The earlier we are brought into the planning, the more we can deliver at the same time as the standard mail goes out.”

Effective communications offers your customers choice and gives them the chance to purchase more from you!

If you want more information about our services please contact Maxine on 0191 438 6063 ext 0-229 or at mcasey@mph-uk.com.

National Award NominationWe are delighted that we have been short listed for the second year running for a National ENEI Award (Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion).

The award recognises and celebrates the achievements of organisations that have taken a lead in challenging discrimination and are working inclusively to tap into their talented workforce.

MPH Group have been short listed for the work that they do in training with staff and apprentices, which overall has led to a marked improvement in the organisation’s performance and employees’ skill base.

Alan Matthews, MD of MPH Group said, “We are thrilled to be short listed as we work extremely hard to train our staff and get the most out of people within the organisation. Being short listed proves that we are on the right track and will continue to invest in our work force.”

The winner will be announced on 17th July at an awards ceremony at the Law Society in London. Two managers from MPH Group, Lyndsey Burdis and Carol Matthews, will attend to meet the sponsors, The Law Society and Santander, and to meet and network with the other fi nalists.

Need Someone To Present At One Of Your Meetings?The Management Team at MPH are all experienced in offering presentations at AGM’s, planning, shareholder or board meetings. If you would like one of the team to offer a presentation for you or if you would like further information contact the MD’s Assistant, Lauren Johnson on 0191 438 6063 ext 0-223 or email ljohnson@mph-uk.com.

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