Building Society receives gold award for autism training

The Society invested in expert training from the North East Autism Society (NEAS) to build on its understanding of the needs of autistic and neurodivergent staff and customers.

And the Society has now been presented with the Gold Standard – the highest accolade awarded by NEAS.

Kerrie Highcock, who oversees the Acceptance Award training for NEAS, handed over the award, saying: “It has been a pleasure working with Darlington Building Society over the past year.

“The Society was already achieving high standards in its care of autistic and neurodivergent members and employees, so it was a question of helping them embed those practices and establishing a more strategic approach.”

As well as training sessions at the Society’s head office in Darlington, Kerrie also visited the town’s flagship branch to carry out an assessment and see what adjustments could be made.

“What was lovely was to hear the staff coming up with ideas on how improvements could be made and how challenges met. Darlington Building Society has made an outstanding commitment in this important area,” added Kerrie.

The Society’s Chief People Officer, Helen Easton, said: “We are so proud to have achieved this standard and it’s a testament to the expert support we’ve had from NEAS, and the way the staff have wanted to embrace the training, in order to gain a higher level of understanding.

“We are committed to the continuous improvement of our working environment to ensure our culture is truly inclusive. ‘Be better’ is one of our core values and this training has been in line with that objective.”

As part of its ‘be better’ approach, the Society has recently launched its first ‘reciprocal mentoring’ programme under which senior leaders are paired with junior staff so they can learn from each other.