From executive buy-in to enterprise-wide training.
A major insurance organization secured leadership funding, built internal training capacity, and scaled disability inclusion education across U.S. facilities.
What this built
- Executive briefing secured leadership funding for the program
- Training delivered in person across all U.S. facilities
- 98% of participants rated the training helpful
- Disability ERG and centralized accommodation fund established
Goodwill was there. Infrastructure wasn't.
A major insurance organization had a long-standing commitment to supporting marginalized populations. Inclusion was already part of the organization's values and culture, but disability inclusion was a newer area for the organization to understand, fund, and operationalize.
The challenge was not a lack of goodwill. It was a lack of exposure, visibility, and executive-level understanding of disability as a workplace, talent, and retention issue. Because disability inclusion had not yet been elevated with senior leadership, the work lacked the funding and infrastructure needed to move beyond isolated interest into an organization-wide strategy.
The organization engaged us to identify barriers, create leadership buy-in, and build a practical solution that included thought leadership, executive education, and a scalable training model for facilities across the country.
Start at the top.
In a consulting engagement I led through my previous practice, we began by developing and delivering an executive briefing for senior leaders.
The briefing connected disability inclusion to the work the organization was already doing for other marginalized populations. It helped leaders understand disability as both an identity and an intersectional workplace issue. It also addressed a core truth that resonated with the room:
Many people move in and out of disability across their lives, and disability inclusion is relevant to every workforce.
The business case focused on retention, employee experience, untapped talent, and the connection between inclusion and job satisfaction across the organization. The goal was to help leaders see disability inclusion not as a separate initiative, but as a workforce strategy aligned with the organization's existing values, culture, and business priorities.
The executive briefing secured the funding needed to move the program forward.
Built for scale. Built to last.
After securing executive support, we created a plan to deliver disability inclusion training across multiple locations in the United States.
The model was designed for scale from the beginning. Learning and development leads participated in the process by observing the training, building confidence with the material, and preparing to deliver it internally. We created the train-the-trainer materials, facilitator guides, participant resources, support tools, and knowledge checks needed to make the program sustainable inside the organization.
The training itself was highly interactive. Participants were not passive observers. They were asked to participate in facilitated discussions, reflect on workplace scenarios, share lived experiences when they chose to do so, and practice real employment situations, including mock interviews and performance conversations.
Human resources was actively engaged throughout the process. This ensured HR leaders and practitioners had a clearer understanding of their role in disability inclusion, reasonable accommodations, performance management, and employee support.
Nationwide reach. Sustained internally.
The organization met its goal of delivering the training program in person across all U.S. facilities.
Because the program was built with internal capacity in mind, the training did not end when the external engagement ended. The organization's own learning and development team continued delivering the program, allowing the work to remain active and embedded within the company.
The initiative also contributed to broader infrastructure for disability inclusion. The organization created a disability employee resource group and established a centralized accommodation fund, helping ensure employees had more consistent access to resources regardless of department or budget.
From intention to investment.
This engagement demonstrated the importance of executive visibility in moving disability inclusion from intention to investment.
By combining senior leader education, a clear business case, interactive training, HR engagement, and a train-the-trainer model, the organization built a scalable program that continued beyond the original engagement.
The result was stronger leadership buy-in, increased internal capacity, a more consistent approach to disability inclusion, and a training program that remains in place today.
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