Acas Age Audit Tool User Guide
Contents
1. Acas Age Audit Tool Acas Age Audit Toolkit Employers Users Guidance Whatis the Age Audit Toolkit Why should it be used in a business Getting started D Introducing the toolkit to your workforce b Launching the tool answering questions from employees D Involving Employee Representatives Opening using and closing the Age Audit Tool Manage your survey Creating and naming your survey Invite staff to complete your survey The survey Running the survey Closing your survey Understanding your results and moving forward b Interpreting your results p Considering your next steps D Sharing results with staff D How data is used in terms of benchmarking Assistance from Acas Annexe 1 Project managing the Age Audit Toolkit Acas Age Audit Toolkit Employers Users Guidance What is the Age Audit Toolkit The Age Audit Toolkit is a free interactive diagnostic tool to help an organisation explore whether there are any age related issues within the workplace Also it can be used to indicate whether the organisation is compliant with the Equality Act 2010 This can help minimise the risk of any Employment Tribunal claims The toolkit can be used to help maintain an age diverse workforce and help address any age related issues within your business The tool has been developed in partnership with Coventry University it is anticipated that at some point the tool will also be used t2. the age audit tool for each shop so she creates a survey for each one identifying them by the local managers name This allows each store to assess themselves but she combines the surveys into one overall survey to give her an overall picture Survey name Birmingham Office Create survey Cancel Invite staff to complete your survey Next you will be provided with a hyperlink which relates to the survey you previously named You can then send the hyperlink out to your staff via email or give them a note of it In the text box is an example of how you may want to introduce the survey to your workforce If you then wish to create other surveys for different areas of the business click on Back to manage surveys and carry out the process again IL es Age Audit Tool Manage surveys My account Log off Invite people to complete your survey Your survey has been created successully and its URL is Nttp qoo glNGSg You can send this link directly to the people you would like to complete your survey We have also provided some example intro text below which you could use to introduce people to the survey feel free to adapt this to your needs We would very much appreciate it if you would take the time to complete this online survey which will help us assess our approaches to age in our workplace The survey is designed by Atas and the findings will heip us address any issues that exist and 10 improve our practices as an orqanisaton The survey shou
3. e proposal for the gt Provide reasons for the audit use of toolkit highlighting the Gi Give staff the opportunity to ask benefits for staff and the business questions and raise concerns Encourage all staff to fill out the survey Set a reasonable timeframe Consider the possibility of an extension if necessary Collate and Analyse Results Share results with Directors Senior Management etc Devise an action plan eg set SMART objectives NA Share results with staff and implement relevant changes Review Progress gt Consider if SMART objectives have been met Revisit the tool within 1 year
4. er can fill out the form from their home computer if they wish to as long as they know the hyperlink they are able to do so Alternatively if you wanted to carry out a paper based survey please contact Coventry University as they can assist you to do so Involving employee representatives Now that you ve decided to use the tool the next step to consider is whether to engage with any employee representatives or recognised Trade Unions By successfully gaining support from employee representatives it is likely to increase the amount of employee engagement and have a beneficial impact when trying to encourage staff to fill out the surveys If your organisation does not recognise a Trade Union you may want to consider giving employees the opportunity to elect representatives A crucial part of engaging with any representatives is ensuring that communication is clear and concise Lack of communication can lead to misunderstandings and the loss of trust and confidence For further guidance on consultation see our Employee Communications and Consultation advisory booklet or call the Acas helpline Opening using and closing the Age Audit Tool Manage your survey To use the tool you will need to register and set up an account with us your details will not be passed on and we will not make contact with you unless you authorise us to do so Once you have registered and logged in you will be taken to our open page click Create Survey to be
5. ertently allow themselves to be identified if they make very specific comments in the narrative text boxes However in order for the tool to be effective it is important that they give honest answers and mention any concerns they have in relation to age in the workplace Q How will I find the time to answer the questions A Answering the questions should take approximately 10 minutes To encourage staff to fill out the survey it would be useful if you are able to arrange allocated time away from their normal duties to answer the questions Alternatively the tool can be accessed via smartphones and tablet devices allowing employees to fill it out whilst on the go or even at home Q am not very good with forms or writing will find the questions difficult A A good thing about the Age Audit Tool is its accessibility to all so even those who are less confident will still be able to answer the questions with ease The majority of questions are multiple choice and very often there is an option to select if the employee is not sure of their answer This allows the employee to withhold their opinion if they wish You may also want to consider if it would be appropriate to make any reasonable adjustments for particular members of staff Q I don t have access to a computer at work how will I fill the tool out A The software has been specially adapted so that the tool can be filled out using any android or iPhone device The staff memb
6. gin Manage your surveys Create a new survey Th Acas age sudi 100 enanas you tO assess Now compliant you are win Me law and good pratit and assesses Ine risk of possinve dist Unit Can De team within he organisation a branch or drect miNaOON Dy ary size Of business UNE A business wate OF the whole organisation INstUCHONS on usb Pe audit 100 wti k iow Check here to bagn Create a survey Creating and naming your survey In order to manage your data with ease you may find it useful to create a number of different surveys for each of your business units departments or teams and name them accordingly Please be aware that staff will be able to see what you have named the survey so you may want to check it has been named appropriately a After the data has been collected you will be able to combine all the results to establish n overall picture of the business La Age Audit Tool Create a survey The Acas age audit 100 enables you to assess how comptant you are with tne law and good practice and assesses the risk of possible discrimination by any size Of business una Dusiness unit can be a team within the organisation a branch or directorate or the whole organisation Each survey you open should relate to the business unit you want to assess Survey results can then be merged together to obtain a whole business picture Example Anne runs seven convenience stores across her town She wants to use
7. ikely there may be some age related issues within your workplace This could signify that you may have discriminatory policies behaviours or perceptions held within the organisation STAKE CARE This score indicates that you may already have practices within the workplace that actively work to support an age diverse workforce However this score also highlights there are still some age related perceptions or policies which could be considered to be discriminatory STAKE CREDIT This score indicates that there does not appear to be any age related issues within the organisation It appears the business has the necessary policies and procedures to support an age diverse workforce Be aware that age management is a work in progress it may be that when you first carry out the audit you receive a range of indicators from Take Action to Take Credit This is to be expected as age can be a complex issue for employers however by regularly reviewing and revisiting the audit the results should improve over time with the indicators all moving into the green For more detailed information on your results please refer to the guidance on the software itself Considering your next steps Once you have received your results and found out which category they fit in to the next thing to review is what changes or what steps you think are appropriate to take to avoid any further age related issues If your results have highlighted particular hotsp
8. ld take no more than a few minutes to complete and overall responses will b logged on business unit level the too does not present responses at an individual level The survey can be accessed here http Q 12NGS9 Back to manage surveys The survey Once your staff have clicked on the link they will be taken to the survey and will be able to begin filling it out i Age Audit Tool Age Audit Tool Questionnaire for Birmingham Office survey Introduction We are asking you to complete this short questionnaire to find out if you are treated tainty regardiess of age in your workplace The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for employers to treat their employees worse because of age unless there is a good reason to justify it This survey will nelp identify any particular issues so that your employers can ensure your workplace meets the needs of an age diverse workforce This survey is confidential and is for staff members of ALL ages By completing this survey you will be providing the organisation with valuable Information about the way it manages and nancies issues related to age This is a joint project between CURES Coventry University Research Solutions and Acas Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service Please complete the following information Section 1 Personal Information 1 Your age 16 xj 2 Gender C Male C Female 3 Ethnicity Running the survey As the survey is filled out by your staff
9. m meeting to address concerns over confidentiality or to what purpose the information will be used It is good practice to encourage employees to complete the survey although it would be counter productive to compel employees to complete the survey Once you have closed the survey you cannot reopen it Are you sure you want to close Newcastle Office Yes No Understanding your results and moving forward Once you have closed your survey you can either look at the results individually or you can merge your results to get an overall picture of the organisation This page will give you an indication through our scoring system of how compliant you may be with the Equality Act This page will also give you a run down of your businesses score in each of the different sections At the bottom of this page are some links you may find useful in terms of moving forward You can contact us for further advice or help or you can read up on our relevant guidance Your scores Guide to scores az wd derstand se tonneam or orgerisatons teesact The guidence De Score boundaries Your overall score SAN 88 2 PONT sinemart en jou Ve made 2 really good ster M you Mave good sapore Interpreting your results Based on the responses the software receives from your employees your result will be put in to one of three categories These are as follows STAKE ACTION This score indicates that it is quite l
10. nce gathering to demonstrate how your business actively deals with potential age related issues For example it can be used as evidence to contribute to receiving an Investors in People accreditation gt Having an age diverse workforce can be hugely beneficial to businesses a recent study completed by the CIPD found that 55 of respondents felt age diversity was good for knowledge sharing within the business which can also help with succession planning Failure to plan could mean that the organisation suffers a loss of skills and knowledge when a long standing employee decides to leave Our tool can be used to highlight areas where succession planning may need to be considered in the future to avoid losing extensive knowledge The combination of these factors makes it likely that each organisation will have to deal with age related issues at some point It is therefore important that even if you do not feel that there are currently any age related issues in your workplace it is better to be prepared for if when any arise It also sends a positive message to your employees that you take age seriously Fuller Working Lives A Framework for Action Department of Work and Pensions 2014 2Managing an Age Diverse Workforce Employer and employees views CIPD 2014 An employers users guide 3 Getting Started Introducing the toolkit to your workforce The tool can be used to get an in depth look at age related issues in the busines
11. o develop a benchmarking system to allow employers to compare their results with others in their industry There are no hidden charges with the toolkit and Acas will not contact you unless you are happy for us to do so Why should it be used in a business gt The abolition of the Default Retirement Age means employees are now able to work on for as long as they wish From a business point of view this can be hugely beneficial as you do not have to lose your employees as soon as they reach a certain age The tool can be used to ensure that all employees feel they can stay on after 65 and still receive the same opportunities to progress and develop The working population is also getting older and a recently published report by DWP stated that the number of people aged over 65 living in England will increase by 50 by 2030 The tool can be used to help identify talent and succession issues to ensure an organisation is still able to be productive gt The Equality Act 2010 gives individuals protection from being discriminated against because of their age The Age Audit Tool can help ensure that nobody is at a disadvantage because of their age by highlighting any perceptions or behaviours which could be considered to be unlawful gt The Age Audit Tool can help protect your business reputation by showing that you have taken reasonable steps to prevent discrimination against employees should it occur The tool can also be used as a way of evide
12. ots within the organisation you may want to consider whether to undertake further investigation into the reasons for these particular hotspots It could be beneficial to discuss you results with the employee representatives as they may be able to shed some light on the reasons for some of the results You may want to present your findings to the key figures at the top level of the business this allows them to get a clear illustration of any age related issues in the business and provides an opportunity for them to make suggestions on how best to deal with any issues arising When you are deliberating the best ways to move forward it can be useful to use different problem solving techniques to help consider ways of dealing with the different issues such as SWOT analysis brain storming and cause and effect analysis Once you have created a plan of how best to improve policies or behaviours within your organisation you can then develop an action plan using SMART objectives to ensure that these changes are effective You also have the option of revisiting the tool within a timeframe for example 6 months or 1 year This allows you to asses the situation within your organisation and consider if your changes have been effective or if you need to make further alterations For further guidance please refer to our advisory guide on How To Manage Change Sharing results with staff Sharing results with staff In order for any changes within your organi
13. s or it can be used as a quick indicator to assess if there are any potential risks However you decide to use the tool an important way of ensuring that you get the most out of the software is to come up with a plan for project managing the audit Also by developing a detailed plan you can be sure that the tool has less of an impact on the daily running of the business For further guidance on planning your audit see Annexe 1 Once you have planned how to use the tool you may want to consider taking steps to get a level of commitment from those at the top of the organisation This may include the board of directors a senior management team or any relevant committees By planning in advance how you are proposing to carry out the audit you will be able to put forward a stronger case that will help get them on board The implementation of the tool may take up time and resources and so it would be beneficial to gain their support which in turn would make the implementation of the toolkit easier Once you have been given backing by the key figures it is important to start clearly communicating with your employees It would be useful if all managers and supervisors are well briefed and fully informed about the software to allow them to answer any of the employees issues and concerns The employees should be given enough information so that they not only understand what the tool is but also are able to appreciate what the potential benefits are for
14. sation to be successful it is important to get employees engaged with what you are trying to achieve It is crucial that they understand what you want to change and why To get them on board it would be worthwhile sharing your results from the tool and explaining possible risks or disadvantages to the business if certain policies or behaviours continue unchanged This can either be done by showing them the results you received or you could write a report giving an overview of the issues and points the tool raised and how you are considering resolving them If you think it would be appropriate to change policies or practices due to your results it may be beneficial to consult with your employee representatives to get feedback and decide the best way to initiate the changes How data is used in terms of benchmarking As the tool has been developed in partnership with Coventry University s Research Solutions team it is perceived that eventually the toolkit will also be able to be used as a benchmarking tool This will allow organisations to compare their own results with averages from other businesses in the same sector or industry All of your organisation s details will be kept completely confidential and it will only be the data that gets passed on Assistance from Acas Acas offers a variety of services which you may find helpful to use for further information or guidance on dealing with age related issues Guidance Some of our g
15. them It may be worth giving the employees an opportunity to ask any specific questions they have Allowing them to do so will help alleviate any anxieties they may have There are a variety of different methods that can be used to communicate information about the software with employees eWritten Departmental bulletins notice boards intranet and email eVerbal Team meetings large scale meetings one to ones and cascade networks Also carefully consider whether the information is being communicated to all appropriate employees ensuring no member of staff is missed out such as field based staff homeworkers part time term time workers and those absent from work due to sickness annual leave or maternity leave etc Launching the tool answering questions from employees As mentioned previously it is likely that your employees may have some reservations about filling out the tool which is why good communication is important to put their minds at ease Below are a few answers to questions that your employees may have Q Can I get into trouble for my answers A Employees are likely to be concerned about the confidentiality of their answers It would be worth emphasising to your staff that all answers are completely anonymised and it is not possible to search individual inputs into the tool and therefore it is very unlikely that their answers will be traced back to them The key thing to make employees aware of is that they may inadv
16. uidance may be useful to help you implement the tool See below e Employee Communications and Consultation Communicating with your Employees How to Manage Change Asking and Responding to questions of Discrimination in the Workplace Age and the Workplace Training For further information on our courses please go to our website www acas org uk We also have Acas Senior Advisers and if appropriate one of our highly trained advisers may be able to give you further guidance on how to deal with age related issues or how best to implement the tool Customer Services Team For any further information on what services we offer contact the Acas Customer Services Team on 0300 123 1150 Acas Helpline For advice and guidance around workplace issues please call our helpline on 0300 123 1100 Annexe 1 Project Managing the Age Audit Toolkit Review of your workforce and business Understand the age profile of staff gt Consider if there are any known age related issues in your business Review the benefits of the Age Audit Tool for your business gt Develop a proposal for the implementation of the toolkit Engage with key figures within the business Board of Directors Senior Management Team gt HR Present them with the proposal for the use of toolkit highlighting the benefits to the business and the potential effects on employees Consult with Employee Consult and communicate with Representatives employees Present th
17. you will be able to see the number of responses you have received from the Manage your Surveys page La Ga Age Audit Tool Manage surveys My account Log off Manage your surveys Existing surveys Survey name Invitation link Number of responses Close Results Birmingham Office Invitation link 2 Manchester Office Newcastle Office nvitation link 3 Close survey Create a new survey Create a survey Closing your survey In order to be able to begin analysing the results you need to close your survey At this point it is worth reviewing whether there are any additional staff members who you wish to include in the audit as it is not too late to add them in Be aware that once you have closed the survey it is not possible to add in any more responses from employees Finally before you close it you may want to give employees one last opportunity to fill out the survey to ensure that you receive as many responses as possible La e a Age Audit Tool Manage surveys My account Log off Close survey When you have received enough responses to the age audit tool you should close the survey It will be your decision at what point this occurs however the more responses to receive the more accurate the survey findings will be If you are considering closing the survey and still have numbers of employees who have not responded you should consider encouraging them to take part It might be a simple discussion at a tea
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