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Introduction
In August 2021, Happy Factory became only the 5th company or organisation to come on board and join our Accessible Cities South Africa platform and the first new company to join our Accessible Cities South Africa platform without first advertising on our DiSA platform, thereby setting a trend for other companies to come on board and work with us to promote accessibility and inclusivity in South Africa. DiSA would like to congratulate and thank Happy Factory for joining our "Accessible Cities South Africa (AC - SA) " platform and for becoming an "Access Warrior" and for then renewing their Membership in 2023 and 2024.
Happy Factory focus on advancing the art of people strategy with a unique consulting experience by crafting meaningful people initiatives and programs for companies through creativity, imagination & authenticity. To wevolve the world and create great human experiences by crafting meaningful people initiatives & programs for companies through creativity, imagination & authenticity. To be a Wevolved global firm offering unique people strategies advancing the way companies engage their people
Joining our Accessible Cities platform, Happy Factory has also shown their commitment to work together as "Access Warriors" to create awareness and inclusive environments for persons with disabilities, removing barriers one step at a time and converting our current environments into Accessible Cities for All."
DiSA and Happy Factory Partnership
Disability info South Africa (DiSA) was started in 2015 by Alan Downey when he realised that there was still an urgent need for a free information service to assist and support persons with disabilities and their families. Through the support over the years from various organisations, companies and clubs, we have been able to create a link between persons with disabilities and the companies, clubs and organizations that are available to assist them. More recently, DiSA has identified a need to become more than an Information and Support Service but to also provide platforms to help Identify, Address and Remove barriers to an inclusive, accessible South Africa. By creating a link with other reputable like minded companies clubs and organizations, we aim to create a better accessible future for all.
With this in mind, we have approached various current members of DiSA to join us and other Access Warriors in this journey to "Light a way to an Inclusive Society!" With assistance from all Access Warriors who have joined our Accessible Cities South Africa (AC-SA) platform, we aim to become a stronger force working together to help break down barriers, creating a level playing field - to enable all persons with disabilities to be able to participate equally in society.
By promoting the services supplied by Happy Factory below and working with them through our AC-SA platform with other Access Warrior - Service Providers, we aim to ensure that all the pieces of the puzzle are in place to provide a complete Accessible Solution for the benefit of all. Please read the information below to find out more about the services that Happy Factory can provide and contact them or DiSA through the contact form below, should you require any further information and assistance.
Happy Factory Services
Happy Factory are all about advancing the art of people strategy with a unique consulting experience by crafting meaningful people initiatives & programs for companies through creativity, imagination & authenticity. To wevolve the world and create great human experiences by crafting meaningful people initiatives & programs for companies through creativity, imagination & authenticity
Happy Human Experiences is what life is all about...from employees to customers and all the humans that make up your value chain.
Our Vision is to be a Wevolved global firm offering unique people strategies advancing the way companies engage their people, vendors and customers.
Our Mission is to wevolve the world and create great human experiences by crafting meaningful people initiatives & programs for companies through creativity, imagination & authenticity.
We help businesses create and implement meaningful initiatives that lead to happy human experiences like people programs, customer journeys, employee engagement, career planning, ideation and creativity sessions.
We are passionate about creating, tips, tools, ideas and people strategies that create happy workplaces. We are also super excited about working with businesses to enhance the human experience
so that it makes a difference to the employer, employee and the customer.
We have great partners who deliver excellent services including:
- Disability Awareness and Inclusion Training - Reasonable Accommodation in the Workplace
- Career Transitioning & Career Planning
- Team Dynamics - Individual and Team Values
- Innovation Programs
- HR Audits
- Customer Service Training
- Employee Wellbeing Programs
For companies seeking to employ talent, our role is to assist you in creating an accessible work environment that provides equal opportunities for employment of people with a disability. In a nutshell, we represent both job seekers with a disability, and assist companies with including and developing people with a disability by creating a disability inclusive environment.
Disability Awareness & Inclusion Training - Reasonable Accommodation - Workplace
Disability awareness and workplace inclusion programmes make employees feel safe disclosing their disabilities and support the inclusion of people with disabilities in society and the workplace. The goal of the programme is to provide employers and employees with the skills and knowledge needed to understand what a disability means in the workplace, how to make reasonable accommodations, how to disclose disabilities, and how to interact with people with disabilities with confidence. This short, concise workshop helps participants better understand and deal sensitively and practically with the variety of disabilities they may encounter; helps them overcome the natural fears we have when interacting with a disabled person; and provides tips on awareness and etiquette in these situations. The training defines and describes the term "disability," dispels many myths associated with disabilities, provides a list of rules of conduct, and addresses disability language.
Innovation Programs
Communicating the right messaging on Disability as a form of Diversity, and its value to business and society, is a key success factor in promoting Inclusion and building a culture of respect. The aim of any Disability Communications Campaign is to ‘normalise’ disability, shift perceptions which form barriers to inclusion, and create a culture of trust in which employees feel confident to disclose a disability in order equalize opportunities for success. Paramount to the success of changing perceptions around disability is the use of the correct ‘language’ and messaging content. This campaign includes a brand/logo design and 5 digital communications including context and design work.
HR Audits
We conduct full scale HR Audits that include company culture and employee wellbeing. The HR (Human Resource) Audit evaluates the people practices within a company. It examines various aspects of the HR tasks. These can be policies, processes, procedures, documentation, and systems. Our HR Audit also includes people practices, organisational culture and employee wellbeing.
Employee Wellbeing Programs
For many years we have had evidence that wellness programs in large corporations can be effective, but now we have evidence that any business can also benefit from having a comprehensive wellness program. Wellness is more than being free from illness, it is a dynamic process of change and growth. (W.H.O.)
Contact Happy Factory
If you require any further information or are interested in any of our Services, please feel free to contact Happy Factory via our web site at: www.happyfactory.us, or Contact Melissa Subban at: Melissa@happyfactory.co.za, or Tel: +27 74 188 8677.
Current and Future Plans
Only through inclusive environments can some persons with disabilities take part equally in society. "An impairment is any temporary or permanent loss or abnormality of a body structure or function, whether physical or psychological"
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) "Disability is imposed by society when a person with a physical, psychosocial, intellectual, neurological and/or sensory impairment is denied access to full participation in all aspects of life, and when society fails to uphold the rights and specific needs of individuals with impairments."
With this in mind, DiSA aim to make it a priority to create awareness for the creation of inclusive environments, from the 3rd of November to the 3rd of December, we celebrate Disability Rights Awareness Month, with the 3rd of December celebrated as National Disability Rights Awareness Day in South Africa. As South Africa’s premium and free disability information portal, we at DiSA believe that we should create awareness of disability issues all year round, not only one month of the year. To help drive this awareness, we launched our Accessible Cities South African Platform and partnership with Happy Factory, whereby we promote their services that they supply and the importance of creating accessible environments.
Through this partnership between we pledge to continue to promote Happy Factory and the services that they supply to companies and individuals who contact us needing assistance, as well as through interviews and webinars, whereby we highlight the various benefits of employing persons with disabilities and in collaboration with Happy Factory and other Access Warriors, identify how companies and employers can go about creating environments in which the employee can succeed, while also benefiting the company, other employees, as well as the community at large.
Accessible environments are so much more than just a ramp, only through the services that companies such as Happy Factory provide, can we truly create more opportunities for persons with disabilities to succeed, which ultimately changes peoples perceptions of persons with disabilities. Creating access to venues, environments, information, products and services, enable persons with disabilities to break free of their barriers and comfort zones and experience success. No company, organisation or person is an island, we all need to work together to promote real change for this to happen - This is our goal as Access Warriors!
Contact DiSA
If you, your Company, Organisation, School or Sports Club require any assistance with regards to any of the services listed above, or would like to support DiSA and other Access Warriors in their journey to "Lighting the way to an Inclusive Society", please contact Alan Downey on Email: info@DiSA.org.za, Cell: 084 504 9176 or preferably via the Contact Form below.
