Swindon-based Nationwide is to sponsor the Business Disability Forum’s (BDF) bestselling guide Welcoming Disabled Customers for the next two years.
The guide provides easy-to-follow, practical advice to frontline customer service staff on how to offer quality service to disabled customers, and insights into the experiences and preferences of disabled customers. 
Nationwide, the world’s largest building society, joined Business Disability Forum as a member in 1991 and recently upgraded its membership status to partner, joining blue-chip organisations such as BP, Ministry of Defence and Sainsbury’s.
In conjunction with sponsorship of the guide, Nationwide has also committed to providing a customised copy for every one of its UK branches, as an addition to its ‘helping hand’ boxes which contain items such as passbook magnifiers, cheque completion templates and clipboards to help staff meet the needs of customers with disabilities.
BDF membership and business development director David Goodchild said: “Nationwide’s recent upgrade to partner of BDF and now sponsorship of our most popular guidance for frontline staff demonstrates the organisation’s commitment to delivering accessible, hassle-free service for disabled customers.
“Nationwide has taken this commitment one step further by providing frontline staff with a customised version of the guide that features an encouraging message of support from Julia Dunn, chief compliance officer and executive sponsor of Nationwide’s Disability Employee Network.”
Julia Dunn said: “At Nationwide, our members are at the heart of what we do. We want to do the best for them and a vital part of that is ensuring that our disabled members have the best access to our facilities, information and products.
“We are, therefore, proud partners of the BDF and delighted to be sponsoring their Welcoming Disabled Customers guide. Our Helping Hand boxes help to make banking with us easier for our disabled members and the inclusion of the guide will play an important part in this.”
Nationwide employs around 17,000 people across its Swindon head office, admin centres based in Northampton, Bournemouth and Dunfermline and its branches.
