As part of our disability management, we support and promote a long-term increase in awareness of the special needs of people with disabilities, and implement targeted measures to make their daily working environment for us or their collaborations with us as a bank rather easier.
Disability Management was initiated at Bank Austria on 1 April 2010. The original driver was to support the many employees with disabilities within the group. As a first step, the area of responsibility of disability management was expanded from employees with disabilities to also include bank customers with disabilities.
What does Disability Management do?
- Promotion of employees with long-term impairments
- Targeted recruitment of people with disabilities
- Running the Disability Network involving around 60 people
- Extending the pool of employees able to communicate in sign language
- Training courses on dealing with people with disabilities
UniCredit Bank Austria was awarded the Disability Matters Award 2018
UniCredit Bank Austria was presented with the internationally renowned "Disability Matters Award 2018" for being an exemplary workplace for the integration of employees with disabilities. This prize is one of the most coveted and important awards in the area of accessibility and inclusion.
"Product developers, process managers, software developers and many, many other people need to adjust their mindset, because they have to create products and processes that also meet the needs of people with disabilities." For Christian Schinko, Disability Manager at Bank Austria, accessibility is something close to his heart.
His predecessor, Erwin Schauer, had already succeeded in implementing a slew of projects. These included, for example, the shuttle service, accessible branches, the debit card (BankCard) for people who are blind or visually impaired, and collaborating on creating a sign language dictionary. Christian Schinko’s focus is also on the online area.
Social skills with specific actions
Christian Schinko, Disability Manager at Bank Austria: "Accessibility has to be a constant part of everyday life in a large company - from branch design to accessible software. We try to design projects for all groups of people with disabilities. This is of course something of a challenge."
- A bank card for people with impaired vision: Bank Austria has developed the first bank card for people with visual impairment in Austria. It is particularly easy to read, thanks to an extra-large font size and a stronger contrast, plus labelling in braille.
- Easy access: A structural investment campaign has the goal of redesigning almost all the branches of Bank Austria to be fully accessible.
- Shuttle service: Since 1 September 2010, Bank Austria has offered a shuttle service for customers with restricted mobility in Vienna and Graz.
This allows them to attend personal meetings more easily, thanks to an accessible transport service. - Accessible website: For people who are blind or visually impaired, the hard of hearing, and people with learning difficulties, Bank Austria offers tailor-made websites that provide information about Bank Austria, its activities and products
- Raising awareness: Creating a disability network, to which 60 employees belong. Raising awareness about the topic “people with disabilities” in the context of meetings, seminars and product development.
- Accessible communication techniques: Building up a pool of employees who can communicate in sign language or braille.
- Maintaining contacts and cooperation with other companies, ministries and organisations for the disabled.
Christian Schinko is particularly concerned about raising awareness and sensitisation to the special needs of people with disabilities. In this, he is supported by the Bank Austria Disability Network, which currently comprises 60 employees.
Christian Schinko, Disability Manager at Bank Austria: "These people bring their own very special perspectives to our projects, create contacts, develop ideas, and work with us. This is the only way we can succeed in our projects. These 60 employees either have a disability themselves, have a close relationship with people with disabilities, because, for example, a family member has a disability, or they simply want to advocate for people with disabilities."
