Tracking the Effectiveness of Adjustments

Tracking the outcome and impact of workplace adjustments in your organisation

There are many definitions of ‘evaluation’. A quick search will turn up hundreds of results, which probably reflects how much thought, and time has gone into this area. I like this definition because it focuses on determining the worth or value of what’s being evaluated:

“Evaluation is usually defined as the determination of the worth or value of something… judged according to appropriate criteria, explicated and justified.” (House Evaluation Research 1993). Read further

Different types of evaluation serve different purposes, but essentially, at its core, evaluation is about understanding the contribution or benefit of the thing being examined. It’s no coincidence that the word evaluate contains part of the word value.

As an HR or Learning and Development manager, you’re often tasked with gathering evidence that helps make sense of the initiatives and projects you’re running.

So, how does this relate to workplace adjustments specifically, and why is evaluation becoming so important in this area?

The recent government Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working sets out proposed reforms to employment support, with a focus on helping more disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to enter or stay in work. A key message is that government-funded schemes, like Access to Work, must demonstrate both effectiveness and value for money.

This paper reflects a growing government expectation that employers will play a more active role in supporting disabled employees, and be able to show what’s working.

For employers, this signals a shift. Workplace adjustments can no longer be seen as simply a compliance issue or an act of goodwill. Instead, they are becoming a strategic asset, directly linked to workforce productivity, retention, and inclusion.

When organisations fail to evaluate workplace adjustments, they risk missed opportunities to improve performance, under-reporting of issues affecting staff retention, or reputational risks linked to poor inclusion metrics.

In a climate of tightening budgets and increasing accountability, being able to demonstrate that your adjustments make a measurable difference is becoming essential.

Examples of outcomes and impact from using assistive technology

Assistive Technology is a powerful example of how individual-level adjustments can create meaningful change, both for the person using the tools and the wider organisation.

When employees use Assistive Technology, they often report the following outcomes:

• Fewer errors in written communication
• Better participation in meetings and conversations (e.g. through captioning or note-taking tools)
• Improved ability to organise and prioritise tasks
• Reduced stress or anxiety linked to tasks that were previously challenging

These individual-level outcomes can contribute to longer-term wider impacts, such as:

• Reduced long-term sickness absence linked to stress or inaccessible work environments
• Fewer formal grievances or complaints related to lack of support
• Increased retention and progression of disabled or neurodivergent employees

Using both self-report methods and more objective measures, such as the uptake of workplace needs assessments can help build a picture of how well workplace adjustments, and the support that sits around them, are working in practice.