What would your organisation’s response be to the following question “do we provide the same level of accessibility to our employees as we do to customers or users?”
Organisations recognise and prioritise the importance of accessible technology for their customers, but are they giving the same attention to their employees? Imagine the disconnect if an organisation promotes accessible services externally, yet fails to recognise digital accessibility internally. Accessibility should be incorporated throughout every aspect of the organisation - not just for customers, but for employees as well. This requires weaving accessibility throughout culture, processes, policies and governance in the context of technology.
According to a Microsoft study, 90% of private sector companies agreed that their accessibility strategy helps retain employees who become temporarily or permanently disabled. In other words, the true value of embracing digital accessibility goes beyond legal compliance. Let’s explore the practical steps your organisation can take to ensure it is fully integrated into your culture and operations.
What do we mean by accessibility?
The conversation around digital accessibility seems to be predominantly focused on accessibility within specific technologies, applications or operating systems. Guidance, like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), is undoubtedly important. Yet laws, such as the Equality Act 2010, and regulations, including Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, require organisations to do more. Digital accessibility applies to the complete provision of technology.
What if, during onboarding, a new employee with a severe visual impairment who is working from home is required to read set up instructions? If they can’t even set up their laptop, will they appreciate other work done to make an application accessible?
Or take the scenario that a manager ignores a neurodivergent employee’s request for adjustments. This would lead to an overwhelmingly stressful work environment for the employee.
Digital accessibility should be viewed as an end-to-end solution. An organisation needs to recognise the importance of digital accessibility in its culture, policies, and processes. Employees should feel it is safe to discuss accessibility with colleagues and management. They should feel that their needs are recognised and proportionally met.
The value of embracing digital accessibility
Genuine accessibility drives value and enhances operational capacity while reducing risks.
Take the example above of a visually impaired new employee. If the organisation has established processes in place to provide equal outcomes for all, then setting up the device from home won’t delay their ability to start work. However, if these processes don’t exist, the employee may face delays, and the cost to add accessibility later will only increase over time.
Making digital accessibility a standard part of operations improves efficiency and adds value. It is also more cost effective than managing digital accessibility requirements reactively. Operationalising accessibility will have a positive impact on organisational culture that should then be reflected in providing a more accessible service to customers and users. This virtuous circle of value on operations, culture and customers demonstrates the importance of embracing digital accessibility.
We’ve seen organisations damage relationships with employees due to a lack of accessibility provision, which can damage their reputation. Implementing accessible technology helps retain employees, saving money and protecting organisational reputation.
DIY workarounds
Employees can create workarounds to do their jobs when their accessibility needs aren’t met. These workarounds can lead to serious legal and security risks for the organisation. These risks can end up costing much more than simply meeting the original accessibility requirement. Assistive devices may be sited as a concern due to security risks. However, a lack of dialogue between accessibility and security representatives to find a suitable solution for employees with accessibility requirements can lead to bigger issues. For example, an employee might use unlicenced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transcribe meetings if their employer does not provide an acceptable solution that supports their requirement. Or a visually impaired employee might download an unlicenced screen reader if their request is denied.
These Do-it-Yourself (DIY) fixes from employees are commonplace and come with serious security, legal, ethical and reputational risks for an organisation, that are usually greater than the original accessibility request.
It is therefore more effective to ensure a line of communication between security and accessibility stakeholders and ensure that an organisations’ technology estate for employee includes accessibility solutions.
What should we do?
There’s no one-size-fits all solution for accessibility: it requires ongoing conversations among stakeholders. However, accessibility should be given the same importance as other interests in these discussions. Organisations shouldn’t universally approve or reject all accessibility requests. Instead, there should be governance process where issues are raised, that encourages dialogue and consequently finds a solution together. This process should be transparent and accessible to everyone.
Out of date or rigid policies that provide no opportunity to engage with accessibility will only serve to increase risk for the organisation.
A culture that values, recognises and prioritises accessibility is essential. Employees should feel safe discussing their accessibility needs, which will happen when they see that accessibility is recognised in decision-making by all levels of management. This will create virtuous circle of value for the organisation, both internally with employees and externally with the service provided to customers.
If you’re looking for help to make accessibility widespread within your organisation and want advice, get in touch with Nicholas Wild. Or check out more of our thoughts on the Sopra Steria ethics and sustainability page.