Access for individuals with disabilities has often meant being reactive. Organizations tell employees or customers or visitors that accommodations are available and then they sit back and wait for the requests for access. But when it comes to digital access, a proactive approach often leads to full inclusion in a way that reacting to requests just cannot. Digital environments and content often resemble the built environment. There is planning and development as the infrastructure is built. Architects recognized long ago that baking accessibility into design not only led to better function; it was also more aesthetically pleasing. Universal design principles became common place and emphasized the usability of the built environment by the most users possible. Organizations can take a similar approach to their digital assets.
Building an Infrastructure for a More Inclusive Workplace
The first step is to include access in the design of the environment or content. Design is for all forms of content, not just websites and pages. Documents, social media posts, videos and images can all be designed to be more accessible and usable. And most content creators can build access into these assets without specialized knowledge of HTML or ARIA. It usually comes down to properly formatting the documents and using the tools that are built into the platform. Here are a few examples:
- Descriptive hyperlinks are key words or phrases that have been used to share a website link. Rather than sharing the long url that often contains nonsensical text, a content creator can highlight the words in the sentence that describe the link and use them to create the hyperlink. This allows users of assistive technology to understand where the link will take them and scan via link. A quick note about descriptive hyperlinks: it is really tempting to use the words “click here” and turn them into your hyperlink but doing so actually confuses the assistive technology user. When they scan by link, they wind up hearing a list of “click here’s” and have no direction about which “click here” is the link that they actually want.
- Many of the content creation tools include built in style guides and templates that take a lot of the accessibility guess work out of it for the creator. And in many cases, the style guides introduce navigation into the document that allow users to move around the document to the content they are most interested in. So, creators should resist the urge to just bold the text of a heading and choose one of the heading levels in the style guide instead.
- Images and graphics can be problematic for users with disabilities, especially those using assistive technology. If someone cannot see, they typically use a screen reader to announce the text and options on the computer aloud to them and navigate using keyboard commands. Screen readers will announce the presence of images and graphs but cannot interpret them. The creator or author will have to include an alternative text description of the salient visual components of the image so the user understands why the image was included and what content it conveys.
- Most of us likely have experience with closed captions and understand the basic purpose of them. Captions ensure that the audio components of videos are accessible to those who cannot hear. Organizations can create videos that have accurate captions and transcripts to ensure communication access by working first from a script for the video. The script can be used as the basis for the captions and can be edited for accuracy in the final production of the video in many of the common video creation and sharing services.
Access Has to be Intentional
But what about other forms of access and inclusion? Many times, access has to be intentional. This may include working with vendors of digital tools and resources through the procurement process to ask about the vendor’s approach to digital accessibility. This is especially important if the organization knows that some of its employees need accommodations. Questions might include: Have you tested your product for accessibility? Do you use screen readers in testing? How have you included digital accessibility in the product’s road map and future development plans? These questions provide insight into the accessibility of the tool and also communicate your organization’s commitment to digital inclusion.
Accessibility in a Post-Pandemic World
Outside of the digital content, workplace accommodations will still be what we have traditionally come to expect, in terms of increased flexibility, clarity of expectations, and ergonomic equipment. But it may also include new accommodations in this hybrid work world where more and more of organizations have remote employees on a part- or full-time basis. Employees might need accommodations to reduce the number of online meetings in a day or to provide flexible scheduling throughout the day, including split shifts. There might also be a need for more intentional synchronous communication between employees and supervisors to clarify expectations, modifications to policies or procedures related to when employees must participate in meetings with their video cameras on, or modifications to the technology in use to ensure that it is compatible with assistive technology devices.
And as organizations start to return to the pre-pandemic approaches to work, some of the challenges employees previously faced may also be returning. For years, disabled workers were told it wasn’t possible to have the type of flexibility that became necessary two years ago. Now that things are shifting back, that flexibility may be lost. But does it have to be? This is a good time for organizations to examine what constitutes a fundamental aspect of their work in a post-pandemic world. What aspects of the remote work environment are still appropriate? It is likely time for organizations to take a hard look at how they measure productivity and work performance and compare with pre-pandemic levels to guide their decision-making. And as they do so, it is also important to consider organizational culture and engagement. Are employees happier? Do they feel like they belong? The notion of what must be based on what was, especially as it relates to access and inclusion for employees with disabilities, may need to be challenged to increase that access.
Kelly Hermann is the Vice President of Access, Equity & Inclusion at University of Phoenix.
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