5 Step Guide: Infusing Accessibility into Corporate Culture

To take the lead as an accessible and inclusive company, you can no longer simply react to individual employee requests for accommodations. Follow these tips to promote meaningful and lasting changes at your company. 

1. Create a position for an accessibility-focused leader 

The decisions made by the people at the top of your company highlight your brand values. Appointing a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) makes a statement and showcases your commitment to inclusion. McKinsey found that 53% of Fortune 500 companies now have CDO or similar positions. 

Here are a few considerations when hiring an accessibility-focused leader:

2. Let go of preconceived notions 

You may think you know exactly what accommodations employees who are Deaf or hard of hearing need. Assumptions can prevent business leaders from identifying better solutions.  

Some people who are Deaf or hard of hearing might prefer captions for meetings and events, while others prefer working with sign language interpreters. Get feedback from team members who will be using accommodations. Make an effort to facilitate an open dialogue with employees and ask for their feedback to help your business develop better responses and put its resources toward the best solutions. 

3. Create groups to empower your employees

To promote a culture of openness, craft employee resource groups (ERG). 25% of people have a disability that impacts their daily lives. There are likely people in every company, many of whom don’t report their needs, who could benefit from the findings of these collective groups. 

An ERG gives groups of employees a collective voice and greater power to speak up and let leadership know about necessary improvements needed in their work environment and experiences. If your company’s leaders build out these groups and listen to them, you’ll showcase a commitment to inclusion and identify important items to act on.  

4. Make accommodation requests easier

There’s no excuse for making people jump through hoops. Empowering lower-level managers to quickly approve requests for most accommodations boosts overall efficiency. Another tactic is to create designated accommodation centers where employees can quickly get what they need. At a recent Verbit webinar, Russell Shaffer, Walmart’s Senior Director of Global Culture, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, explained the philosophy behind the company’s centralized accommodations funded service centers. Removing barriers and highlighting the company’s respect for its employees paid off. Individuals performed their jobs better and felt more valued.   

Although some fear that making frequent accommodations will become costly, studies show that most accommodations are free, and when there is a cost, the average is under $500.   

5. Embed Universal Design principles into your workplace

Many accommodations designed for a select few actually help everyone perform their jobs better. Apply Universal Design principles to your workplace and experiences to make them more accessible to everyone.  

Universal captioning is one Universal Design step you can take today. Rather than making people who need captions ask for them, offer them for every meeting, event and town hall. Not only will this save people who rely on captions from needing to request them, it can help the many people who didn’t even know they’d benefit from captions to reap their benefits.   

Infusing accessibility into your company, its website, physical workspaces and culture has benefits that extend beyond expectations. Your goal should be to eliminate employees’ need to make requests for most accommodations. Proactive leaders incorporate Universal Design principles, so employees aren’t forced to come forward and report their needs, especially when they’re not comfortable doing so.  

Creating a more inclusive environment means greater productivity and efficiency for all of your employees. Reach out to us for ideas on how to make initial tweaks today that will improve your workplace culture.