Nearly one in every five Americans has some form of disability, translating to more than 54 million individuals. Ensuring effective communication with individuals with disabilities is therefore essential. They’re likely to make up a notable population of your workforce and customer base. Not only does effective communication build workplace efficiency internally, it is an essential part of conducting a business that attracts and meets the needs of a wider customer base.
While significant progress has been made toward breaking down barriers, communication tactics and proper interaction with individuals with disabilities can always be improved. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)’s guidelines state that Title III entities, including businesses, must communicate effectively with those who have disabilities. The goal is simple: ensure that communication with individuals with disabilities is equally as effective as communication with those without disabilities. In accordance with the ADA, effective communication is defined as written or spoken means, which must be made clear and understandable to all individuals in order to provide equity.
Business leaders can utilize these key tips to commit to equity and effectively communicate with employees and customers navigating disabilities.
1. Gain an Understanding of Their Communication Preferences
Individuals with disabilities are increasingly entering the workplace, with 18% currently employed in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Oftentimes, these individuals do not report their disability needs, but when they do take a moment to sit down with them and garner information about their communication preferences. For instance, an employee who is Deaf or hard-of-hearing may prefer that you communicate with them in written form most frequently, via emails or text messages. Giving employees who come forward the opportunity to note their preferences allows you to provide effective assistance to them to ensure communication channels stay clear and that their expressed preferences are met. This tactic will not only allow them to feel heard or seen, but respected, which will build their loyalty as well.
2. Enlist People-First Language
Far too often, individuals with disabilities are labeled or defined by their disabilities in daily conversations. The solution is workforce education. Train your employees to use “People First Language,” which places the person before their disability. For instance, phrases like a “person with a disability” rather than a “disabled person” are appreciated among the community, as well as a “person who uses a wheelchair.” Additionally, when communicating with them about any assistance they may require, speak to them in terms of assistance, adjustments, accommodations and assistive technology to showcase what is possible to do just that – assist them to do their job most effectively.
Research suggests that organizations which institute People First Language will have a positive effect on the employees, a theory known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. This hypothesis provides that the exact language used has an effect on and determines individuals’ attitudes. Business leaders who encourage People First Language are likely to see positive effects in a variety of ways.
3. Offer Access Proactively
Many employees will not come forward and voice their disabilities. Plan ahead of time to ensure accessibility tools or assistive technologies are at their disposal and set up for their use. Under the ADA, “auxiliary aids and services”, defined by the ADA as devices or services that enable effective communication for people with disabilities, will help to offer them equal access.
Various aids and services to consider to ensure more effective communication for individuals with disabilities, include real-time captioning and transcription of meetings, Brailled materials, videotext displays, written or large print materials, audio description and open or closed captioning, among others. For example, tools like captioning can help not only employees who can then participate more effectively during meetings, but can make the difference in the ability to engage consumers with disabilities effectively as they interact with your marketing videos and other promotional materials. You can also proactively prepare handouts in various formats, such as large print, or offer recordings of business meetings to all participants, so that those who may be struggling are not forced to come forward if they do not wish to.
4. Tailor Your Communication to Ensure Greater Comprehension
Customize your communication techniques and train your workforce of small tweaks they can make when communicating or marketing offerings that can ensure equity for individuals with disabilities. These include:
- Making employees aware of requests surrounding hearing loss (which can often be done without ‘outing’ the requester) so that they can set up mics when speaking in large groups or know to add captions to Zoom calls
- Describing the layout of the office or rooms effectively to new employees or visitors who may be blind so that they may independently navigate if they so wish
- Facing the audience directly when speaking, so that lip reading can be accommodated
- Repeating information in different ways, visually, verbally or otherwise to ensure all communication forms are tapped into
- Using concise sentences or supplementary visual forms of communication, such as gestures, diagrams or demonstrations when it makes sense to offer a more accessible environment to individuals with learning disabilities
- Always following the lead of each individual person being communicated with, assuming nothing and making no generalizations about them and their needs, nor bucketing them into any categories which could be offensive
5. Ensure Individuals with Disabilities are Understood
Individuals with disabilities want you to hear, understand and respond to them effectively. It’s often better to admit you missed something than skip over it. It’s also okay to admit you are new to this and ask them for ways you can better engage with them to make them feel most comfortable. They will respect you for being human as well and wanting to learn rather than making assumptions or disregarding them to avoid falling into a ‘trickier’ situation if you do not know how to navigate it effectively when they request assistance or when they engage in a conversation with you. It’s acceptable to simply say “I wasn’t not able to get that, would you mind repeating what you just said?” or “Let’s move somewhere quieter to chat more.”
Key Takeaways
Overall, successful and effective communication with employees and consumers with disabilities is all about providing them with access and providing your workforce with effective training. No one has all of the answers, but business leaders can take steps to make their in-house environments and externally distributed content more widely accessible to all individuals. They can do more to create a culture of sharing to give employees platforms and opportunities, anonymous and otherwise, to state their concerns or where shortcomings exist.
Making every aspect of the business accessible and inclusive is no easy feat – from town halls to Zoom falls to marketing content to recorded and live videos to events – there are no shortage of formats to consider. Verbit has a great deal of experience helping business leaders navigate these challenges and ensure they’re meeting the needs of those with disabilities and communication with them effectively. To learn more about our services, such as captioning click here and get in touch.
