How do you identify accessibility needs at work?

1 Consult with stakeholders

One of the best ways to identify accessibility needs at work is to consult with the people who use or visit your workplace regularly. This includes employees, customers, clients, suppliers, and anyone else who interacts with your business. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or feedback forms to gather their input on what barriers or challenges they face, what solutions or accommodations they need, and what suggestions or ideas they have for improving accessibility. You can also involve them in the design or evaluation process to ensure that their needs are met and respected.

2 Conduct an accessibility audit

Another way to identify accessibility needs at work is to conduct an accessibility audit of your physical and digital environment. This is a systematic assessment of how accessible your workplace is according to relevant standards, guidelines, or best practices. You can use checklists, tools, or experts to examine various aspects of your workplace, such as the entrance, parking, signage, lighting, furniture, equipment, layout, navigation, communication, web design, software, and documents. You can then identify any gaps, issues, or risks that need to be addressed or resolved.

3 Review your policies and practices

A third way to identify accessibility needs at work is to review your policies and practices that affect the accessibility of your workplace. This includes your hiring, training, performance, promotion, retention, and termination policies, as well as your health and safety, diversity and inclusion, customer service, and procurement practices. You can analyze how these policies and practices support or hinder the accessibility of your workplace, and how they comply with relevant laws, regulations, or codes. You can then identify any areas that need to be updated, revised, or implemented.

4 Prioritize your actions

Once you have identified your accessibility needs at work, you need to prioritize your actions to address them. You can use a matrix or a framework to rank your actions based on their urgency, impact, feasibility, and cost. You can also consider the benefits and risks of each action, as well as the resources and time required. You can then create a plan or a roadmap that outlines your goals, objectives, strategies, tasks, timelines, responsibilities, and indicators for improving accessibility.

5 Monitor and evaluate your progress

The final step to identify accessibility needs at work is to monitor and evaluate your progress. You can use quantitative and qualitative methods to measure and report on your outcomes, outputs, and impacts. You can also use feedback, reviews, or audits to check and verify your compliance, quality, and satisfaction. You can then use the data and information you collect to identify any successes, challenges, or lessons learned. You can also use them to adjust or improve your plan or actions as needed.

6 Keep learning and improving

Identifying accessibility needs at work is not a one-time activity, but an ongoing process. You need to keep learning and improving your accessibility knowledge and skills, as well as your awareness and sensitivity to the needs and preferences of different people. You can also keep abreast of the latest trends, innovations, and best practices in accessibility, and apply them to your workplace. By doing so, you can create a more accessible, inclusive, and successful workplace for everyone.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?