Accessibility is important and should be reflected in everything we do. Yet despite good intentions, the accessibility of digital channels remains low, and where there is action to drive improvement, it tends to be driven by compliance and risk management.

Imagine if it was different and more organisations had a genuine ‘culture’ of accessibility, where a commitment to meeting standards and improving accessibility for all employees was a given and carried out by a majority of employees?  We don’t think that’s far-fetched and it should be the aspiration for every organisation.

It’s important to realise that starting to nurture a culture of accessibility is a journey; it’s not something that will happen overnight and it could take years. It’s also not uniform; it’s likely to be reflected in some parts of your organisation and not others. Here are some of the ways that organisations can start to drive a culture of accessibility and set out on that journey.

1. Drive learning to increase awareness and knowledge

   An important part of nurturing a culture of accessibility is to formalise learning that creates a strong awareness of what accessibility is and why it is important, and also equips employees to improve it. We recently covered several ideas on how to get accessibility into your organisation’s learning curriculum including:

   • considering all the different learning “channels” that you might use from your Learning Management System to your employee onboarding programme
   • targeting learning to different roles
   • providing on-the-job experience in improving digital accessibility, for example using a platform like Sitemorse that helps to embed learning through experience.

2. Reflect accessibility in your key policies and processes

   A culture of accessibility means that there should be a commitment to accessibility stated in your key company policies and subsequently reflected in different procedures. Accessibility is never an afterthought; it is something that your organisation recognises and is considered in its operations. Here there are some key areas which are of particular importance:

   • Diversity & Inclusion (D&I): Most companies already have robust policies around Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) and making sure that digital accessibility is part of an organisations commitment’s to D&I is important.
   • Risk management: Accessibility is a significant risk issue, and it needs to be present in your risk-related approaches and polices.
   • Customer service: Most organisations rightly attach a great deal of importance to standards of customer services and the related approaches. Accessibility should be a pillar of good customer service.
   • Procurement: Your suppliers should be committed to accessibility as much as you are and this should be reflected in your procurement processes.

3. Lead by example

   Accessibility is an issue that every employee needs to be aware of, but there are some teams and functions that need to act to improve accessibility. These teams should always lead by example, showing their commitment to accessibility through their actions, and the demonstrating the difference it can make. Teams and roles who need to lead by example, include:

   • Senior leadership, showing your organisation takes accessibility seriously
   • The digital team and IT function, ensuring digital accessibility
   • The real estate or facilities function, making workplaces more accessible
   • The HR team, ensuring people-related processes reflect accessibility
   • Customer service, to ensure all customers are supported
   • Risk management and other related teams, to highlight and reduce the risks around not meeting accessibility standards.

4. Make a senior person accountable for accessibility

   Many organisations pay lip service to accessibility but do not follow up with the required action. Making a senior person accountable for accessibility is a prerequisite for action, as they will have a specific task to improve accessibility, and will need to ensure different teams take appropriate steps. Having a senior person as a clear champion for accessibility also underlines organisational commitment. Making a person accountable though, also may require further measures in place to support their objectives, for example having the right platform.

5. Track success with measurement

   Another good tactic to drive a culture of accessibility is to track progress through measurement and analytics, potentially with specific KPIs. This supports transparency and sets targets to aim for, while simultaneously celebrating success and highlighting the need to continue efforts. Having the right numbers which show progress also allows organisations to frame improving accessibility as a journey or a mission; getting the right “story” to help drive the right culture. Here, Sitemorse’s INDEX benchmarking has consistently proved to be an excellent way to measure and demonstrate success.

6. Make accessibility highly visible

   Reporting details of KPIs and progress made is just one way to ensure that efforts, achievements and policies that support accessibility are highly visible to employees. Having regular communications and endorsements from senior leaders also keeps accessibility in mind and emphasises that it is a priority area. Here, being vocal publicly about your organisation’s commitment to accessibility also supports that culture, especially when it becomes associated with your brand.

7. Involve people with disabilities

   Do you involve people with disabilities in giving you feedback about accessibility and their experience of using your digital channels? A formal group of employees and customers with disabilities can give you real-world input into the actions you need to take. Their input and reactions can also resonate more strongly with employees, either in showing why work still needs to be done, or the difference improvements have been made. This can help solidify a culture of accessibility in your organisation, making the impact of improvement tangible.

It’s a journey!

Nurturing a ‘culture’ of accessibility can take years and requires sustained and ongoing effort to maintain it. But it is a journey worth making, with all the benefits that flow from having fully accessible digital channels and organisational policies and processes that also support accessibility.