Accessibility in the Flow of Work
It’s everyone’s job, so let’s make it easier.
Someone recently requested for some help in the Accessibility L&D Slack Community regarding an e-learning course they were asked to help remediate for accessibility (link to L’Etoile Education, where there’s a link to sign up). The story they told surrounding their request was bewildering.
In short:
· There was an e-learning course that an agency was rolling out to around 27,000 people.
· The person posting the request had brought up the issue of accessibility during the development process, but was told not to worry about it because it wasn’t her project.
· Then, after they inevitably had complaints about the course, she was brought in to fix it.
I’m glad she raised her hand about accessibility in the development phase. I’m dumbfounded that she was told not to worry about it.
Let’s break down that number.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC): As of 2024, if 27,000 people take a course, then statistically…
· 28.7% (~7,749 people) are likely to have some form of disability.
· 12.2% (~3,294 people) have a severe mobility disability
· 6.2 percent (~1674) are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing
· 5.5% (~1,485 people) have a visual disability.
That is a whole lot of people to disregard.
Even if we assume that only 1% wouldn’t be able to complete all the interactions in a course due to a disability, that would still be 270 people. That’s why I said it’s inevitable that someone would have a complaint.
Picture This
Imagine if your local grocery store decided they weren’t going to install automated sliding doorways because nobody requested them. Then thousands of people struggled to push their shopping carts (or buggies, for some of you) through their traditional swinging doors.
After enough people finally complain to management, the store decides to hire someone to hold the door open for everyone as an accommodation.
Now they have to pay someone’s salary, or multiple people because they have to cover all operating hours, to just stand and hold the door.
But the damage has already been done. Many of the people who originally struggled may have decided to just go to the other grocery store nearby. The one with the automated sliding doors that don’t leave anyone out.
That’s what it’s like when you wait for someone to complain before fixing accessibility barriers. It’s more expensive, and you may lose customers to your competitors.
Plus, it’s just rude. You don’t want to be rude, do you?
It’s not an afterthought
If you follow anyone who talks about accessibility on a regular basis, you’ll have heard that “accessibility isn’t an afterthought.” I hope the above numbers illustrate why that is.
Accessibility is something that must be considered during the flow of everyday work. It’s something that should be on everyone’s mind, because everyone will be impacted by barriers at some point in their lives. Even if it’s only temporarily or situationally.
So how do we do that?
Accessibility in the flow of work
In a previous post about Personal Accessibility Leadership, I gave a few examples of every day actions that anyone can take, at any level of an organization, to be mindful about accessibility. You should check out the post to refresh on some of those thoughts.
Now, I’d like to suggest this change to our working habits to help us really embed those ideas into our lives.
Standard Operating Procedures
For starters, we can all look at our Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These are the ways we goa bout completing tasks and getting things done.
Some businesses have highly formal SOPs that are published as reference documents for their teams. It’s a great way to, well, standardize ways of working across large numbers of people. But even if yours doesn’t, chances are good that there are still processes you complete all of the time that could benefit from a critical look.
If you’re responsible for writing SOPs, you can integrate accessibility into the process wherever it makes sense. If you’re not in charge of writing the procedures, you can still bake accessibility into the way you follow them (and you can likely make suggestions to the people who do write them).
Here are some examples.
E-learning
· Current procedure: Storyboard an e-learning design, develop it with course authoring tools, publish, enjoy.
· New procedure: Storyboard an e-learning design, develop it with course authoring tools, run Accessibility Checker and test for issues, publish. Everyone enjoys.
Document Creation
· Current procedure: Draft report, format, export to PDF, distribute.
· New procedure: Draft report, format with heading styles and alt text for images, export to tagged PDF, distribute.
Meeting Preparation
· Current procedure: Schedule meeting, send calendar invite, host.
· New procedure: Schedule meeting, send calendar invite with agenda and accessible materials, enable captions, host.
Website Updates
· Current procedure: Add new content, publish.
· New procedure: Add new content, check semantic structure (headings, links, alt text), run automated accessibility scan, publish.
Hiring & Onboarding
· Current procedure: Post job description, interview, hire.
· New procedure: Post job description in plain language, ensure application portal is accessible, provide onboarding materials in multiple formats, hire.
Event Planning
· Current procedure: Book venue, set agenda, invite attendees.
· New procedure: Book accessible venue, set agenda with breaks, provide materials in advance, invite attendees.
Software Rollout
· Current procedure: Deploy new tool, train staff, monitor adoption.
· New procedure: Deploy new tool, train staff with accessible guides and captioned videos, monitor adoption including accessibility feedback.
It’s not just for office workers
Here are some things that frontline workers can do to include accessibility in the flow of work.
Customer Service Interaction
· Current procedure: Greet customer, answer questions, complete transaction.
· New procedure: Greet customer, answer questions clearly (avoid jargon), offer assistance proactively (e.g., reading labels, carrying items), complete transaction while ensuring accessibility features are available (card reader within reach, captions on digital displays).
Store Setup / Merchandising
· Current procedure: Stock shelves, arrange displays, tidy aisles.
· New procedure: Stock shelves, arrange displays, tidy aisles with accessibility in mind — keep pathways clear, place signage at readable heights, notify someone if promotional materials don’t use high‑contrast text.
Point of Sale (POS)
· Current procedure: Ring up items, bag, thank customer.
· New procedure: Ring up items, bag, thank customer — while confirming the POS terminal is accessible (screen tilted for visibility, keypad reachable for wheelchair users, offer audio prompts if available).
If you don’t know what to change
If you aren’t sure where to begin, that’s okay. Take this as an opportunity to practice having a growth mindset by firing up your favorite search engine (or AI chatbot) and querying “[Something I Do] + Accessibility.” Then read up on some ideas.
Just remember: asking one disabled person how they prefer something is only sure to tell you how one disabled person prefers something. It’s generally better to look to experts or find a consensus, rather than to go ask your disabled neighbor for their opinions.
Plus, it isn’t every disabled person’s job to tell you how to do yours. There are people like me who have chosen to be advocates. But some people want to just live without that burden being placed on them.
So when it comes to offering help to someone with a barrier they’re facing, ask them how they’d like your help (or if they even need help at all). But when designing your procedures for a wider audience, try to look for expert guidance first.
What changes will you make?
We don’t have to wait for people to tell us to integrate accessibility into our workflows before we start doing so. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of looking for the ways that your work overlaps with other people, then making small changes to the way you operate to ensure accessibility for everyone.
What’s one procedure you regularly perform that could benefit from an accessibility overhaul?
Let us know in the comments. Then, for more thoughts on how to achieve Growth for ALL, remember to subscribe for future posts.