Dashing Through Digital Accessibility: Creating an Inclusive Workplace
Introduction
According to the 2022 census, over 1.1 million people (22 percent) in Ireland reported having a disability or experiencing at least one long-standing condition. While approximately 346,000 (34 percent) individuals reported being employed, more than 303,500 also reported having difficulty working or accessing education. Founded in 2005, the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) Programme was established to help increase access to employment for graduates with disabilities. Simultaneously, the WAM Programme supports employers on their journey to develop more inclusive working environments. The Programme is funded by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) and since its development WAM has supported well over 700 placements for graduates with disabilities across various employment sectors.
WAM Employer Events
In an aim to facilitate education for employers engaged with the WAM Programme (WAM Leaders) and help foster community inclusivity, WAM host several employer training events throughout the year related to disability and disability related supports within the workplace. As a part of this initiative to facilitate employer training and development, in December 2023 WAM, sponsored by the Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB), hosted an in-person event for WAM Leaders titled Dashing Through Digital Accessibility: Creating an Inclusive Workplace.
Dashing Through Digital Accessibility
Bearing in mind the current barriers to employment for disabled persons alongside the push towards digital media and connection, this event encouraged employers to consider their internal company practices and current level of digital accessibility. Specifically, the event explored assistive technology (AT), digital accessibility and how employers might utilise resources already present within their organisations to create a more inclusive digital ecosystem.
The format of the event featured two expert speakers on the topic including Hector Minto the Lead Technology Evangelist for Microsoft and Juliann Bergin a Clinical Specialist in Digital Assistive Technology with Enable Ireland. There was also a presentation from Dermot McDonagh a UX Designer at ESB who showcased how ESB are implementing an inhouse initiative into their organisations disability policies and practice. Finally, Danielle O’Rourke, Digital Media & eLearning Officer at AHEAD, shared information about AHEAD’s AT-Hive and the newest Accessibility Resources & Know-how (ARK) course, Disability 101. Presentations were followed by a collaborative feedback session led by AHEAD to introduce the new Inclusive Employer Framework which was starting its development phase.
The aim of this report is to share with the reader the highlights of WAM’s December 2023 in-person employer event focusing specifically on the featured guest and employer speakers. Details are provided below as they pertain to each and the key learnings from the day are also summarised. If you wish you can learn more about previous WAM employer events you can read more on the WAM Events page. Furthermore, if you wish to learn more about the potential to partner with AHEAD and WAM in the future, you can review our WAM for Employers page.
Employer Engagement
The'Dashing Through Digital Accessibility: Creating an Inclusive Workplace' event was attended by 36 employee representatives from 19 different organisations. The event provided employers with the opportunity for personal and career development and also encouraged networking between several different Irish employers. Furthermore, the event gave employers an opportunity to reflect on their own digital accessibility policies and procedures while gaining advice from our array of specialist speakers. Figure 1, below, features some of the highlights from the event including speakers, attendees and AHEAD staff. Please note titles listed in the figure note are representative of individual role titles at the time of the 2023 event and may not accurately represent individuals’ current employment title.
Figure 1. Dashing Through Digital Accessibility event highlights.
(A) Event speaker, Juliann Bergin, opening AT Christmas Cracker with ESB Networks
Microsoft Accessibility Features
AHEAD was delighted to virtually welcome Hector Minto of Microsoft as the first expert speaker. Hector has worked at the cutting edge of accessibility and AT for over 25 years. He has held roles in enterprise, from innovative startups to established edtech and health industry focused business, regularly contributing to global government consultations on disability inclusion. In his role at Microsoft as Lead Technology Evangelist, Hector leads global teams engaging in their regions with government, major employers, Microsoft’s commercial partner network and a wider set of community stakeholders to showcase inclusive design, product accessibility, inclusive hiring practices, the role of disability employee resource groups and accessibility innovation. Hector is the current UK Government Disability and Access Ambassador for the Tech Sector and Websites, supporting the technology sector to deliver on disability employment and inclusive customer and product experiences.
Joining the event through none other than a Microsoft Teams meeting, Hector opened his presentation with an invitation for the audience to make every meeting inclusive and effective. Through this invitation, Hector spoke specifically in relation to the accessibility of virtual meetings, which became particularly important as many employers shifted to remote and hybrid work following the Covid-19 pandemic. To increase the effectiveness and inclusivity of meetings, Hector proposed an accessibility check which could be completed at the start of each virtual meeting as follows:
- Adjust your volume settings before the meeting begins.
- Make sure you are not on mute when you are speaking.
- Turn on/off Captions & Transcript as desired.
- Use the raise-hand feature to comment or ask questions to the group.
- Where possible present slide decks using PowerPoint Live. This allows attendees to (1) review the slides at their own pace; (2) change their own screen to a high contrast view; (3) enable language translations.
- Help the presenter out and use reactions to show you’re engaged!
- Connect with other attendees in the meeting chat.
- Utilise Microsoft’s Accessibility checker to ensure that any documents or presentations are fully accessible to your audience.
- Feel free to utilise Magnifier tool options as needed (Windows key and + to turn on / Windows Key and Esc to turn off).
Utilising PowerPoint Live, Hector further explored the available Microsoft Accessibility Features, ultimately emphasising Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more.
To better understand the wealth of accessibility features available in the Microsoft Suite, one must first understand accessibility and the history of technological innovation in this area.
What is accessibility?
Traditionally, accessibility describes the practice of making information, services, activities and environments usable and meaningful for as many people as possible. Microsoft takes this a step further and argues that accessibility is a fundamental right and it works to design products, services and environments with and for people with disabilities. With this in mind, Microsoft set out on a journey to build a culture of inclusion, a process that has been in place at Microsoft since the early 1990s. Further details of Microsoft’s pathway to accessibility are outlined in Fig 2.
Figure 2. Microsoft’s journey to accessible practices and products.
Within this accessibility pathway Microsoft have adapted the Mackinsey Three Horizons Model to fit with their own goals towards innovation and accessibility in enterprise. Microsoft’s adapted model is as follows: (1) adopt; (2) build; (3) innovate. This model starts with placing an emphasis on extending and defending the core business strategies. Next, the model expresses an aim to build on the existing business model. Finally. The model aims to create viable options and engage the public in innovation. Deriving from the horizon model, Microsoft are innovators in the field of digital accessibility and have introduced a range of personalised assistive technology including:
- Dark themes across Windows, Office and Teams
- Large cursors, large cursor indicators and cursor finders
- Keyboard Word prediction
- Dictate and voice typing options
- Inbuilt browser editors
- Focus mode
- Accessibility checker
In more recent years and through the latest version of Windows, Windows 11, Microsoft have introduced further in-built accessibility features including live captions, voice access and Narrator to help support productivity, creativity and to increase the ease of use of their programmes. Further, they have introduced even more personalised assistive technology options including:
- CoPilot Enterprise Chat
- Inspire Me
- Automatic Replies
- Teams meeting summaries
- Contextual CoPilot Search
- PowerPoint CoPilot Design
Further detail regarding the available Microsoft accessibility features can be found on the Microsoft Support webpage. You can also visit the Disability Answer Desk, which has been designed as a hub for customers with disabilities to get support with Microsoft Office, Windows and Xbox. Accessibility Assistant is also available within Microsoft 365 which ensures that colour contrast within a document automatically meets the necessary requirements, provides simple instructions to fix accessibility issues and flag accessibility concerns as you write. Finally, Microsoft has partnered with LinkedIn to create and share a range of accessibility training modules. These training modules can be found on the Microsoft webpage here.
Enable Ireland
AHEAD was also delighted to welcome Juliann Bergin of Enable Ireland as the second expert speaker. Juliann has worked as a Clinical Specialist in Digital Assistive Technology with Enable Ireland’s National AT Training Service since 2008, having previously worked as a Senior Speech and Language Therapist, in both community and disability sectors. Juliann’s role includes assessing AT solutions and setting up trials and support for individuals to access education, independence and employment. She is also involved in providing training to interested stakeholders in all aspects of AT and leads the Workplace Assessment Service, which aims to support new and existing employees in carrying out their roles using technology.
Building on Hector’s call for accessibility, Juliann joined the event in person and encouraged employers to create a sustainable AT ecosystem within their workplace. Juliann started her presentation by further explaining what digital assistive technology is defining it as ‘the systems and services that maintain or improve an individual’s functioning and independence, thereby promoting their well-being’. Using this definition, digital AT could include any number of the following: voice output communication aids, screen reading software, speech recognition software, eye gaze technologies, alternative keyboards and mice, apps for memory, cognition and/or personal organisation and so much more.
Juliann further explained the positive impact digital AT can have by providing real world examples. For example, one Enable Ireland service user described AT saying 'this machine has changed my life and given me such self-confidence'. Further feedback on the impact and efficacy of assistive technology can be found here, in video a created by the Enable Ireland team. In addition to highlighting the potential benefits of digital AT, Juliann also introduced several services offered by Enable Ireland including the AT Passport and the Workplace Assessment Service.
The Enable Ireland AT passport is a programme currently under development with Enable Ireland. The tool aims to act as a single resource to support the process of referral, assessment, selection process, authorisation, procurement and implementation of the chosen AT. This passport is designed to be carried with disabled persons as a way to effectively communicate their needs within education and the workplace. As outlined below in figure 3, the AT Passport not only increases access to work, but decreases cost to the state and can increase financial independence of disabled persons.
Figure 3. A comparison of career and financial possibilities for disabled persons with and without access to AT.
The Workplace assessment service offered by Enable Ireland was developed to assist employers in the assessment of their employee’s ergonomic and assistive technology needs, recommend solutions and help provide training and support to put these solutions in place. There is a cost associated with booking an assessment with Enable Ireland; however, there are grants available to supplement some of the costs of assessment, training and implementation of AT solutions. You can download the Workplace Adaptation / Equipment Grant guidelines here. If you would like to learn more about the Workplace Assessment Service, you can contact Enable Ireland via email at admin.at@enableireland.ie or via phone at 01 2184100.
Juliann finished with a reminder that AT is not one size fits all. Additionally, while advancements in technology (for example, artificial intelligence) pose potential benefits, there is no perfect solution. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been predominantly designed around the English language and based on a neurotypical population creating a huge range of issues regarding overall generalisability and use within the disabled population. Ultimately, to ensure accessibility and success in the workplace, Juliann recommends that employers start by implementing Universal Design principles, foster involvement with internal IT departments, provide supportive training for staff and seek out funding for accommodations where necessary.
An Employer Perspective – ESB
The last of the featured speakers, Dermot McDonagh of ESB, took time at the event to highlight the changes the ESB has implemented internally to improve digital accessibility for both staff and service users.
Dermot is a UX Designer at ESB and is dedicated to researching accessibility guidelines and ensuring that his designs are inclusive and user-friendly. He actively constructs accessible design tools that empower users of all abilities. Dermot’s toolkit includes Figma for creating intuitive interfaces. His commitment to making the digital world more accessible exemplifies his dedication to user-centric design. He works on the Design Team in Enterprise Services, a team using their skills and passion to create design systems, code libraries and processes that prioritise accessibility.
The UX design team at ESB brings together both ESB designers and product developers and maintains a mission to champion inclusive design. The team is committed to create products and services that are accessible to everyone, and their work aligns with ESB’s commitment to compliance, ensuring that designs meet accessibility, security and language standards. The UX team also align their work with the ESB business strategy, focusing specifically on sustainability and creating designs that are both reusable and user centred. Specifically, the UX team has set out to examine the company’s digital landscape. Amidst the complexity of a rapidly expanding digital network, Dermot and the UX team recognised a need for unified design and thus began the implementation of a multi-brand design system. To illustrate both the flexibility and the complexity of this multi-brand design system, Dermot utilised imagery of Lego blocks. In this, each block represents a reusable component of their design system. Just as Lego blocks can be assembled to create countless structures, ESB’s multi-brand design system provides a foundation for building a wide range of digital products. Furthermore, within this system, each component part individually adheres to the pre-established guidelines, ensuring consistency and coherence across ESB’s diverse offerings. By adopting this multi-brand design system, the UX team not only empower individual designers to create cohesive and user-friendly experiences, but they also maintain the distinct identities of ESB’s various business units.
Accessibility is often viewed as an additional cost or burden, but ESB has shown that accessibility can lead not only to better products, but to faster product development. By embedding accessibility into their design process from the outset, the UX team creates products that are more user-friendly, inclusive and ultimately, more successful. Since implementing the multi-brand design strategy and increasing accessible design, ESB have recorded a 73% reduction in system errors, €950,000 estimated savings and more than seven months in time saved. Ultimately this approach has streamlined ESB’s design process, fosters collaboration and ensures that the ESB digital products remain aligned with the overall brand strategy.
Learnings and Moving Forward
AHEAD and the WAM team have recognised the increasing importance of AT and digital accessibility in the workplace. This event cultivated an environment of curiosity, innovation and shared passion for digital accessibility. By featuring experts in the field of inclusive and assistive technologies the event empowered employers towards positive changes within their own organisations. Some of the key learnings form the event are as follows:
- Complete all relevant accessibility checks when conducting a virtual meeting, sharing documents/reports and/or presenting.
- Utilise the Microsoft Support webpage and the Disability Answer Desk as tools to help expand your knowledge of available accessibility features.
- Understand the positive impact that digital AT has for employees and community members with disabilities.
- If you are unsure of your organisation’s inclusivity and accessibility practices, seek advice from a professional. For example, seek out support from Enable Ireland’s Workplace Assessment Service.
Hearing the passion shared by the session's keynote speakers and expanding our own knowledge of digital accessibility, leaving the event the AHEAD team felt called to action to continue work as advocates for inclusive and assistive technologies within the workplace particularly within the rapidly expanding field of AT. By increasing awareness of the digital resources available to organisations there was an overwhelming sense of hope following the event. Ultimately, while there is still much work to be done to create internalised practices of digital accessibility across organisations, the event sparked a passion for change, and we believe that we are moving ever closer towards a community of consistent and integrated accessibility within the workplace and across multiple platforms.
