Monday, December 24, 2012

Common myths about people with disabilities and the reality

Myth	Reality
People with disabilities are inferior to "normal" people and their lives are very different.	What is "normal"? We all have different abilities, talents, interests and personalities — you name it! People with disabilities go to school, get married, work, have families, play, do laundry, go shopping, eat out, travel, volunteer, vote, pay taxes, laugh, cry, plan and dream — just like everyone else. People with disabilities are us!
We need to feel sorry for people with disabilities.	That's patronizing. People with disabilities don't need pity. They need access to opportunities.
People with disabilities are brave and courageous.	Adjusting to a disability requires adapting to a lifestyle, not bravery and courage.
It's not a good idea to hire people with disabilities. They have a higher turnover rate and they take sick days more often.	Many studies show that employees with disabilities are often more productive, dependable and loyal than their co-workers without disabilities and that staff retention is 72% higher among persons with disabilities. That adds up to savings of millions of dollars every year in hiring and training costs. The experiences of large corporations such as DuPont and the Royal Bank of Canada show that when business hires people with disabilities: the pool of potential employees becomes larger staff retention rates increase absenteeism decreases.
You have to be careful when you're talking to a person with a disability, because they are easily offended if you use the wrong word.	You just need to be as polite and respectful as you would when speaking to anyone. If you're not sure what to say or do, it's okay to ask.
It's difficult serving customers with disabilities.	Customers with disabilities have the same preferences, perceptions, attitudes, habits, and needs as customers without disabilities, and they are looking for the same quality of products and services. Everyone, regardless of ability, deserves to be treated with the same dignity and respect.

Please share some honest thoughts about accessibility and disability.

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 or sandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca or visit www.accessibilitycompliance.ca

Make AODA training count for more than compliance

So you are a human resources manager or a general manager of a company of 20 or more employees and you’ve figured out what you have to do to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). In particular you know you have a responsibility to train employees and that you will be required to self-report. Hopefully your organization has performed a workplace assessment and created policies and procedures, and you are ready to roll out your accessibility program and training.

The best employers and proactive HR managers will go beyond just meeting the AODA training requirements. You can make the greatest impact for your employees and for your organization by using your AODA training as tool for increasing employee engagement. One way to do this is to carefully design and promote your organization’s AODA program as socially responsible corporate behaviour rather than simply as a compliance-driven reaction.

Thoughtful incorporation of AODA standards and effective AODA training can be linked to employee engagement. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), including sustainable business practices, is increasingly tied to employee expressions of engagement and alignment with the organization. Studies show that companies with high CSR values also score higher in employee engagement.

The best way to make the link between CSR and the AODA is a thoughtful and specific application of AODA standards and training to your industry. Taking the time to identify and develop practices unique to your company, clients and processes is a way to show your employees that accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities is part of your organization’s sustainable business practice. The more specific you can make your training, and the more directly you can link it to your vision and values as a company, the more value the training will have.

Some companies will be able to make the link more easily than others. For example, our retirement residence, our tag line, “The home with a heart,” can be linked to our expressed desire to employ best practices in serving residents and their visitors. If you can find this link for your organization and tie your AODA training to your organization’s socially responsible performance, you can make the most of your valuable training time. Training time is one of the most valuable assets to a company and is also highly valued by employees. Dig a little deeper to figure out how and why your organization really wants to be accessible for Ontarians with disabilities in a unique way. Make your AODA training count!

Please share some honest thoughts about accessibility and training.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

AODA compliance: the good, the bad and the ugly

Questions arise as to how organizations are dealing with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) compliance requirements in Ontario. Allow me to share your expertise or stories with the rest of the province. Of course, the idea is to help others meet compliance and use the lessons you’ve learned to encourage others. As for your bad ideas that turned ugly, organizations can really use that information to avoid similar pitfalls.

Let us know where you stand on compliance and what hurdles you encountered or are still encountering. If it is a lack of funds, then which creative ideas have you chosen as alternatives? If the issue is not funding, but all the barriers you’ve identified that need a remedy, then share those thoughts too. If you have a good secret, let it out. The broader the discussion, the better the solutions we’ll come up with.

Lately, people have asked, how is everyone else doing with the AODA? I have to honestly state, I only know about organizations I directly deal with. Statistics maybe coming, but I have not seen any numbers that really capture the answer to this question. Let me redirect the question: how are you doing? And if you can, please share your stories.

The Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services also wants to hear from you, and may showcase your organization in a YouTube video. We’d love to hear if you’ve won an accessibility award through an organization, charity or government. Let us hear about the changes you have seen in your organization when enforcing compliance. If you are embracing the notion of making your organization accessible, are you seeing positive outcomes from the changes?

I do have one question in particular I would like to hear about. In training staff, volunteers and decision-makers about the AODA, do you feel the organization is going through the motions of compliance, or do you see value in the training? Perhaps training began as something you just had to do, and attitudes changed when staff and volunteers understood the lessons. A good number of responses will give us a pulse on whether organizations are seeing a positive or negative change in attitude toward people with disabilities.

I believe we can all learn something new from each other every day. Tell us about the good, the bad and the ugly you’ve encountered when meeting compliance with the AODA. We are all moving in this direction together.

Please some honest thoughts about accessibility.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Attention AODA organizations: actions to complete by January 1, 2012

January 1, 2012, is the date to complete all actions required under the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service and emergency preparedness requirements in the Integrated Accessibility Standards. The good news is, if your organization is obligated to report, you do not have to file with the government until December 31, 2012.

Let us quickly recap the obligatory actions to complete. Under the customer service standards, if you have one employee or more, your obligations are to:

Establish policies, practices and procedures on providing goods or services to people with disabilities
Use reasonable efforts to ensure that your policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the core principles of independence, dignity, integration and equal opportunity
Set a policy to allow people to use their personal assistive devices on your premises and about any other measures your organization offers (assistive devices, services, methods) to help people to access your goods and services
Communicate with persons with a disability in a manner that takes into account the person’s disability
Allow people with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animal in those areas of your premises that are open to the public, unless the animal is excluded by another law
If the service animal is excluded by law, then have an alternative method to provide services
Allow customers with disabilities to be accompanied by a support person in premises open to the public
Provide notice ahead of time on what admission, if any, you will charge for the support person of a person with a disability
Provide notice when facilities or services on which customers with disabilities rely are temporarily disrupted.
Train staff, volunteers, contractors and other third parties who interact with the public on your behalf on topics outlined in the customer service standard
Train staff, volunteers, contractors and third parties who are involved in developing your policies, practices and procedures on topics outlined in the customer service standard
Establish a process for people to provide feedback on how you provide goods or services to people with disabilities
Include in this feedback process how you will respond and take action on complaints
The information about your feedback process must be readily available to the public

There are additional requirements for designated public sector organizations or other providers with 20 or more employees. Employers must:

Document policies, practices and procedures for providing accessible customer service, and meet other document requirements in the standard.
Notify customers that required documents are available upon request.
When providing the required documents to a person with a disability, provide the information in a format that takes into account the person’s disability.

Employers with 20 or more employees must include the following in their documentation:

General information on policies, practices and procedures
Policies, practices and procedures on service animals and support persons
Notice of temporary disruption of services or facilities including the steps to take
A training policy
A description of the feedback process

With respect to the emergency preparedness provisions of the Integrated Accessibility Standards:

Under the information and communication standard, if your organization provides emergency procedures, plans or public safety information that is available to the public, then you will provide the plan in an accessible format upon request
Under the employment standard, if the employer is aware that an employee has a disability that requires accommodation in an emergency, the employer must provide the employee with individualized emergency response information in an accessible format; employers must also designate someone to provide assistance during the emergency
In the transportation standard, all conventional and specialized service providers will make available to the public information on accessibility equipment, features of their vehicles, routes and services, and provide this information in an accessible format upon request

Please share how you are filing compliance reports for the requirements.