Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Why website accessibility matters

The Information and Communication Standard under the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation states that websites and content will conform to the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 at Level A and AA, with the exclusion of live captions and descriptive audio interpretation.

Courts may consider this decision a precedent beyond the federal government. Organizations in Ontario (under the AODA)—and across the country—should think about these factors:

Alternative formats to provide important information, with or without aid from a representative, cannot match equal rights to receive information as quickly and privately as another person when the information is readily available to the public
The standards are not finished, and they clearly will not make Ontario accessible by the year 2025 if new standards are not developed and released soon
People with disabilities do not have to wait for the AODA and standards to make equality rights a reality; that is, they may already challenge an organization or individual that they believe has discriminated against them
This case affects how information and communications on the Internet are delivered nationally, and is not limited to the province of Ontario

Your organization should:

Train staff to produce accessible information and communications now.
Beat the goal in the Integrated Accessibility Regulation and use 15 months as the time to deliver accessible Internet content.
Grab the accessibility Internet consultants that are available because supply is not as high as demand. If you wait, you may pay more to educate staff and to make your Internet communications accessible. The earlier everyone involved produces accessible information and communications, there will be less to fix later. It costs less to do something right the first time than to fix a problem.
Take note, in the Integrated Accessibility Regulation, only the government is obliged to make intranet sites accessible. If your intranet sites are not accessible you may:

See a standard released in the next few years to correct this issue
Be taken to court because a person who is blind or has low vision or low mobility is not provided equal opportunity for employment and advancement at the workplace

Focus on any information vital for the well-being of persons with a disability, or for providing equal opportunity. An example is your organization’s capacity to advertise work positions and receive responses in an accessible manner. If you use an advertising agency to promote your open job positions, ensure they are taking the steps now to become accessible.
Focus on alternative formats that protect privacy and allow users to access information in a timely manner. In the present case, Jodhan required outside assistance to obtain information verbally or on paper. Braille is considered as the appropriate alternative format if she received information on paper. However, Braille is not the only format because there are many people who are Blind or have low vision who do not know how to read Braille. Ask the customer for the preferred method to communicate, do your best to comply and avoid a reliance on staff to relay information verbally. Remember, if you provide information and methods to interact with your organization via the Internet, no alternative format can compete with these online services.

If your IT departments or personnel are not taking the AODA seriously, consider sensitivity-awareness training. Also, consider letting staff know this is the future of IT and if staff wants to remain relevant they will have to learn to develop accessible content with style. Just because you provide accessible content, it does not mean your website will be boring. Staying within the guidelines will reap rewards of reaching a wider audience, and accessible Internet communications can be just as elegant as your desired image.

Finally, if IT accessibility consultants become too expensive to contract, maybe we will have to campaign together for accessible prices!

Take the time to share some of your thoughts on website accessibility.

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 @ 416-503-1035 or sandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca or visit www.accessibilitycompliance.ca

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Getting the most out of in-service training for employees and employers

Underpinning the organizational capacity to deliver its desired goals is training.

In-service training, as distinct from pre-service education or ongoing employee career development (training for future roles), is the process of staff training with the goal of improving the performance of the employee with regards to their current job responsibilities. It is also often tied to issues of legislation and compliance regarding the job that the employee holds. Frequently, the training will help employees to refresh or maintain something they already know (think annual WHMIS training) or it may be designed to meet requirements of an new organizational policy, process or vision and values rethink or may be mandated to meet an external legislative requirement (think AODA training requirements).

The following are some tips and best practices for delivering a great program of in-service training.
Create an annual training budget that includes all employees
This training plan should include:

Proposed budget (to submit for approval). It is key to have your budget in place as soon as possible so that you can prioritize spending and allocate training dollars effectively.
List and highlight mandatory training requirements for your organization, including WHMIS, Health and Safety, Accessibility for all Ontarians with Disabilities (AODA), Workplace Violence and Harassment (Bill 168).
List the training requirements for organizational changes in processes or vision and values.
List the number of employees to be trained for each session.
List the training provider (subject matter expert) or training resource (online module, DVD etc.) and cost for each in-service training.

Have an in-service training policy

This training policy should state that participating in in-service training is a job requirement and employees who are not compliant will be disciplined up and to and including termination for not completing required training.

Set your annual training calendar

A great way to capitalize on in-service training is to use your sessions as the theme for the month. For example, in long-term care and retirement residences, October is often “Infection Control Month”.

Use a variety of training delivery mechanisms

The most cost-effective way to deliver mandatory training to larger groups of employees is through online training modules. While this is a valuable tool, consider using the monthly online module as a base, being sure to include group sessions, a binder for each in-service training that employees can refer back to, quick tips at morning meetings, reminders on bulletin boards, notes in paystubs and a contest or teambuilding exercise. Investigate free or low cost training from your municipality, region or suppliers.

Track your training

After taking the time to train your employees, ensure that you have a reliable tracking system. You can create this yourself in Excel, or use your online system and create online quizzes for documentation. A best practice is to keep your Records of Training compiled in one binder for easy access. This includes employee signatures for attendance and acknowledgement of training. Some companies are moving to a paperless system where policies and trainings are sent through email and employees must reply back acknowledging the material. Staying on top of this is the only way that you can show your compliance for mandated training depending on what type of documentation is required.

If the training is required for all employees, follow up and ensure that each and every employee
is up to date

Have a follow-up plan for employees who miss training that designates the responsibility to ensure the training is completed (managers, human resources). Follow-up consistently with employees who have missed training.

Training can be the underpinning of strong organizational health and growth. Each and every time your organization makes the effort to tailor training deeper into organizational specific challenges and goals, you have the opportunity for higher quality results. Go deeper to go higher, especially when rebuilding, restarting, or realigning.

Take the time to share some of your thoughts on training about the AODA.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Accommodating scent sensitivities in the workplace

Employers must accommodate employees with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. The accommodation of scent sensitivities arose in a recent decision of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”). It raises questions as to what is considered undue hardship when accommodating an employee with sensitivities to scents.

In Kovios v. Inteleservice Canada Inc., the employer operated a call centre in a large open space work environment with rows of cubicles. At one time, 200 people would be in the workplace. During her job interview, the applicant advised the employer that she had a sensitivity to scents. She was informed that the employer had a fragrance-free policy but due to the large number of employees, the policy might not always be fully complied with. The applicant commenced her job training but after the third day she didn’t return to the workplace. She contended that the employer failed to accommodate her disability by not enforcing its fragrance-free policy. The Tribunal did not find that the employer breached its policy. Furthermore it noted that the employer had made efforts to accommodate the applicant.

The particular challenge with this employee is that she alleged to have a negative reaction to scents that are undetectable by other people.

It goes without saying that accommodating an employee with a hypersensitivity to scents as alleged in this case would be very difficult. Unfortunately this decision gives little guidance to employers who are in such a situation.

Accommodating an employee with scent sensitivities could be a tricky task. Creating and enforcing a scent-free or fragrance-free policy is one way to regulate the use of scents in the workplace. In this case, the employer’s policy requested that employees refrain from using scented products, especially strongly scented products. The employer had in fact successfully accommodated another employee with a scent sensitivity. That employee was allowed to choose where to sit to ensure that the exposure to any scents was minimal and if another employee was wearing a strong scent around the sensitive employee, they would be asked to wash it off. This illustrates that there is potential for creative and simple solutions to the accommodation needs of employees with scent sensitivities.

Take the time to share some of your thoughts on this case and scent sensitivities.

Friday, October 19, 2012

An education campaign about priority seating signs on transportation vehicles

In the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation, under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, there is the Standard for Transportation. Under this standard there is a section about courtesy seating in vehicles, specifically for people with disabilities. The regulation states that conventional transportation service must provide clearly marked priority seating for people with disabilities.

An education campaign is necessary to help all customers understand the necessity for priority seating for all people with disabilities, both visible and invisible. In a kinder gentler world, people would automatically offer to vacate a seat, at least to a person with a visible disability.

It is nice to see we are moving forward with designating signs, and an education campaign.

Take the time to share some of your ideas on priority seating.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Keep up with AODA reporting!

Have you kept up to date with the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)? The AODA Customer Service Standard came into effect in 2005; public sector organizations had to comply as of January 1, 2010, and private sector organizations by January 1, 2012. Not complying with this standard can trigger government inspections and financial penalties.

The Ontario’s Ministry of Community and Social Services is encouraging a more collaborative approach to get this standard implemented as compared to the more forceful penalty-driven workplace violence and harassment provisions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (formerly Bill 168).

On or before December 31, 2012, all organizations that have 20 or more employees have to comply with the AODA customer service standard reporting requirement. The ministry requires these organizations to submit a report regarding their progress on the implementation of the AODA customer service standard in their organization.

All qualified organizations should have followed these steps to ensure they are in compliance with the customer service standard:

Create and introduce a plan, policies, practices and procedures to implement accessibility features which include: considering the needs of persons with disabilities when communicating with them; allowing assistive devices, service animals and support persons in your premises; having a feedback process in place; having a process in place to let customers know when there is a disruption in service
Train employees on your plan, policies, practices and procedures; let them know what is going on and what they can do to help
If your organization has 20 or more employees, put your plan on paper; record the efforts (plan details and timeline, training logs) you put toward your projects, and make the plan available for your employees to read
If you are an organization with 20 or more employees, let the Ministry of Community and Social Services know how you are doing! You are required to fill out a report on or before December 31, to show your progress in achieving accessibility under the customer service standard
If you are an organization with 20 or more employees, let your customers know what your plan is and that you can provide them with a copy in an accessible format

Filling out this report isn’t difficult! Visit ServiceOntario’s ONe-Source for Business to sign up to officially complete the report. Once signed up, you will be asked to create your own account and your business profile before clicking on the AODA reporting tab to answer those questions.

Take the time to share some of your reporting for any standard of the AODA