A guide to creating a digital accessibility culture

“Accessibility” and “Inclusion” are more than just buzzwords in 2022. Digital accessibility is an issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. The introductory period of the accessibility legislation is over, lawsuits are on the increase, and the simple maths of neglecting as much as 30% of the citizens mean it’s not something any public organisation can afford to ignore or postpone. Accessibility needs to be integrated into the very culture of the organisation.

It starts at the top

Without top-level leadership, accessibility cannot be properly addressed. An accessibility culture needs to be built from the top down. It should be as much of a priority as reputation and as much of a goal as the effective services you are providing the citizen. As an organisation begins to explore the way to address the accessibility of their digital presence, many are finding their employees are not trained for accessibility and are questioning how to develop their accessibility culture, and what it should appear like.

Before each department, website or SharePoint contributor can be held accountable for making their part accessible, leadership must be on board. Leaders need to understand the importance of digital accessibility so they can allocate resources and time within their departments for accessibility.

Building a digital accessibility understanding

The first step in building accessibility culture is a digital accessibility understanding and policy. This will cover how materials are created to ensure that all digital aspects of the organisation meet the digital accessibility requirements of both employees and citizens. An understanding of the legislation and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), is a must for the person or team developing the accessibility policy. It is critical that this accessibility policy can co-exist, without conflict, with the organisations branding guide, content creation and document workflow.

Accessibility is for every department

Accessibility affects every aspect of an organisation, because it connects to every aspect of their digital presence, both internally and externally. It influences their website, mobile app(s), internal and external communication, human resources, and services they provide.

Shared responsibility

Some organisations have an accessibility coordinator who is responsible for ensuring compliance with WCAG and legislation. However, this will often lead to a bottleneck situation and the position can quickly become a “police officer” job without any real means of creating a whole organisation accessibility culture.

Instead, all employees should be made aware of accessibility policies, and the responsibility for digital accessibility should fall on the shoulders of every single employee who creates or modifies content or procures 3rd party material. Internal training can help employees to learn the basics. As the organisation grows, one option may be a schedule of in-depth training for at least one employee within each department to assist in spreading the culture of accessibility. Having at least one person within each department who understands digital accessibility can help prevent barriers and supply each department with its own expert.

However, as Jutta Treviranus emphasizes, “Accessibility is a precarious value; almost everyone agrees it is important, but often it is the first thing that is compromised when there is a time or budget crunch or when other priorities arise.” Leadership must ensure that accessibility happens, that empathy is gained, and that solutions are created addressing the real needs of real people with disabilities inside and outside the organisation.