The Minnesota Council on Disability continues to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).
When organizations ask if their digital content is accessible for everyone, they often think of public facing content:
- Is our website usable with only a keyboard?
- Are our downloadable brochures structured for screen readers?
- Do our social media images have appropriate text alternatives?
- Are our demo videos captioned?
These are important questions. But, as an employer, public facing content is one part of a larger approach. Let’s briefly consider how digital accessibility affects your ability to hire and retain employees with disabilities.
Public Facing Content
Your public facing content is important. Ensuring that your website, electronic documents, social media, and multimedia are accessible is an invitation to potential employees. Digital accessibility is part of your business plan. You give time and resources to designers and content creators to move digital accessibility from a goal to a reality.
Application Process
An accessible application process is vital to hiring people with disabilities. An online application is often your first contact with a potential employee. If they have a disability and can complete an application without frustration, you are telling them: “Yes, I want you to work here. The door is open.”
An accessible application process is also a first look at your internal materials. It is a clue to an applicant that your organization is moving beyond public access. You incorporate digital accessibility into some of your internal software processes.
Internal Content and Systems
Accessible internal content and systems show even more commitment. Digital accessibility is a part of your “doing business.” That includes the information and technologies your employees use every day. Whether they have a disability or not. You train project managers, and others with oversight, to consider access needs at the beginning of a project. And to follow those needs through to completion.
Long-range thinking like this shows a commitment to hiring people with disabilities. And not just hiring them but supporting them in their day-to-day job duties. Encouraging them to commit to their careers, as you commit to digital accessibility.
Related Resources
Planning for Accessibility
- Introduction to Web Accessibility
- Web Accessibility Perspectives
- Planning and Managing Web Accessibility
Designing and Creating Content
- Web Accessibility Tutorials
- Accessible Electronic Documents
- Social Media Accessibility
- Planning Accessible Audio and Video Media