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2. Environment

2.1 Technology

Action 2.1B Conduct periodic accessibility audits on company websites/platforms and action recommendations.

Guidance

Digital accessibility standards such as those in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are clear, specific, and measurable. Periodic digital accessibility audits are an important step in ensuring your organisation’s websites and internal platforms remain accessible to all users, including disabled staff members.

“Conduct accessibility audits of your physical and digital environments”.

WIDE Consultation Participant – Employer

Where resources are available, external agencies specialising in these audits can support the organisation to evaluate their compliance with standards and skills, to identify and address accessibility issues which can develop internally over time.

“Contact relevant bodies that represent (people with) disabilities to see if staff can help the company audit their services and environment.”

WIDE Consultation Participant – Disability Organisation

Audits should be conducted periodically to identify and address any barriers that may have arisen due to updates or changes in technology and platform content.

Steps to Conduct Accessibility Audits:

  1. Schedule Regular Audits: Establish a timeline for conducting accessibility audits that is appropriate for your business size and scope, such as annually or biennially. Consistent scheduling ensures ongoing compliance and allows for timely identification of issues.
  2. Use Established Standards: Conduct audits based on established accessibility standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines provide a comprehensive framework for making web content more accessible, and public sector organisations (Web Accessibility Directive) and some businesses (EU Accessibility Act) already must meet these standards by law.
  3. Employ Automated Tools and Manual Testing: Utilise automated accessibility testing tools to quickly identify common issues and support efficient and more consistent monitoring. Complement these with manual testing by disabled people or specialist consultants to more thoroughly assess compliance and uncover barriers that automated tools are not capable of identifying.
  4. Engage Experts and Disabled Staff Members: Consider involving accessibility experts or consultants who can provide a thorough and unbiased assessment of your platforms and invite feedback from disabled staff members on their experiences of using the platform. Their expertise can help identify complex issues and recommend effective solutions.
  5. Document Findings and Recommendations: Create reports documenting the findings of each audit. Include specific recommendations for addressing identified issues, prioritizing them based on their impact on user experience.

“I started working last year and this is my first year working. The website was inclusive and accessible.”

WIDE Consultation Participant – Disabled Person

Whether conducting audits internally or relying on external agencies, it’s important to develop a plan to action the recommendations arising. Steps you can take include:

  1. Prioritise Issues: Address high-impact issues or ‘critical’ accessibility failures first, focusing on barriers that significantly affect the user/employee experience. Use a phased approach to tackle less critical issues over time.
  2. Assign Responsibilities: Clearly assign responsibility for implementing each recommendation to specific team members or departments. This ensures accountability and facilitates progress tracking.
  3. Implement Changes: Make the necessary changes to your websites and platforms based on the audit recommendations and ensure that updates are tested for accessibility before deployment.

By combining accessible procurement with the conducting of periodic accessibility audits and acting on the recommendations, your company demonstrates a commitment to creating an inclusive digital environment. This proactive approach not only enhances the user experience for disabled people but also aligns with legal and ethical obligations.

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