Digital & Analogue Inclusion for a Colleague Who is Deaf

Did you know that many technologies we use daily were originally created for people with legally recognized disabilities? (e.g. phone, texting, electric tooth brushes, speech to text, text to speech, subtitles, typewriter that is now our keyboard etc.)

Yet, we continue to design a world for the majority, an approach that doesn’t meet the needs of the many and their different abilities. By 2025, we are required by law to ensure that all our digital experience, products, and services are accessible for people with legally recognized disabilities. While we are on our way, much remains to be done.

I believe that we need to nurture diverse and inclusive teams in order to truly develop diverse and inclusive products and services. And historically, jobs with decision making power in the world has excluded people with different/diverse/disabilities. That is why I actively seek out competent talent with many types of abilities so that people from the community can have the power to design a better world that is more accessible and inclusive for everyone.

In October, my team, the Digital Inclusive Design, Equity, and Accessibility Center of Expertise (Digital IDEA CoE) onboarded our first Deaf colleague, Johan. I was so shocked that Johan hadn’t been snatched up by another company considering the wealth of his experiences and competencies. But unfortunately he said many companies have overlooked him because of his deafness. Our team on the other hand, see Johan’s deafness as a value added because he brings a different perspective and different super powers to the table. His professional and lived experiences make him the most qualified person to design more accessible and inclusive digital experiences, products, and services for our coworkers and customers.

In order to make sure our colleague with different abilities (hearing, vision, mobility, cognitive etc.) are able to thrive in our work environment, we have to ensure our workplace has the systems, processes, tools, and resources in place to accommodate individual needs. So our team is leading this work to ensure that Johan can thrive within our company.

What are some example of tangible actions we are taking to meet his need?

• We have sign language interpreters to help us communicate
• We provide digital tools like iPads, large screens, transcription apps etc.
• We have created and facilitated inclusion awareness trainings to coach stakeholder on how to be inclusive
• We are finding real-life solutions and processes to meet accommodations needs so IKEA can scale this up systemically

I have been in the inclusion (digital & analogue) field for nearly 20 years, and I know that the go-to stereotype for hiring managers is that people with different/diverse/disabilities will cost more and reduce productivity. But that is an ablest point of view that some abilities are better than others. The reality is that we all have different abilities and they all add value to the workplace and the world. So it is not people who are disabled, but our bias in designing a world and a society that disables people from being their best.

We must design a world that will value the contributions of the many more so that everyone can participate and contribute their best in their own way. So now, we as a company must walk our talk on inclusion (digital and analogue) and transform how we work so that we invite historically disadvantaged communities to the decision making table. We must establish centralized processes and budgets to meet accommodation needs. And we have to learn how to be more inviting and inclusive of the many more co-workers and customers we might have overlooked.

Do you want support in making digital solutions more accessible and inclusive? Do you want to hire more people with different abilities on your team? Do you want to learn from our team’s experience? Message me (Tie Wang-Jones) on Teams and let’s have a fika.

And finally…big thank you for all those who helped support us and Johan on this journey!… the NL Business Coordination/Onboarding Team, NL Coworker Relations Team, Group Digital P&C, and the Amshult Facilities team.