How we’re making RNID more accessible
Why we’re thinking beyond hearing loss at RNID and using accessibility checklists
At the RNID staff conference in June, interaction designer Mhari McNaught and I ran accessibility skills exchange sessions.
All RNID staff receive deaf awareness training and are aware of accessibility needs for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. However, we know that some people who are deaf or have hearing loss may have additional access needs. For example, they may be deafblind, or they may have a motor impairment.
Our aims for the sessions were to:
- help our colleagues think about accessibility more broadly than just hearing loss by showing examples of challenges that people with different disabilities may face and the assistive technology that some people may use
- explain ways they can make their work more accessible and be more inclusive in their work
- demonstrate how making things more accessible makes them better for everyone.
The skills sessions prompted a lot of great discussion. Several people asked for simple accessibility checklists that they could use when they were creating new presentations or documents. We thought this sounded like a great way to make our work more accessible, and to help staff continue to think about accessibility after the conference.
What we did
Mhari and I worked with Sarah Norman, our agile delivery manager and fellow accessibility enthusiast, to create several high-level accessibility checklists.
We focused on Word, PowerPoint and Excel. These are common tools that most people in RNID will use in their day-to-day work.
Before publishing the checklists, we got feedback from content designer Rob Parker. We also worked with some of our marketing colleagues to ensure that there were strong links between our brand resources and accessibility information.
In order to help staff find the new accessibility guidance, we:
- added a new accessibility section to the intranet
- published an intranet news article about the accessibility resources
- posted an update about the accessibility resources on Microsoft Teams
- added an additional slide to our branded PowerPoint template that has tips about making your presentation accessible.
We know that these checklists aren’t exhaustive. There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to accessibility. But we’re aware that some colleagues may just be thinking about accessibility for the first time, and we need to take them on a journey with us. That’s why we decided to start by creating simple checklists that people can use to double check their work.
What we’ll do next
We’re going to monitor the analytics from the accessibility pages so we can see how people are using and engaging with the content. We’ve also added a feedback form to the intranet pages so staff can let us know what we could add or improve. Rob is also going add some more detailed guidance on accessible writing.
We’re hoping that this is just the start of RNID becoming a more accessible charity for everyone.
