Create Accessible Onboarding Practices
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Make virtual onboarding materials accessible to candidates.
- Provide needed accommodations and assistive technology.
- Understand how to be inclusive of all types of disabilities.
Now that you know how to create inclusive and accessible hiring practices, let’s see how those same ideas translate to onboarding.
Understanding Self-Identification
First, it’s important to understand that people with disabilities are not required to disclose them to their employers. For many people with disabilities, self disclosure or identification is an individual decision. Why? The act of self-identifying holds a stigma from a long history of systemic oppression. Many may have questions on self-disclosure in the interview/workplace regarding when or if they should disclose.
If a candidate does disclose their disability to you, remember, their disability is private information. Unless they’ve given you permission, don’t disclose their disability to anyone else. Stick to simply sharing information about the accommodation.
Person-First Language
If there is a situation where you need to reference someone’s disability, speak with them about the best way to do so. Some people prefer person-first language, where you reference the person first and then their disability, such as “a person who is blind” or “the candidate with mobility disabilities.” Others prefer identity-first language, such as “autistic person” or “a deaf candidate.”
Follow the person’s lead, and ask questions if you need clarity. The way people choose to talk about their disability is a deeply personal and nuanced decision, so it’s important to respect their wishes.
Most of all, make sure to avoid euphemisms, such as “differently abled.” While often well-intentioned, these phrases can come across as minimizing or glib. For instance, if you’re talking about people who don’t have disabilities, just say “people who don’t have disabilities.” There’s no reason to use other euphemisms like “able-bodied.” “Disability” is not a bad word and should not be avoided.
By planning for accommodations in advance, you help provide an equitable onboarding experience for all.
Inclusive Onboarding Starts Well Before Day One
Now, think back to Kate and Amara, the example characters from the first unit. Kate, the hiring manager, decided to hire Amara. As Amara gears up for Day 1 of her new job, what should Kate and team do to make sure she’s set up for success?
First of all, Kate and her team should make sure that all communications include the opportunity for Amara to request accommodations.
In the first unit, you learned that an accommodation (or “adjustment” in some regions) is assistance that allows a person to fully and successfully participate in job duties. Accommodations could include a reserved parking, sign language interpreter, sighted guide, wheelchair charging station, or anything else that helps a new hire engage more completely.
To make sure new hires know accommodations are available, Kate adds the following line to the bottom of her “welcome to the team” email.
Accommodations: If you require assistance due to a disability, please submit a request by emailing accommodations@companyname.com.
While Kate chose to add this language to her email with a “mailto” link, this could look different at your company. Maybe you set up a dedicated Slack channel or form, for example. What matters is that you have a dedicated space and process to field and honor these requests.
Next, Kate needs to make sure the team receiving those requests is equipped to provide the needed accommodations. For instance, if Amara requires a one-handed keyboard and submits a request for one, the person who receives the request email should have the authority to verify, secure, and ship the keyboard.
Accessible Onboarding Materials
Now that Kate has made it clear to Amara that accommodations are available, she should review all virtual onboarding materials to ensure they follow good document accessibility practices. These might include the employee handbook, an office map, social media policy, or a video welcome message from the CEO. All should also be designed with disabilities in mind. For example:
- Digital handbooks and policies should be actual text rather than an image of the document. This helps both screen reader users and low vision users, who may need to zoom in or use color conversion tools.
- Any map or graphic should include descriptive language or alt text as appropriate for new hires who are blind or low vision.
- Recorded videos should be captioned for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Captioning is also useful for folks with auditory processing disabilities. Plus, a text transcription of the video is also useful for individuals who are deafblind who may be accessing the content using a refreshable braille display.
- All content should be concise and clear to facilitate understanding for neurodivergent individuals.
This is not an exhaustive list, but the point is to make sure that Kate reviews every piece of onboarding material to ensure it’s accessible by as many people as possible.
Physical Accessibility
Creating an accessible onboarding experience means considering both digital experiences and physical ones.
From a physical standpoint, Kate should make sure that all necessary buildings and rooms are accessible for those who use mobility devices, such as wheelchairs. Ramps should be easily accessible, door handles should be placed at appropriate heights, and break rooms should have low counters.
Not only does designing for accessibility from the start empower all new hires to bring their best selves to work throughout the onboarding process—it also protects the personal information of any employees who do not wish to disclose their disability. The fact that Kate has proactively taken these steps allows Amara and future hires to bring their best selves to their first day on the job and engage fully with their new team.
In the next unit, learn how to continue to support employees with disabilities throughout their careers.