Build Community Through Learning and Networking

Learning Objectives 

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Connect your company with Workforce Navigators.
• Create a case for accessibility blockers.
• Become part of the community of trailblazers with disabilities.

Join Our Community

Connect

At Salesforce, we take great pride in helping pave the way to a more inclusive workforce. We recognize that fostering a more diverse and inclusive culture is a journey. Building community through individual outreach and in partnership with other companies and organizations is a key part of this journey. And it begins with individuals in the community who can help build and make connections with Workforce Navigators.

We work with workforce development organizations to train, certify, and place people with disabilities in the Salesforce ecosystem. For example, we have partnerships with nonprofits like the Blind Institute of Technology and BOSMA. The Blind Institute of Technology is a nationwide organization whose aim is to reduce the unemployment rate within the blind and visually impaired community. BOSMA is an organization that partners with businesses to create jobs and training programs for people who are blind. 

So what does “work with workforce development organizations” really mean? Let’s take a look.

Akasia Parran has been legally blind for 5 years. The unmet need in her job search was accessible technology. As part of our partnership with the Blind Institute of Technology, Akasia had the opportunity to take a course that offers professionals with disabilities the chance to gain skills for meaningful employment. 

The Salesforce free online learning modules offer enhanced accessibility features. For Akasia, that meant that she was able to complete coursework and became a certified Salesforce Administrator in just 6 months.

“I wouldn’t have a career without Salesforce’s continuing efforts to create accessible software.” —Akasia Parran

To learn more about Akasia’s story, read Breaking Accessibility Barriers and Becoming a Salesforce Pro.

As a collective whole, we know we can accomplish far more together than we ever could alone. The support we receive from our nonprofit partners helps us provide accessible accommodations across our entire Salesforce ecosystem. If you’re a professional with a disability pursuing Salesforce credentials, we want you to have the support you need to successfully complete the certification exams. 

To request an accommodation, follow the steps in this article. Be sure to work with your doctor ahead of time to identify what accommodations you need before submitting your request.

And if you’re an HR practitioner looking to establish a workforce development program of your own, contact us at workforcenavigators@salesforce.com. We’re happy to share our learnings, which you can apply in your organization.

As we mentioned, we want trailblazers with disabilities to have the resources they need to be successful in their roles. We do this by partnering with companies to upskill their employees, offering free digital training to the public, publishing resources, and more.

The Workforce navigators talent pool is strong and made up of an incredible group of highly skilled and diverse individuals. If you’d like to hire from our network, contact us at Workforce Navigators.

Partnership in Action

Shirley is an HR manager who wants to find individuals with Salesforce certifications to fill a few open roles. And in parallel with her talent search, Shirley is building a new workforce development program to support professionals with disabilities. 

Salesforce Workforce Navigators welcomes companies who want to participate in the program and access the Workforce Navigators talent network of professionals. And HR professionals like Shirley can get information about nonprofit organizations that can help her establish training programs. She can also learn tips and approaches from the Salesforce program to apply at her company.

Remove Barriers: Pave the Way for a More Inclusive Hiring Experience

Earlier in this unit, we mentioned that achieving inclusion and accessibility is a journey. It’s important to recognize that every company is at a different stage of development for inclusion. As a Trailblazer with a disability or an advocate for inclusion, we can all play a positive role in helping to improve the landscape. 

Any one of us can be a change agent when we encounter a barrier to success. While most barriers are likely an oversight and not an intentional exclusion, it’s up to us all to drive culture changes that remove barriers and put in place best practices.

If you feel you have experienced a barrier at any point in our hiring experience, we want to hear about it. Accessibility blockers on any software platform should be reported to the company’s accessibility team. If you find an accessibility blocker on the Salesforce platform, we welcome your feedback and have a system in place for reporting. Use this article to submit your accessibility issue and create a product accessibility support case.

It’s also important to celebrate successes and best-in-class examples of inclusion and accessibility. View our events page for information about upcoming guest lectures. If you have a great story to share about your company, contact us to see if you can become part of our series.

Next, let’s consider a scenario where an accessibility barrier prevented a professional from performing at their fullest potential. 

Accessibility Barrier Example

Jack finds a great role posted online with a company that has a strong reputation for valuing diversity. Jack is a cybersecurity expert and has been deaf since birth. He applies online for the role and is asked to take a few online tests to move forward in the interview process. Excited to begin, he opens the first test and discovers there's a video he must watch and answer questions about. Unfortunately, the video does not have captions. He does poorly on the exam, and the results are not representative of his actual expertise and knowledge.

After he completes the test, he reaches out to his hiring contact to let them know the challenges he encountered. As it turns out, they have a version with captioning, and Jack is able to retake the test and successfully continue with the hiring process as a top candidate. And going forward, the company institutes a new policy to embed captioning into all its training videos so that new hires have the option of turning on captioning, as needed.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” —Maya Angelou, American Poet

Become Part of Our Trailblazing Community

Regardless of where you are in your career journey as a job seeker, or what roles you are looking to fill as a hiring manager, the Workforce Navigators program can give you a path to success. We can all learn together and pave a broader and deeper path for inclusion and accessibility. Let’s keep the momentum going and stay in touch to share opportunities for learning and career advancement while playing a part in fostering a culture of inclusion. 

We have a number of communities and groups you can join. Here’s just a few to get you started.

Resources

• Vidyard: Salesforce Service Cloud Screen Reader Demo

Quiz Scenario 

Remember Molly from unit 1? She just started a new job at a finance firm that uses the Salesforce platform. She uses screen magnification in combination with a screen reader to enlarge content on the screen and also have it spoken aloud. She sometimes has trouble using the mouse and is much faster using the keyboard to get work done. This is her first time using Salesforce, and she’s searching for a community where she can pick up tips and tricks while she works her way through Trailhead. Her onboarding included a list of Slack channels that she can join to support employees with disabilities. 

Her new company is part of the Salesforce ecosystem and a member of the Workforce Navigators Program, where they were able to access a talent pipeline of Salesforce trained candidates.