Are you ready for 2012?

I have been doing some searches as of late on organizations that currently have accessibility plans in place. While the public sector appears to address this issue to a greater extent, I am discovering that many private sector organizations are not publicly addressing accessibility, which leads me to believe that they may not be aware of the legislation that requires all organizations to have accessible customer service in place by 2012. Admittedly that date seems quite distant, but as I am familiar with the amount of planning that is involved for some organizations, now is the perfect time to begin, or carry through with incorporating accessibility into service delivery.                  
 
Passed by the Ontario legislature, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities ACT, 2005 was developed with the goal of creating standards to improve accessibility across the province of Ontario, and allows the government to enforce these specific standards. The standards are made into laws more commonly referred to as “regulations”, and they provide the details to help meet the goal of the AODA - the customer service standard was the first developed under this particular Act.     
 
Most businesses and other organizations that provide goods and services to individuals within Ontario must meet the legal requirements of the standard by the following dates:

January 1, 2010 - public sector organizations designated in the standard (Legislative Assembly, Ontario government Ministries, some boards and agencies), and broader public sector organizations (municipalities, school boards, community colleges, universities, public hospitals, public transportation)    
 
January 1, 2012 - all other providers of goods/services with at least one employee in Ontario (private sector businesses, not-for-profit organizations, public sector organizations that are not designated in the standard
 
The customer service standard does not set accessibility requirements for the goods themselves, but rather the way in which they are provided/delivered to customers. In other words, the standard requires that when communicating with a person with a disability, a provider shall do so in a way that takes into account the individuals specific disability.      
 
Communication is the process of providing, sending, receiving and understanding information, and taking an individuals disability into account means considering how the disability might affect the way in which he/she expresses, receives or processes information; as in any customer service initiative, the goal of this standard is to ensure effective communication.           
 
Depending on individual situations and needs, there are a number of ways to make communications more accessible:

• Ensure the original information is accessible to all (braille, large print, audio)
• Alter the usual method of communication delivery
• Ensure websites are accessible for individuals using assistive devices

For a detailed description of standards, requirements, and compliance of organizations, the AODA has published an outline which provides further information.
 
For both public and private organizations, the generous timeframes provided to meet standards requirements allows for training of employees, volunteers, and any others interacting with the public. Additionally, it allows providers to build accessibility into decision-making processes, address short-term and long-term planning, and allocate for the purchasing and development of new systems/services. While organizations do have time before these regulations are enforced, those that are proactively adhering to these standards prior to the deadline are able to gain experience with accessible delivery, and exhibit their true commitment to customers, giving them effective “service”.