Coining a new phrase

When we think of acronyms, many come to mind.  When it comes to HR, 
I encourage  employers to consider adding an “A” as a prefix to their profession to become AHR, or in my world, “Accessible Human Resources”.

In North America alone, there are 12.8 million blind and partially sighted individuals, many of whom are currently employed within the workforce. As one of those individuals, I found it interesting to note that statistics compiled from a recent survey indicated that 69% of blind and partially sighted employees currently receive their payroll benefit statement information, and 54% their HR documents in standard print exclusively, rendering it unusable.  Considering that over 80% surveyed were concerned with the privacy in the delivery of their payroll and HR information, these percentages are quite startling.

Prevailing legislation in both Canada and the United States provides civil rights protection for individuals with disabilities in a variety of instances. 
The Canadian Human Rights Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are most commonly cited in Canada, as the American with Disabilities Act, (ADA),  is in the U.S., and all ensure that individuals with disabilities are not placed at a disadvantage, but rather offered the same rights and opportunities as all others.

Despite legislative requirements however, these survey results clearly demonstrate that a gap continues to exist with respect to the delivery of accessible HR-related materials, some of which contain private and personal information.  We recently hosted a webcast where payroll and HR professionals had the opportunity to learn about market trends, compiled statistics, best practices and accessible solutions to effectively address the diverse needs of their blind, deafblind and partially sighted employees.

It was wonderful to see retail organizations such as Starbucks, who currently has a huge emphasis on diversity taking part in the discussion.  We also invited a blind employee to share his personal perspective and experiences in accessing a variety of HR-related materials, which has proven to be somewhat challenging throughout his career.  As he walked attendees through his career path and experiences, he identified several barriers  that he has encountered that validated the need for organizations to provide employees with accessible HR documentation such as gross vs. net details, retirement planning information, internal competition results, presentation materials, etc.

Additionally, in the survey I previously mentioned, over 75% of HR professionals within leading organizations have been approached by an employee to have their statement of earnings/contributions and HR documents provided in an alternate format.  Of those respondents, 50% have in turn approached their payroll provider to inquire about alternate format capabilities.  I know of an HR Manager within a financial institution who received a request from a blind employee regarding the provision of an accessible pay statement, which resulted in the diversity team researching available options to meet the needs of their entire staff.  Part of this exploration involved contacting their payroll company to inquire about the possibility of producing biweekly statement of earnings in braille and large print. In addition, she is in the process of developing all diversity and training materials to be inclusive and representative of their employee base.

I personally have many blind friends who are gainfully employed and participating fully and actively in all aspects of the social and economic mainstream.  While gaps in some areas of delivery have been identified, I am delighted to see and hear of the increased number of organizations joining in on discussions surrounding accessibility in the workplace.  More so, it is promising to witness the growing number of leading organizations enhancing their current HR programs, working to ensure the full participation of their existing employee base and appealing to a broader range within the talent pool.