The Accessible Future of Work

What if every employee or member of your organization could devote their most productive hours of their day to their most impactful work? What would that be like in your organization? What if all the information your team needed was available in formats that were accessible, fostering some continuous creativity and innovation? What would that look like in your organization? This isn't a futuristic fantasy organization. It's a tangible reality that's possible by achieving— by prioritizing accessibility throughout the entire employee life cycle. Hi there, I'm Britne Jenke, and my mission is making work accessible. I'm here today to talk about an accessible future of work, a workplace where everyone thrives regardless of ability. When we talk about an employee life cycle, it looks something like this. Without accessibility for those with disabilities and those with neurodivergence, who could we be excluding from our organization's cycle? This isn't about the ADA, this isn't about DEI, this isn't about an acronym or a buzzword, but this is about making systemic changes in our workplaces that we can consider access needs for all. What barriers can you remove from work? I want to share with you a couple practices that I know can make work more accessible because I have done these things personally in my own business. Let's talk for a minute about employee attraction and recruitment. I recently hired a consultant, and I didn't want to fall into this trap that we find ourselves in— searching for the ideal candidate. You may have experienced this too. So how did we apply accessibility? My agency used very clear accessible job descriptions. Simple with no jargon. We focused on outcomes over responsibility. We emphasized skill and experience over degrees. Sorry, grads. This brought us a wide range of candidates. We had diverse backgrounds and we gave a lot of very unique profiles a chance. We had festival organizers, gamers, and moms, and they all got an interview. Now, when we got to our interview process, we wanted to be fair and unbiased, and we wanted We wanted to provide a level playing field for everyone, so we offered accommodations at every step of the journey, asking how we could provide a better experience. We gave a choice of format to the candidates—video or a voice call—and then we standardized and then shared the interview questions in advance. We transcribed interviews for fairness and accuracy and then paid candidates for a work project. Why did we do all of this? Because embracing accessibility from the start broadens your talent pool and and engages your workforce. We knew that these methods would help us find the right consultant, and we did. But the benefits extend well beyond the hiring process. By embedding accessibility throughout the employee journey in training, development, retention, we can unlock the full potential of every individual. This isn't about checking boxes, following the ADA laws, meeting regulations. I'm talking about a strategic imperative for a competitive advantage. People with disabilities and neurodivergence could be your biggest asset. Remember that future where productivity soars, everyone devotes their most attentive time to work? Accessible practices make it real. Try flexible work schedules and locations. Remember the future where information is easy to access and creativity and innovation are the norm? Accessible practices make that real too. Try accessible systems and better organization. Consider some practices that you may not have tried before. Try to go just one step further to remove a barrier and include someone that wasn't able to be included before. You may be surprised at the results. The accessible future of work is not a distant dream. It's not coming soon. I promise, this is possible today. These practices work, and there's proof beyond just me. Are you ready to to unlock that new reality. Get in touch and let's chat about making work accessible for everyone.