Employment Accessibility and Inclusion Assessment

Introduction

The Employment Accessibility and Inclusion Assessment helps organizations review how accessible their workplace is for employees with disabilities and Deaf employees, identify barriers to accessibility and inclusion, and find ways to improve accessibility at every stage of the employee lifecycle. It allows organizations to assess each stage of the employee lifecycle and helps find and remove barriers to accessibility for employees. The Assessment also provides resources that provide guidance on how to take action.

The Employment Accessibility and Inclusion Assessment was developed as a collaborative effort between the New Society Institute (NSI) and the Accessibility Consulting Team at BDO Canada LLP (BDO). Creation of this Assessment was funded by ESDC. The Assessment is organized by the phases of the employee lifecycle as outlined in the Employment Standard developed by Accessibility Standards Canada in alignment with the Accessible Canada Act. When you click on a lifecycle stage button (e.g., Recruitment, Onboarding, Retention), you’ll be taken to a page with the relevant questions for that stage. The goal is to support an honest and thorough review of your workplace’s accessibility. To get the most from the Assessment, be open about what is working and what needs to change. One person may not have all the answers. If this is the case, create a plan that sets out who will be involved, the timelines for each section, the resources you need, and the steps to collect and review the information.

Starter or Full Assessment

There are two assessments to choose from.

• The Starter Assessment has twenty questions and will give you a broad sense of how your organization is doing on accessibility for persons with disabilities and Deaf persons.

• The Full Assessment has over 200 questions and is designed to help you understand what your organization might consider doing to become more accessible. This version of the Assessment is especially useful for organizations who are working towards becoming fully accessible for persons with disabilities and Deaf persons or who have already started on their accessibility journey.

How to use the assessment

1. Choose the Starter Assessment or the Full Assessment and download the excel file to begin your assessment.

2. Download and review the User Guide. It explains how the Assessment works, how scoring is calculated, and what your results will look like.

3. Work through the Assessment by answering each question. Answer honestly for the most accurate results. If you don’t know an answer, involve others in your organization who can help, or create a plan to gather the needed information.

4. Once all questions are complete, the Assessment will automatically calculate your score for each stage of the employee lifecycle and provide you information on next steps. You can also review the resources for each stage of the employee lifecycle to help you learn how to take action.

Download the Assessment and user guide

Click below to download the Assessment and user guide:

• Starter Employment Accessibility and Inclusion Assessment (20 questions) • Full Employment Accessibility and Inclusion Assessment (200+ questions) • User Guide

**Support **

If you need technical support, have questions or have feedback about the Employment Accessibility and Inclusion Assessment, please contact support@accessibilityexchange.ca. If you or anyone you know experience accessibility barriers in using or navigating this Assessment, please contact us so barriers can be addressed immediately.

If you need support in conducting an assessment using the Assessment, please reach out to BDO Canada at accessible@bdo.ca.