{"id":8704,"date":"2025-02-07T15:28:11","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T20:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/?p=8704"},"modified":"2025-04-21T09:08:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T13:08:58","slug":"accessibility-competence-makes-for-more-effective-and-competitive-organizations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/2025\/accessibility-competence-makes-for-more-effective-and-competitive-organizations\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessibility competence makes for more effective and competitive organizations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Accessibility competence makes for more effective and competitive organizations\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

As organizations today place more emphasis on improving workplace culture and operations, efforts to enhance inclusion and accessibility are top of mind for many. Change can be challenging, but the rewards of increasing accessibility competence can be meaningful and lasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Diane Biesinger, a senior manager with the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA), organizations can truly flourish when the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) are used to help guide purposeful action to improve accessibility competence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA workplace benefits from having many thoughts and ideas coming from a variety of different individuals so it\u2019s essential to ensure people with a range of lived experiences are part of the conversation,\u201d she notes. \u201cVaried input is key to being leading edge and making thoughtful decisions that serve not only the needs of the workplace but also its clients or customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the desire for foundational change that drives the work of the Accessibility Institute at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University. One of their flagship projects is a unique non-credit educational offering specifically designed to bridge the gap between accessibility awareness and workplace operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New program educates professionals on key competencies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Focusing on upskilling professionals, the Institute\u2019s new Professional Education for Accessibility Competence (PEAC) program emphasizes key competencies in workplace accessibility, empowering individuals and their organizations to implement practices and move beyond compliance to genuine inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enhanced accessibility competence helps attract and retain talented employees and ultimately makes for a more competitive, dynamic organization which fosters greater trust and therefore retention, says Biesinger. \u201cBy helping individuals feel like they truly belong, they can perform at their best and be stronger collaborators, which opens the floodgates for a greater journey in the workplace and beyond. The PEAC program is a great foundation for individuals and organizations wanting to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPEAC enriches and supports the shared understanding of accessibility in professional environments,\u201d explains Tara Connolly, an assistant director at the Accessibility Institute. \u201cThe modules are designed to deepen comprehension of accessibility and disability perspectives and enable participants to emerge equipped to elevate inclusivity and make change within their own spheres of influence,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connolly is quick to point out that accessibility is everybody\u2019s business, not just those involved in the accommodation process. \u201cNow or in the future we will all need accessibility in our environments, whether due to aging, injuries, or invisible disabilities. Nimble, flexible workplaces designed with inclusivity for all can only occur when there is attitudinal awareness that accessibility is for all. PEAC helps create a solid foundation on this critical issue and serves as a springboard for further learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every organization, large or small, will reap myriad benefits from enhanced accessibility competence. If you\u2019re ready to get started, find out more about the Accessibility Institute\u2019s PEAC program<\/a> and register for an upcoming session.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As organizations today place more emphasis on improving workplace culture and operations, efforts to enhance inclusion and accessibility are top of mind for many. Change can be challenging, but the rewards of increasing accessibility competence can be meaningful and lasting. According to Diane Biesinger, a senior manager with the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA), organizations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8704"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8710,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8704\/revisions\/8710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/accessibility-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}