Accessible design benefits everyone. Outwardly, accessible sites and digital products open organisations up to untapped customers. Inwardly, accessible hiring practices open businesses up to untapped talent.
With 15–20% of the global population estimated to be neurodivergent, organisations can benefit from a ‘return on inclusion’ both by widening their customer base and broadening their talent pool.
Achieving equal access involves the removal of barriers and the creation of opportunities. This guide describes how digital professionals, marketers, hiring managers and HR representatives can work to create inclusive experiences for everyone. Good design is inclusive design.
The report covers:
- Key definitions: Central to the concept of neurodiversity is the idea that cognitive differences are not viewed as deficits. Instead, access to diverse ways of thinking benefits both organisations and humanity as a whole.
- The business case: Inclusive marketing is more effective, while inclusive hiring practices can give brands a competitive advantage. From greater resilience to better performance, there are key strategic and commercial benefits organisations can reap.
- Inclusive customer experiences: Digital practitioners can draw on multiple frameworks to help turn theory into practice, from the seven principles of universal design to the Web Accessibility Guidelines. Inclusive design requires accessibility considerations to be baked in from the very start.
- Inclusive employee experiences: Creating a more diverse workforce begins with recruitment. From the initial job description all the way through to training and development opportunities, there are key steps organisations can take to build and nurture more diverse teams.