At Hassell Inclusion we’ve identified 4 ways organisations can benefit from digital accessibility.
20% of the global population has a permanent disability, and in an ageing society, an additional 20% have a progress impairment. That’s 4 out of 10 people who need accessible solutions [Sources: Family Resources Survey for financial year 2016/17 and Overview of the UK Population: November 2018]
Financial benefits: In the service sector, every customer interactions costs 17p online, £5 through a call centre, or £14 in branch. Accessibility means you can minimise the costs of customer-service by enabling everyone to use it online. How could you reduce costs and improve your service with accessibility? [Source: UK Government stats shared by James Hall, HeX Productions at London Accessibility Meetup, 24 Sep 2018]
Ethical benefits: Only 30% of organisations have accessible websites [Source: Stats from Business Disability Forum e-check, since 2008]. But most say inclusion is one of their values. If you’re not delivering accessibility, you’re probably not doing what you say. Are you living up to your organisation’s values?
Legal benefits: In the USA, there were more than two thousand litigation cases in 2018 [Source: 2018 ADA Web Accessibility Recap Report]. Accessibility legislation and appetite for litigation differs in different countries; but cases are increasing and the costs are real. Are you at risk?
Innovation benefits: Voice recognition started as an aid for people with motor impairments [Source: Q&A with Kurzweil’s Ray Kurzweil], but it morphed into something much bigger. Designing for all your users is a challenge, but innovation can be the result. Great things can come from thinking differently. How could accessibility make you more innovative?
Why settle for 60% when you can have 100%? We see digital accessibility as an opportunity to drive your business… not something that will hold it back.
You’ll be in good company – accessibility is in the C-suite of some of the world’s top companies: google, Apple, Yahoo, AT&T, Microsoft and IBM.
