The Role of Accessible Technology in Attracting and Retaining Talent ATIA February 4, 2016 Josh Christianson, PEAT Project Director Joiwind Ronen, PEAT Strategic Consultant

What is PEAT? Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology Cooperative agreement funded by Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) Initiative to advance the employment and retention of people with disabilities through the development, adoption, and promotion of accessible technology

What is PEAT?

Resources: Webinars & Spotlights

Resources: Videos

Employer Resources

Employer Resources An interactive resource developed to help organizations evaluate the current state of their accessible technology programs, and identify tools they can use to make organizational improvements

Accessible Technology and the Employment Lifecycle

Assumptions & Approach EMPLOYER: Opportunity to widen the talent pool and meet compliance goals EMPLOYEE: The internet serves as a gateway to employment in today’s marketplace TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS: Want to meet market demand for accessible products

Employer, Advocacy Group & Developer Interviews

Awareness Compliance vs. usability mindset Technology, logistics, and cost Complexity Customization Inadequate testing Interview Findings: Top Issues

User Survey

Survey Findings: Job Search and Social Media Increasing use of social media during job search 50% of survey respondents used social media as part of their job search process 37% said they experienced accessibility or usability issues when using social media

Survey Findings: Tablets and Mobile Devices Significant use of mobile devices to search for jobs: 55% of respondents had searched for jobs using a mobile device and/or tablets But, fewer people are using mobile devices to APPLY to jobs: 27% of respondents have applied for jobs using a mobile device and/or tablet

Survey Findings: Job Application Experience 46% rated their last experience applying for a job online as “difficult to impossible” Of those, 9% were unable to complete the application and 24% required assistance

Survey Findings: Pre-Employment Testing Almost 70% of respondents were asked to complete pre-employment testing Almost 40% of those said they experienced difficulties or were unable to complete pre- employment testing

Survey Report

Survey Report Making your eRecruiting Tools Accessible Talent Sourcing Online Applications Post-Application eRecruiting and Accessibility The ROI of Accessible eRecruiting Buying Accessible eRecruiting Products Adopting an Accessibility Policy Coming Soon!

TalentWorks Starting Point

Talent Sourcing Accessibility Inaccessible social media – Make sure all images are [tagged] – Use plain language job descriptions – Simplify hashtags; use “camel case” – Provide content through multiple channels Inaccessible eRecruiting videos – Videos need synchronized captions – Provide a transcript as well – Use audio descriptions Inaccessible live recruiting events – Be descriptive – Offer real-time captioning – Be sure that materials are accessible

Online Applications Accessibility – Use clear links – Watch your color contrast – Make sure important images have ALT text – Make sure your forms have labels programmatically associated with their input – Give people extra time before timing out – Tabular data needs to be coded properly – Don’t use CAPTCHAs

Post-Application Accessibility Pre-Employment Testing – Provide the option for extra time before the system automatically times out – Ensure video and simulations are accessible – Decrease the number of questions in pre- employment tests and ensure the questions are related to the job posting Digital Interviews – Be aware of connectivity and lack of access to broadband – Ensure good lighting – Provide real-time captioning

Other TalentWorks Resources

Real-Time Feedback and Discussion 1.What else should employers do to make their eRecruiting processes and tools more accessible? 1.What are we missing? What are the major issues where we can have the most impact? 1.Who else should we talk to? What other resources should we be aware of? Go to and enter the code to tell us