1. Social Media Accessibility
Social Media & Talent Recruiting – Leveling the Playing Fields
Eliza Greenwood
Digital Marketer
Portland, Oregon
PEATWorks - June 2016
{Graphic: Photo of Eliza Greenwood}
@E_lizaG

2. Terms to look out for “PWD” – people with disabilities
“a11y” – accessibility for PWD
“SoMe” - social media
“DHH” - Deaf & Hard of Hearing
Twitter Users Vote - #SoMeA11y or #SocMediaA11y?
@E_lizaG

3. This presentation
Will provide insight for accessible recruiting across social media channels including:
Inclusion: reaching your audience(s) where they are.
Accessibility: Being aware of pitfalls across channels. Making your channel(s) more accessible.
Equality: Steps to make sure your vetting does not discount people based on disability.
Questions encouraged!
@E_lizaG

4. From the twittersphere
Why is this important?
PWD have lower than average turnover rates.
Accessibility is a long game. Getting ahead of the curve now will cost less money over time.
Accessibility improves engagement. Facebook example - captions increased view time an average of 12%
June #PEATTalks
@Access_Partners “Why would you risk shutting out 20% off applicants?”
@LFLegal “Law is part of business case and inaccessible recruiting practices screen out #disabled applicants.
@DoDCap “Simple: Creating and fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce.”
@E_lizaG

5. Talent is tuning-in to company culture.
Branding/PR
Talent is tuning-in to company culture.
Launching inaccessible campaigns is like placing a bulk order of Styrofoam cups emblazoned with your company logo.
{Graphic: Photo of a dirty styrofoam cup lying on its side in a puddle near some plants. A small frog is perched on top of the cup.}
@E_lizaG

6. Do the “right thing”
May 2016 – US Department of Labor Unemployment Rate
People with disabilities 9.7%
People without disabilities 4.3%
@E_lizaG

7. End goal - equity A combination of efforts Inclusion + Accessibility +
Equality =
Greater Equity.
{Graphic: Illustration showing an adult, a young child and a toddler watching a baseball game. On one side, each person is standing on a crate so that they can see over the fence they are standing behind. The adult and young child can see the game, but the toddler is unable to see over the fence. The caption reads “Equality.” One the right side, the same image is shown, but this time the adult is standing on the ground, the young child is standing on one crate and the toddler is standing on two crates. Each person can see over the fence. The caption reads “Equity.”}
@E_lizaG

8. inclusion
Jobseeking
79% of job seekers use social media in their job search (Glassdoor)
40% of job seekers with disabilities experienced accessibility or usability issues with social media (PEAT)
Question: Are single-channel recruiting efforts biased against PWD?
@E_lizaG

9. INCLUSION SURVEY
{Graphic: Photo of Eliza with two survey respondents.}
Eliza with two survey respondents – John & Larry Gassman CSUN 2015
@E_lizaG

10. Link to survey at elizagreenwood.com/blog/csun-social-media-a11y
Blue and red arrows point out the highs and lows which contrast frequency of use of different channels by DHH vs. blind people and those with vision impairments on a scale of 0-5. For Facebook, DHH rated use over 3.5 whereas blind people came in at almost 2.5, people with vision impairments averaged under 3 and people who identified as not having a disability were over 3. For Twitter, DHH rated use under 1 whereas blind people were at almost 3, people with vision impairments rated over 2.5 and people who identified as not having a disability were under 2.5. For LinkedIn, DHH rated low at just over .5 whereas blind rated over 1.5 and those with vision impairments averaged over 2, similar to people without disabilities. For Instagram, DHH rated almost 1.5 whereas blind people were close to 0, people with vision impairments just over .5 and people without disabilities rated just over 1.
Survey Findings:
Facebook – high among DHH
Twitter – high among blind/vision, low among DHH
LinkedIn – high among vision impairments, low among DHH
Instagram – low among blind, high among DHH
@E_lizaG

11. Check-in Questions? How are we doing? @E_lizaG
{Graphic: Icon showing a pinned location on a map. }
Questions?
How are we doing?
@E_lizaG

12. Accessibility Platform Innovation Content Tips Progress Challenges
Tweet out which SoMe A11y innovations or tips are you employing these days? #PEATTalks
@E_lizaG

13. a11y innovation Facebook - automatic alternative text
Twitter – “compose image description” function
LinkedIn?
{Graphic: Photo of a clear light bulb with a filament lit up over a blue background. }
@E_lizaG

14. a11y publishing Pro-tips
Across channels
Work in captions/image descriptions.
Provide transcripts and captions.
Avoid abbreviations?
Know your audience.
{Graphic: Closed Captioning Icon}
@E_lizaG

15. a11y publishing Pro-tips by channel
Facebook-
Link to transcript for videos
Refer to YouTube for videos
YouTube-
Provide audio descriptions
Be aware of auto-play
{Graphic: Photo of a kitten climbing out of a cardboard box. }
@E_lizaG

16. a11y publishing Pro-tips Twitter & LinkedIn
Color contrast
Check profile theme settings
Hashtags
Put all at the end?
Camel case – see my tweet example
LinkedIn-
Accessible PDFs
Who is “at the table?”
{Graphic: Photo of five golden retriever puppies clustered tightly together. }
@E_lizaG

17. Equality
Hiring
39% of hiring managers screen using public social media profiles (SHRM)
27% have disqualified job candidates because of concerning info online (SHRM)
@E_lizaG

18. Candidate research equality
Don’t allow personal characteristics (including disability) of any candidate to influence your hiring decision.
Wait to meet candidate before reviewing social media presence.
Conduct identical searches at same point in hiring process for each applicant.
{Graphic: US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Logo}
@E_lizaG

19. equity takeaway Combine recruiting efforts to include Inclusion
Accessibility
Equality
{Graphic: Equality and Equity image from slide 9. A third panel shows the same three people watching the game through a chain link fence, eliminating the need for anyone to stand on a crate.}
@E_lizaG

20. References - Mind the gap!
Social media & recruiting
Social media accessibility
practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/acquiring-job- candidates/social-media-recruiting-guidelines.aspx
candidates-prospective-students-social-read- columbo?trk=hp-feed-article-title-publish
uments/SHRM-Social-Media-Recruiting-Screening pdf
recruiting-stats-hr-pro-must-know-2016/
media-a11y
book-automatic-alt-tags-blind-visually-impared
alternative-text-images/
Audio/archives/110405
releases-automated-captioning-and-new-metrics- for-video-ads
@E_lizaG

21. References - continued
Equity meme backstory
Employment & recruiting - PWD
of-an-accidental-meme- ddc4e139e0e4#.190a624t8
ct.htm
s/infographic
@E_lizaG

22. Thank you! Please follow me on Linkedin & Twitter
{Graphics: Linkedin and Twitter icons}
Elizagreenwood.com/peat
@E_lizaG