Last reviewed: January 2024
Introduction
Digital accessibility may well be a priority for you – especially if you are reading this page. However, to turn it from a minority interest to an organisational priority, you need management buy-in.
This process often starts with a small group of passionate enthusiasts – in many cases disabled themselves – looking to bring about permanent and significant change in their organisation. The endpoint for many is that accessibility becomes simply ‘business as usual.’ It becomes mainstream, rather than an add-on that managers worry about but don’t really know how to address.
A key stage in this development is management buy-in. Without this, it is impossible for accessibility to become mainstream. This page sets out some shared experience in how to obtain it building on the experience of members of the Technology Taskforce.
What does management buy-in look like?
Management buy-in means that senior management in your organisation is convinced of the importance of disability inclusion. Meaningful management buy-in translates into concrete actions to promote disability inclusion.
The specific actions will vary depending on the organisation, its culture, the context(s) in which it is operating – and many more factors.
It is helpful to find a Board-level sponsor who is willing to give practical support as well as written and verbal commitment.
Asking just for ‘buy-in’ is not particularly useful. Our experience to date suggests that practical buy-in translates into the following:
Public commitment
It helps to have some form of short written document that can be used both with colleagues and potentially with others from outside the organisation (for example, customers or suppliers). A clear example of this would be for the organisation to sign up to the Accessible Technology Charter.
Measures
Commitment should be a two-way process. If an organisation is serious about accessibility, it should be setting targets and measures for itself.
Moreover, progress should be reported back to management and those who are asking for buy-in should be held accountable for the commitment and resources obtained. In this way, accessibility becomes just one more element that an organisation needs to manage, using tools such as the Accessibility Maturity Model.
Champion
It is helpful to find a Board-level sponsor who is willing to give practical support as well as written and verbal commitment. It might be appropriate that reports are delivered to this champion, such as progress on the Technology Charter and Accessibility Maturity Model.
There may be occasions when a heavyweight manager is needed to resolve situations or to influence key players. It is equally important to treat this resource sparingly. It should be clear when giving buy-in that a manager is not taking on huge workload, a concern which can be a deterrent to some managers.
Our resource, ‘First actions to becoming a Disability Smart organisation: For senior leaders and managers’ has more advice about what management can do once they have bought-in.
Resources
As already mentioned, resources will be made sooner or later. Obtaining them is a clear measure of management buy-in.
Why is management buy-in important?
A clear statement at Board level not only directly conveys the message to all concerned, but it also gives those staff the impetus to find out more.
The experience of our members is that support at the highest level provides:
Authority
It is unusual to find colleagues who oppose accessibility outright. Most people have no issue with the concept of supporting disabled staff and customers. However, many have issues making changes to organisational processes and standards without being clear about what the organisation itself wants.
Is accessibility a priority or just a “nice to have”? Is it within their remit to bring about changes? Would they be criticised for working in this area without approval from above?
A clear statement at Board level can provide staff with the cover they need to proceed, and evidence to share with colleagues who query this.
Influence
For many organisations starting to address accessibility, a major task is to raise awareness of the need to improve issues in all relevant parts of the business and to get staff there to incorporate that thinking into their day-to-day work.
A clear statement at Board level not only directly conveys the message to all concerned, it gives those staff the impetus to proactively find out more. It also opens up the possibility of using senior managers selectively to reiterate the message whenever needed – for example, with suppliers.
Resources
Moral support is one thing, but eventually you will need material support make permanent change. Sustainable improvement needs resources – both time and money.
Senior managers understand this of course and, generally, adequate resources cannot be obtained without their support. Part of the approach to obtaining management buy-in needs to address this and to quantify the resources required.
Without these, it is highly unlikely that accessibility can become mainstream in an organisation.
Overcoming objections
These may include:
- “We don’t employ disabled people”
- “There aren’t enough disabled people to warrant any action”
- “This is just special treatment”
- No senior platform saying, “It’s OK to do this.”
Obtaining management buy-in
Accessibility must speak for itself, and the broad facts should make the case. If so, the argument wins hearts and minds rather than simply being seen as a passing fad.
The shared experience of our members is that the approaches listed below, often used in combination rather than singly, are effective when discussing accessibility with senior managers. There is no ‘one size fits all,’ since managers have individual drivers and circumstances vary between organisations. Nonetheless, between them they are useful.
In many organisations, it is neither appropriate nor possible for staff to make the case directly to the Board in one step. Raising awareness might need to be carried out through the management chain. The arguments and the rationale however remain the same irrespective of the audience.
We have created a resource, ‘How accessibility benefits your business,’ to help individuals make the business case for accessibility within their organisation.
The facts
Accessibility can be perceived as affecting a very small percentage of the population, and possibly those with a political agenda rather than a genuine need.
A starting point in the education process might simply be to start with the basic numbers. In the UK, around 24 per cent of the population – staff and customers alike – have a disability (according to the Department for Work and Pensions figures from 2021-22). The World Health Organisation estimates that, around the world, 1.3 billion people are disabled – or 16 per cent.
Disability rates increase with age – the longer someone has lived, the more likely it is that they will have acquired a disability. Around 80 per cent of people with disabilities have acquired their disabilities after the age of 16. Workforces are ageing in many countries. Customers are becoming more demanding, and research shows disabled users will simply ‘click away’ from inaccessible websites – costing UK businesses £17bn in 2019.
In short, accessibility is not a passing fad. It is an issue that has slowly been gathering momentum over the past 30 years and there is every indication that it is going to become even more prominent in the years ahead.
The law
Organisations have a legal duty to make adjustments (or accommodations) for disabled people to avoid discrimination and unfavourable treatment. In the UK this is governed by the Equality Act 2010, and most other countries have corresponding laws.
Penalties can be severe, and the reputational damage can be even worse. There is a substantial risk to any organisation that ignores the law – knowingly or unknowingly.
We have more guidance on the law in ‘The law’ on our website.
Personal experience and solutions
An often-effective method of making the case for accessibility is simply to arrange a demonstration by disabled staff.
Many disabled users face deeply frustrating challenges in the day-to-day working lives. Showing these to senior managers is often a powerful way of bringing home both how easy it is to inadvertently present barriers to customers and staff, and how these barriers can have a very substantial negative effect. In addition, it can often be very helpful for staff to demonstrate solutions – for example, assistive technologies. There is no reason why managers with no personal experience of disability should know about these, and they can be very impressive.
It is just as important to show managers that practical and affordable solutions exist as it is to raise awareness of the barriers themselves. Most common workplace software packages (such as Microsoft Office and Google) have powerful in-built accessibility tools that can easily make many disabled peoples’ working lives much easier.
The business case for improving accessibility practice
Accessible sites tend to be easier to use for all users, not just those with disabilities. Well-designed systems and processes should therefore lead directly and indirectly to more revenue.
Some managers may be persuaded by the moral and welfare arguments for accessibility alone. However, all organisations need to understand the costs and benefits related to accessibility.
Amongst other things, accessibility is an investment decision. Our members argue that there is in fact a sound business case for accessibility. It is worthwhile addressing from a purely financial viewpoint, let alone a legal or ethical one. It simply makes sense to get it right.
We have identified five core themes to describe the benefits of accessibility:
- Innovation
- Inclusion
- Brand
- Productivity
- Compliance
Our resource ‘How accessibility benefits your business’ has more information about the business case for accessibility.
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