Access auditing the first step to improve the overall visitor experience for your customers
We are often asked, what is the benefit of carrying out an access audit and why should we do it? Well simply the main reason is that the access audit is the first step to improve the overall visitor experience for all your customers including people with disabilities which will identify accessibility gaps and recommendations for improvement.
The second reason is the business case. It is estimated in Ireland that 13% of the population are people with disabilities and up to 40% of the population are people with reduced mobility (e.g. parent with a buggy or person carrying a heavy bag). By carrying out an access audit and making your premises and services more accessible you will increase your customer base and profits!.
It is important to remember however that the access auditing is the first step to improve the overall visitor experience for your customers which should identify:
- Physical accessibility barriers in place for people with disabilities (e.g. signage design, visual contrast, toilets, lighting, lift design etc.)
- Staff disability awareness training needs in the area.
- What areas of your customer services need to be improved (e.g. complaints procedures)
- What policies and procedures are in place to address access
- Who is responsible for implementing accessibility within the organisation
- How the organisation is ensuring all of their information is available in accessible formats as required an
- If adequate pre-visitor information is available
The hard part is to implement the recommendations; make changes and to continuously improve the overall accessibility of your organisation. If you would like to learn more about how to carry out an access audit click here for details of an upcoming course.
Alternatively if you need further information on how OHAC can assist you and carry out accessibility audits, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team on 01-4151285 or e-mail [email protected]
