My commitment to accessibility
I am committed to creating an inclusive and accessible culture for the lovely humans I work with.
Inclusion is essential in allowing everyone to show up authentically as themselves regardless of gender, sexuality, neurodivergence, disability or ethnicity. I recognise that more barriers exist to running a business for those within marginalised communities and I want to work to reduce these barriers and create opportunities for more diversity in business leadership. I believe everyone should be given the opportunity to work in a way that values their diversity, plays to their strengths and supports them in areas they find difficult.
I actively seek to work with diverse client groups in order to create more equitable opportunities for business leaders. When working with me, you can expect a working relationship that is free from judgment, guilt or shame, as I am committed to valuing you for who you are.
Welcoming you in to work with me means you are actively participating in an inclusive environment. As such I will not tolerate any behaviour that contradicts this and will actively work to eradicate bullying, harassment and discrimination which have no place within my spaces.
What I’m doing to support my clients…
I am very happy to make any adjustments I can to my working practices in order to support anyone who works with me and make sure they feel comfortable and listened to. These are some of the steps I have already taken:
I am able to offer online content and meetings in a range of formats to maximise accessibility. This includes use of AI software, the option to turn your camera off, transcripts or recordings of meetings, in both audio and video. Captions are enabled on all zoom meetings. I offer documentation in a font or text size of your choice. Through my onboarding process I ask about additional requirements and pronouns. I welcome opportunities for feedback and endeavor to make alterations to my practices based on this. When I work with you, I will ask you how you prefer to communicate, including giving a range of options such as voice note, text, apps or email.
Before you work with me face to face, I will ask about additional needs and accessibility requirements, and ensure these are thoroughly checked and confirmed with any venues that we meet at. I will make sure that I share this information with you prior to our meeting to help you prepare and we will discuss scheduling for sensory and rest breaks, and any sensory requirements for example, lighting, noise, movement, etc.
I have invested in an inclusion audit with the incredible Jo McMeechan. She has helped me to identify the following areas that require improvement:
I am working towards updating my website with a plain text version.
I am working towards adding ALT text to all images, along with my those on my social media.
I am also working to improve my onboarding processes to ensure I ask more specific accessibility questions, and capture diversity data.
Need more information? I welcome the opportunity for questions about my inclusion or accessibility; I am eager to learn about any areas I could make improvements and will always listen to your thoughts and lived experience. Drop me an email on jodie@busybeeassistant.co.uk