When you run a business, a community group, or any other kind of organization, your biggest challenge is likely to get people using your services. While you may try promoting your organization within the local areas to attract attention, this may not always get the results you hoped to achieve. This is because when trying to increase footfall and attract a broader range of people to engage with your services, there is one crucial aspect you may overlook; accessibility and inclusivity. If you hope to engage everyone within your community in your group or attract the interest of every possible member of your target market to your business, you need to be sure your services are as inclusive as possible.
Ensuring your premises and services are accessible to everyone regardless of disability or additional needs is essential to eliminate physical barriers that prevent people from using your organization. Taking action to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of your organization is an excellent way to ensure everyone feels welcome and able to use your services.
Improve Your Entranceway
The entrance to your building may look smart and impressive to you, but for somebody with additional needs, it may seem intimidating and impossible to enter. Viewing your business from the perspective of your users is a helpful way to ensure it is as accessible as possible. Improving the entrance to the building by adding accessible features such as ramps, handrails, automatic doors, and keeping the entrance free from obstructions are all helpful places to start when making changes.
Introduce Audio Visual Equipment
Regardless of the type of organization you operate, the importance of making it accessible should never be ignored. Ensuring everyone can fully utilize your services is a must, so spending some time considering how to make this possible is crucial. Some buildings can present specific challenges when trying to make them inclusive. Churches and historic buildings are an example of this, as they may not be so easy to adapt due to the way they have been constructed and their age. Due to the acoustics of older buildings, you may find it helpful to have audio visual systems for churches installed. This will ensure hard of hearing or deaf visitors can follow what is happening using closed captions and do not feel excluded from the service.
Audio visual technology is really beneficial for a range of different businesses and organizations hoping to improve their accessibility as it can be used to relay important information in many settings.
Increase Signage
Increasing the signage used in your building is an excellent way to ensure it is as accessible as possible for users. Increasing the font size and introducing raised characters or braille on your signage so partially-sighted visitors can see it is crucial and a really easy way to be considerate towards the needs of everyone using your building. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has guidance to help you produce signage for your facility that is suitable for the needs of every visitor. Familiarising yourself with the ADA guidance is essential to ensure you understand exactly how you can make your building as accessible as possible. By following the recommended guidelines, you will be able to welcome more customers to your building and ensure that you comply with the latest ADA guidance.
Upgrade Essential Facilities
Upgrading your essential facilities to ensure that they are accessible is a must and one of the most crucial tasks when trying to create an inclusive building. Your washroom facilities are a vital consideration. You will need to consider factors such as the height of the countertops, the amount of room there is for wheelchair users to turn, and the size of each cubicle to ensure that it is accessible for a range of different users.
Provide Staff Training
Making your building as accessible and inclusive as possible is a must to ensure that every one of your visitors and customers can use your services. But, as well as improving access to your building and altering your facilities, you will also need to ensure your team understands how to provide the best service to every customer. Educating your team on how to operate and use the accessible features that you have introduced is a must to ensure they are used to maximum benefit. Providing diversity training for your team is crucial to ensure that your staff understands the role they have to play in ensuring that everyone receives the best treatment while accessing your services easily.