For years, companies have avoided hiring people with special needs. Unfortunately, some employers believe that they may not perform well or are worried about the impact on their bottom line.

However, new research even presents the opposite. Diversity in the workplace was voted the most critical area for improvement in a recent survey of more than 100 UK workplaces.

Another advantage of attracting more workers with special needs includes:

• Improving your employer’s brand
• Boosting staff morale
• More opportunities to get workers who are the right fit for the job, reducing staff turnover
• People with special needs typically remain on the job longer, have lower absenteeism, and have good punctuality.

With this in mind, it’s essential to create an inclusive workplace where people with special needs have equal access to resources and opportunities.

Here are quick tips to ensure your workplace is accessible for them. Let’s take a look!

Remove Physical Barriers

One of the most important ways is to remove physical barriers. This matter is essential to ensure workplace accessibility for special needs employees.

The most common physical adjustments for the office are:

• Investing in ramps
• Widening a doorways
• Adding height to a desk 
• Providing disabled-only parking spaces.
• Have entrances that are easily accessible to wheelchairs and ample space in your offices and the lobbies of your building.

Hence, Removing those barriers is critical if you want your business to be fully accessible. It is a small change, but they can work and move effortlessly.  

Investment in Assistive Technology

Nowadays, most jobs require computer and technology knowledge. As an employer, it is your responsibility to provide them with special equipment to support their work.

Luckily, we are in the digital era where technological innovation is constantly evolving. Having assistive technology in your company is the answer to helping them with special needs.

Besides, it will help your employees work on their tasks without any impediment. However, you need to ask what kind of technology that they require. 

Therefore, assistive technology can assist people with hearing or visual impairments. It includes:

• Devices and software with speech recognition
• Braille keyboards or displays
• Color-coded keyboards
• Assistive listening devices
• Sign language apps
• Screen reader software

The company can achieve a seamless work environment by ensuring that all employees have easy access to the necessary tools. Moreover, it makes your workplace more inclusive and accessible. 

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Employee Education And Training

The workplace modification is less enough to present the company environment as accessible to everyone. Educating your managers and staff about disabilities is another way to create an all-inclusive culture.

In the end, employees will know how to work with colleagues with special needs by providing adequate training.

Furthermore, you can ensure the employee handbook addresses disability discrimination to speed up procedures and practices for those with special needs.

HR shall announce to the entire company about this training and procedure. 

This effort aims to educate all employees on treating every company member equally. In addition, it will remove the social gap and alleviate implicit bias among each other.

Encouraging inclusivity starts with committing everyone to support each other.

In conclusion, the company has many ways to cultivate an accessible and inclusive workplace. It can begin by removing the physical barriers, providing the right technology or tools, and training the employees.

By providing an opportunity to them, the company may find undiscovered new strengths that ordinary people may not have. 

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