Accessibility in the workplace: How to become an inclusive employer

For too long, businesses have hesitated to hire individuals with disabilities, often due to outdated misconceptions about productivity, cost, or cultural fit. It's time to change that.

For employers, it's time to dismantle accessibility barriers and foster equal opportunities for disabled candidates.

Here are practical strategies to enhance inclusive practices within your workplace.

1. Not all disabilities are visible ones

While many disabilities are apparent to outside observers, many aren’t. About 30% of workers have a disability. Most of them are keeping it a secret. 

Accessibility needs to cover both visible and invisible disabilities. Only then can you start making your inclusion efforts more welcoming for employees with different backgrounds and abilities.

What are hidden disabilities?

Hidden disabilities can be physical – hearing loss, chronic pain, fatigue disorders, cerebral palsy, or fibromyalgia. They can be neurological – learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders (ASD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, and others. They can even be mental, for example: depression, anxiety, ADHD, etc.

How can my company cater to hidden disabilities in the hiring process?

To make your hiring process more inclusive, you'll need to rethink how candidates engage with your brand from the very start. Being an inclusive employer means more than showing diversity — it’s about reducing barriers before someone applies.

Here are a few practical ways to support talent pools with hidden disabilities:

• Make job descriptions accessible – Use clear language and avoid unnecessary jargon.
• Offer alternative formats – Provide application forms in different formats or allow video/audio submissions.
• Add a clear adjustment statement – Let candidates know they can request accommodations at any stage.
• Train hiring managers – Equip them to recognise unconscious bias and focus on skills over assumptions.
• Review online tools – Ensure your career site and applicant tracking system are screen-reader compatible.

2. Assess your immediate needs

Your end goal is to be as accessible to everyone as possible. While that is a great objective, it can mean you might bite off more than you can chew when you first start. Instead of attempting a complete overhaul, focus your efforts on your most pressing needs first.

Companies are legally required to provide reasonable adjustments to disabled employees and qualified candidates. Look at your current workforce and start your accessibility efforts there to make relevant changes as quickly as possible.

3. Increase applicant accessibility

If your application process isn’t accessible to people with disabilities, you risk excluding talented individuals from job roles they’re fully qualified to excel in.

To support a truly inclusive environment, clearly outline the process for requesting accommodations on your careers page. This simple step can ease stress and encourage more candidates to engage with your brand.

Accessible technology on your website and hiring platforms also signals that your company is serious about inclusion and committed to providing equal access to opportunities.

Being inclusive starts well before someone joins your team — it begins with how they experience your recruitment process from the very first interaction.

4. Offer accessibility tools

Accessibility isn’t just about adding wheelchair ramps and Braille on signage. It also looks at technology and how it can help employees perform better. Think adjustable desks and monitors, improved lighting, colour-coded keyboards, screen reader software, and sign language apps.

Microsoft has long championed workplace inclusion by developing smart, practical accessibility features within Windows 10 and Office 365 — including closed captioning, live call transcription, and narrator tools to improve digital access. Their built-in checks even help employees ensure their communications are accessible to others.

These include closed captioning, live call transcription, and narrator-to-read text. They even provide built-in software tools that allow employees to check that their work and emails are accessible to co-workers. Learn more about their work in this video.

At Airswift, we are equally committed to building inclusive workplace cultures where everyone can thrive. Investing in accessible technology not only enhances the employee experience but also has a lasting positive impact on wellbeing, collaboration, and productivity.

5. Train your teams on disability inclusion

Most of us will say that we do not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. Yet disability bias, when paired with the discomfort of the unknown, hurts the interview process.

If hiring managers aren’t prepared to interview disabled candidates, it may skew the entire process. The fear of saying the wrong thing could cause the interviewer to remain silent instead of asking relevant questions. They may spend the interview wondering if the candidate can do the job with their disability. Yet, the candidate has most likely already overcome the challenges causing the hiring manager concern.

How to train on disability inclusion 

Provide disability inclusion training for hiring managers to avoid these situations from occurring in your organisation. Have interviewers stick to questions that focus on core skills. Help them assess the individual as a whole instead of fixating on aspects of their disability.

Training shouldn’t end with the management team. All employees need to know how they can contribute to a more inclusive work environment. Add workplace inclusion training to your onboarding process. This will help new employees understand and feel part of your organisation.

Even with this disability training, people may forget or make mistakes. To ensure best practices stay top of mind, you can include reminders in team meetings.

Involve all employees in inclusion 

Inclusion shouldn’t be driven by leadership alone — it must be embedded into your culture and embraced at every level of the organisation.

To truly embed inclusive workplace practices, involve your employees in decisions around inclusion and make it a shared responsibility.

Encouraging inclusive behaviour in everyday interactions reinforces your company’s core values and ensures that respect, empathy, and fairness are part of the norm — not the exception.

When everyone understands how to contribute, inclusion becomes more than a policy. It becomes a personal commitment, woven into your team’s mindset and daily actions.

For insights on how to implement successful learning and development in the workplace, check out our video:

6. Make reasonable adjustments

Accessibility is about more than what you can change in your office. Remote and flexible working options are critically important factors for employees with disability.

Working from home can be tough in some jobs. However, many companies now offer work-from-home or hybrid working arrangements. This is true when a company puts in time and resources to support it.

Technology has allowed most roles to go remote. At the same time, video calls enable employees to keep in contact with co-workers and minimise isolation. Even work hours are more flexible than they used to be as organisations expand their geographic footprint.

You don’t want to lose reliable, qualified employees just because your company is too stuck in its ways to change.

Check out our video on how to implement a remote working strategy:

7. Enlist experts with insights on accessibility in the workplace  

If you want expert advice to improve diversity and inclusion in your office, many firms can help. However, you may already have all the resources you need in your company.

Work with disabled employees to highlight issues that could be resolved or improved. Focus on changes that will directly improve their ability to work at their full potential.

Be open to all suggestions, no matter how insignificant they may seem. You don’t know what you don’t know, and small changes can often make the greatest difference.

8. Create an inclusive attitude and revise company policies 

A truly inclusive culture is built from the inside out. While education and awareness are essential tactics, it’s even more critical to ensure your diversity and inclusion policies specifically mention disabilities.

Make sure your employee handbook addresses disability discrimination. Ensure procedures and practices include provisions for disabilities. Offer accessibility tools as well as training on how to use them. Work to remove conscious and unconscious biases by offering everyone opportunities to participate in ongoing discussions.

Don’t hesitate to ask employees to identify problem areas and poke ‘holes’ in your current culture of inclusion. Make sure your company celebrates inclusion and doesn’t leave disability out of its diversity conversations.

9. Stay up to date on accessibility legislation  

Accessibility legislation is continually being updated or amended, and all businesses are legally bound to comply. You cannot just conduct business as usual until you receive employee accommodation requests.

The burden of proof will always fall on your company to address and document accessibility issues.

It's essential to document everything, regardless of how insignificant any steps may be. Inclusive employers must stay proactive and take a forward-thinking approach to accessibility.

Regularly check your workplace and laws. This will help you find and fix barriers for people with disabilities. 

10. Understand you’ll never be “done”  

You’ve had the important conversations, made reasonable adjustments, and trained your team — so you’re done, right? Not quite.

While you’ve made meaningful progress towards your inclusivity goals and improved accessibility across the board, inclusion isn’t a one-off task. As new technologies emerge and new team members with different needs join, your approach must continue to evolve.

Ongoing commitment to accessibility is key to enhancing the employee experience and ensuring your company values are reflected in day-to-day practices. It’s a continuous journey that requires regular review, adaptability, and an open mind.

Ready to make a difference?

Creating an inclusive workplace isn’t a one-time fix — it’s an ongoing commitment to listening, learning, and making meaningful change. By breaking down barriers and rethinking how we hire, train, and support disabled talent, we not only foster fairness but unlock new levels of innovation, loyalty, and performance.

If you’re ready to build a more inclusive, future-ready workforce, Airswift’s workforce solutions can help. Learn more about how we support diverse hiring and accessible workplaces.