5 Ways to Improve Accessibility in Your Work Space. The number one priority for all business owners should be providing an accessible workspace for their staff. Accessibility can cover a wide range of things – from ensuring their lighting doesn’t flicker, so that migraines are not triggered, to enabling a member of staff to actually participate in all areas of their job – but ultimately the one purpose of creating an accessible workspace is that every member of your team will be in the best position to do their jobs well. Here are five ways to improve accessibility in your work space. 

Ensure there is space between the desks

Something that can be difficult for people with many different disabilities to cope with is cluttered space – whether that’s because the tight spaces are overwhelming and distracting, or because they physically need more space, for example to navigate a wheelchair around the office. One small measure you can take is simply to move the desks further apart, creating more space for everybody. If this is not possible within your office due to spatial limitations, you may need to bring in a professional team to help you with this.

Work with a professional team

Changing the layout and structure of your office can be a huge task, so working with office relocation services could save you a lot of time, and ensure that your space is optimised to be as accessible as possible. Working with professionals means knowing that you have a team behind you that will think of every eventuality, so you can be assured that you are providing the very best for your team. 

Make sure everybody can read your memos

Around 10 per cent of the UK population has dyslexia, but we rarely see accommodations for this in the workplace. One simple way to make sure that everybody has equal access to printed memorandums in the office is to print them on a light pastel paper – many people favour yellow, but talk to your staff, because this does not work for all dyslexic people. The bright white paper can sometimes be difficult to read from, so offering an alternative is a great way to be inclusive. Alternatively, you could offer a range of clear coloured overlays to place over any sheet of paper to make it more easily readable. 

Provide the right equipment to Improve Accessibility

There is a range of technical equipment available that your team can use within your office, which may require an initial outlay from you but the benefits are immeasurable. Some of the forms of equipment you could use include speech recognition software, which can transcribe meetings for your team so that they stay up to date with all changes and requirements that are discussed at important times, or utilising braille so that everybody has an equal opportunity to read and use equipment. Some of the most basic office tech that you can install within your work environment is wi-fi. Allowing your staff to connect to the internet from their desks will allow them to access information on the go, or even receive work-related emails. You can also install a printer so that your team have access to printed documents when they may be on the move, such as when they are at a meeting.

When in doubt, ask! 

Ultimately nobody knows how to optimise accessibility better than the person who is disabled, so it is important to communicate with your staff and listen to them. It is worth conducting surveys to find out about everybody’s needs, as not all disabilities are visible and you want to ensure that you are making work comfortable and improving accessibility for everybody.   Have you thought about improving accessibility for your team at work? How have you made improvements?