As we move towards SYNC25, we’re shining a light on members of our Valuable Directory – a global community of business-to-business disability inclusion experts and service providers helping our companies and partners to achieve their goals against our Synchronised Collective Actions.
AbilityNet:
Our latest spotlight is on AbilityNet. Their digital accessibility tools and experts are helping web leaders like Skyscanner identify and meet their accessibility goals.
Headquartered in the UK, AbilityNet has been a pioneer in digital accessibility for over 25 years. They aim to empower disabled people to achieve tech-related goals at home, at work, and in education. They provide free resources and volunteer help to individuals, as well as providing expert consultation services to both public and private sector organisations. They specialise in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces, websites, and apps, all guided by their vision of a digital world that is accessible to all.
In August 2023, AbilityNet announced an update to its popular Digital Accessibility Maturity Model (DAMM) – a toolkit for anyone who wants to create an accessibility roadmap for their organisation. The DAMM helps organisations understand how well they’re doing with digital accessibility. It uses a tried and tested approach to create an accessibility strategy roadmap for organisations, identifying where they are now, where they want to be, why they want to get there, and most importantly, what action needs to be taken in order to reach achieve their goals.
AbilityNet’s experts have helped organisations around the world implement the maturity model, and also offer the toolkit for free for those who want to take on the task independently.
AbilityNet X SkyScanner:
Travel planning website, Skyscanner, recently participated in AbilityNet’s Digital Accessibility Maturity Model (DAMM). Skyscanner wanted to learn about what they should be focusing on to improve disability inclusion for both travellers and employees alike.
AbilityNet consultants used the DAMM with a group from Skyscanner to gauge what level the organisation was at in each of the model’s five dimensions: vision, leadership, processes, capability, and procurement. After determining what level Skyscanner was at, AbilityNet were able to provide achievable next steps and resources to help with implementing the plan.
According to Skyscanner’s Accessibility Lead, Heather Hepburn, the Maturity Model helped Skyscanner to understand how to further embed accessibility into the culture of the organisation.
It gave us insight into all the areas we need to work on, not just within product development, but across all areas of our business. An example of something we may have overlooked is procurement of accessible goods and services. It was very useful to see what we’d have to be doing to reach the optimal levels in each dimension – something to aspire to!
Since completing the DAMM process, the level of awareness of accessibility across Skyscanner has grown massively. They have taken some major strides in terms of their commitment to inclusion and accessibility. Since their work with AbilityNet, they have:
- Published an Accessibility Statement on their website.
- Joined the Valuable 500, making a public commitment to improve disability inclusion.
- Carried out multiple app and website audits.
- Trained 45 teams across the business.
- Launched the first module of a Skyscanner University course on accessibility and inclusive design.
- Carried out more research with disabled travellers.
- Embedded accessibility into Skyscanner’s culture, and demonstrated this in their production standards and broader product development processes.
Skyscanner is currently putting a strategy together to define the accessibility work they want to do in the future, and are keen to get keep their fantastic momentum going to create a truly inclusive workplace.
Related links:
Skyscanner’s experience of AbilityNet’s Digital Accessibility Maturity Model.
