Accessibility is a multidisciplinary effort that requires collaboration across various teams within your organization. Achieving and maintaining web accessibility involves input from design, development, content creation, marketing, and customer service teams, among others. Promoting cross-functional collaboration is essential for embedding accessibility into your organization’s digital strategy and delivering an inclusive user experience.
Why cross-functional collaboration is crucial for accessibility
Cross-functional collaboration is essential for several reasons:
- Comprehensive accessibility: Accessibility is not the responsibility of a single team—it touches every aspect of your website, from design to development to content. By fostering collaboration, you ensure that accessibility considerations are integrated at every stage of the project lifecycle.
- Holistic problem solving: Different teams bring different perspectives and expertise to the table. Collaborating across functions allows your organization to address accessibility challenges more effectively by combining insights from design, development, content creation, and user experience.
- Consistency across the website: Collaboration helps ensure that accessibility standards are applied consistently across all areas of your website, reducing the risk of inconsistent user experiences and accessibility gaps.
- Efficient resource use: When teams work together, they can share resources, tools, and knowledge, reducing duplication of effort and making the most of your organization’s investment in accessibility.
- Fostering a culture of accessibility: Promoting cross-functional collaboration helps build a culture where accessibility is valued and prioritized by everyone in the organization, not just a specific team or department.
Strategies for promoting cross-functional collaboration
To effectively promote cross-functional collaboration on accessibility, consider the following strategies:
1. Establish a shared vision for accessibility
Start by creating a shared vision for accessibility that aligns with your organization’s goals and values.
- Define accessibility goals: Work with leaders from different departments to define clear, organization-wide accessibility goals. These goals should be specific, measurable, and aligned with your overall digital strategy.
- Communicate the vision: Clearly communicate the importance of accessibility to all teams. Explain how accessibility aligns with your organization’s commitment to inclusivity, user experience, and legal compliance.
- Engage leadership: Ensure that senior leadership is actively involved in promoting accessibility. Leadership buy-in is critical for driving collaboration and ensuring that accessibility is prioritized across the organization.
2. Create cross-functional accessibility teams
Form cross-functional teams dedicated to addressing accessibility issues and implementing best practices across your website.
- Diverse team composition: Include representatives from key departments such as design, development, content, marketing, and customer service. Each team member should bring their unique expertise to the table to contribute to a holistic approach to accessibility.
- Regular meetings: Schedule regular meetings for your accessibility team to discuss progress, share insights, and address challenges. These meetings can help maintain momentum and ensure that all teams are aligned on accessibility goals.
- Assign clear roles and responsibilities: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each team member. For example, the design team might focus on creating accessible layouts, while the content team ensures that all text is clear and easy to understand.
3. Facilitate communication and knowledge sharing
Effective communication and knowledge sharing are key to successful cross-functional collaboration.
- Centralized communication tools: Use centralized communication tools, such as project management platforms or collaboration software, to facilitate ongoing communication between teams. This helps ensure that everyone stays informed and can easily share updates and feedback.
- Knowledge sharing sessions: Organize regular knowledge sharing sessions or workshops where teams can present their work on accessibility and share best practices. These sessions help build a collective understanding of accessibility and encourage continuous learning.
- Document best practices: Create and maintain a repository of accessibility best practices, guidelines, and resources that all teams can access. This documentation ensures consistency and provides a reference for new team members.
4. Integrate accessibility into workflow processes
To make accessibility a standard part of your organization’s workflow, integrate it into your existing processes and procedures.
- Accessibility checkpoints: Introduce accessibility checkpoints at key stages of your project lifecycle, such as during design reviews, content creation, and development sprints. These checkpoints ensure that accessibility is considered at every stage and that any issues are addressed early.
- Collaboration in testing: Encourage collaboration during the testing phase by involving multiple teams in accessibility testing. For example, designers can test for visual accessibility, while developers focus on technical aspects such as keyboard navigation.
- Shared accountability: Hold all teams accountable for accessibility outcomes. Ensure that accessibility goals are included in performance reviews and project evaluations, making it clear that accessibility is everyone’s responsibility.
5. Leverage accessibility tools and resources
Provide your teams with the tools and resources they need to collaborate effectively on accessibility.
- Shared tools: Invest in accessibility tools that can be used by multiple teams. For example, a tool like the Silktide platform can be used by both developers and content creators to identify and address accessibility issues across the website.
- Training and resources: Offer training on how to use accessibility tools and resources. Ensure that all teams are familiar with the tools available to them and understand how to apply them to their work.
- External expertise: Consider bringing in external accessibility consultants or experts to provide additional support and guidance. These experts can offer valuable insights and help your teams overcome complex accessibility challenges.
6. Celebrate collaborative successes
Recognizing and celebrating successes can reinforce the importance of collaboration and motivate teams to continue prioritizing accessibility.
- Highlight collaborative achievements: Publicly acknowledge when cross-functional teams achieve significant accessibility milestones, such as completing an accessibility audit or launching a new accessible feature. This recognition can boost morale and reinforce the value of collaboration.
- Incentivize collaboration: Consider creating incentives or rewards for teams that successfully collaborate on accessibility initiatives. This could include bonuses, team awards, or public recognition at company meetings.
- Share success stories: Share success stories with the broader organization to demonstrate the impact of cross-functional collaboration on accessibility. These stories can inspire other teams to get involved and contribute to your organization’s accessibility efforts.
Promoting cross-functional collaboration is essential for achieving and maintaining web accessibility in your organization. As a web manager or senior leader, your role in fostering this collaboration is critical to creating an inclusive digital environment that meets the needs of all users.
By establishing a shared vision for accessibility, creating cross-functional teams, facilitating communication, and integrating accessibility into your workflow processes, you can ensure that accessibility is embedded into every aspect of your website. Remember, accessibility is not just a technical issue—it’s a team effort that requires collaboration, commitment, and continuous improvement. By promoting cross-functional collaboration, you help create a web experience that is accessible to everyone.