100 points to know about...
Inclusive project management

According to Pieter Levels, there could be more than one billion remote workers by 2035. The pandemic has accelerated the telecommuting trend, making the issue of digital inclusion in the workplace even more urgent.

Companies must ensure that the workforce of every user faces no barriers when setting up a remote environment. When a video conference is organized, you need to consider the elements that can make the meeting accessible to all. Here are some tips to make your digital meetings inclusive.

Communicate the agenda and meeting materials in advance

If you are the organizer of the meeting, consider sending an email to all participants with the agenda, meeting topic and slides as soon as possible. Ideally, these elements should be sent a week in advance, so that people with disabilities can read them and, if necessary, convert them into alternative media. Beyond disability situations, this is a powerful productivity tip that will benefit everyone: introverts, people who might need to prepare answers to potential questions, but also those who work from home with children or in a noisy environment.

Choose a video conferencing tool with accessibility options

Some video conferencing platforms offer specific features to make the meeting accessible to everyone. For example, automatic live captions when someone speaks for deaf or hard of hearing users. It is also recommended to use software accessible to blind or visually impaired people and to use screen readers that transform the data displayed on the screen into audio or Braille elements.
In the next lesson, we will introduce you to some video conferencing tools and their accessibility features.

Use appropriate devices - audio and video quality are important !

The quality of the audio impacts the understanding of the live meeting but also the possible transcription of the recording. Ask all participants to use proper speakers and microphones to ensure that the sound is clear. Also ask anyone who is not speaking to mute their microphone so that no one is distracted.

Also, make sure that faces are clearly visible, in the webcam's field of view, without backlighting and with sufficient lighting. This is especially useful for people with hearing loss who practice lip-reading.

Communicate in the chat and use the "reaction" functions

All of the features of your video conferencing tool can be useful in facilitating everyone's participation. Make sure all participants know how to use them. For example, the « raise your hand » feature allows someone to signal that they want to intervene, which is useful to avoid interruptions.

The chat can also be a tool to share data with all your collaborators and to facilitate the understanding by people with disabilities. For example, write proper names, addresses and numbers in the chat.

Regulate exchanges : be careful about clarity and interruptions

Announce your first name when you start talking, and do not speak too quickly. Pay attention to who speaks and who is interrupted. Interruptions can be very uncomfortable for people with disabilities. If everyone is talking at once, people with visual impairments can quickly lose track since they only have access to audio. Hearing impaired people who use automatic subtitles or a transcription tool can also get lost because the tools will have trouble transcribing a cacophonous conversation correctly. The same is true for people with cognitive disabilities.

Record the meeting and leave a retranscription

The amount of information exchanged during a videoconference can be considerable. It is a good idea to record your videoconferences as it will help you avoid losing valuable information during your meetings.

With video files, you can easily add subtitles and generate transcripts to follow up with your collaborators and ensure that even people with disabilities have access to the information and can retrieve it if needed.

Ask for feedback

One of the best ways to improve everyone's experience is to get their input on where the meeting could be improved. Ask your team what could be better and what they felt was missing during that meeting. Digital inclusion is an evolutionary process that requires everyone's participation !