Accessibility at multinationals: “It's not all about compliance, it's about people”
Digital accessibility often remains an afterthought for many organizations. The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a wake-up call for organizations who have yet to start with accessibility. Although being compliant is important, it is much more relevant you meet the needs of people with disabilities as Dean Birkett points out.
Dean is a freelance accessibility consultant with a background in user experience (UX) design. For over a decade he has been working for leading organizations such as Skyscanner, Air France KLM and Marktplaats. He shares his experience on creating accessible design systems, how to become accessible as an organization, and what the EAA means for businesses.
A 100% accessible experience is not feasible
When people think of digital accessibility, they often assume it refers to people with visual, motor or hearing impairments. However, it’s much broader. Early in his career, Dean worked for a company which builds apps for nonverbal people. “I did a lot of work with people with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and acquired conditions like Parkinson's or ALS. There's so much nuance to accessibility. The more that you learn about accessibility, the more internal battles you have because you're not going to get a 100% accessible experience. It's more like how do we make it work for this set of users and not lessen the experience too much for another set of users?”
Embedding accessibility in design systems
His work includes training designers, helping the internal teams become more mature in the topic, and remaining accessible for designers through communication channels like Teams or Slack for one-on-one support. Dean also focuses on documentation, ensuring that design systems include accessibility sections that explain the topic's relevance to different roles within the organization. “The design system for Skyscanner is open and contains information as how accessibility fits within your role, and what accessibility considerations are needed on a component level. So if you want to use a button, there is an accessibility area which tells you what to be aware of when implementing it. It helps designers make informed choices and ensure they've weighed the pros and cons of whatever route they decide to take," Dean explains.
Shifting the mindset from compliance to user experience
One of Dean's biggest challenges is changing how organizations think about accessibility. "Lots of companies think about accessibility far too late in their processes. Testing or release is where accessibility often gets spoken about, if ever."
Most conversations with businesses are legally focused: "What do we need to do to prevent a lawsuit? Which is obviously problematic, because it’s the least interesting reason to work on accessibility. Unfortunately, this compliance-driven approach filters down through the organization, affecting how designers approach their work.”
Dean adapts the communication style of his talks depending on his audience. "If I'm talking to legal, I'm happy to talk legal stuff. With business people, I'll talk about return on investment and cost savings. But when speaking to designers, I don’t want to talk about legal or financial stuff. Instead I focus on the person with a disability and the barriers their designs may have introduced. I also do this with people at the top who are focused on legal or business aspects. In order to change their mindset, I use video clips of real people using the product. I also use Loom to demonstrate what people using just the keyboard or a screen reader could run into. Because in the end the real reason behind it is for people."
To create more impact, Dean has shifted from talking about inclusion to discussing exclusion. "I don't talk about inclusion; I talk about exclusion. If I ask in a meeting, 'Who are we going to exclude today?' that changes the topic completely. Nobody likes to be confronted by those sorts of words, but it prompts action."
The European Accessibility Act is an opportunity and a challenge
The approaching EAA deadline has raised awareness about accessibility, but Dean has concerns about its implementation and enforcement. "The EAA is very broad and open, which has led to many different interpretations. It doesn't specifically mention WCAG or EN 301 549 anywhere. The EAA focuses less on technical conformance and more on an ongoing relationship with creating accessible experiences. It's going to be interesting to see whether businesses understand that it's about how you embed accessibility into your processes.”
For international businesses, this adds another layer of complexity to an already complicated regulatory landscape. "You've got many accessibility laws dotted all around the world. For example, in France there's a different technical framework, the RGA. That makes things quite complex. The EAA is basically setting a baseline to ensure that our content works for people with disabilities. How you do that is where local laws come into play."
Starting with accessibility: from audits to process integration
For organizations beginning their accessibility journey, Dean recommends starting with an audit to understand their current position. "It'll give you an idea about whether accessibility is a really big thing you're tackling or a smaller issue."
However, audits are just snapshots in time. "The EAA is about embedding accessibility into your processes and thinking rather than just relying on audits," Dean emphasizes. Organizations should examine how inaccessible products were created and prevent similar issues in the future.
An accessibility statement is also essential. “This way you’re transparent about your goals, but also about known barriers and how users experiencing accessibility issues can contact you.”
Testing with real users contributes to raising awareness
Perhaps most impactful is testing with actual users who have disabilities. "If you have limited budget, I would put that into testing with real users. Getting visually impaired screen reader users to test your product serves as much or even better than an audit."
These sessions create powerful moments that resonate throughout an organization. "There was one test with a person with multiple sclerosis who had mobility problems. He ran into a problem and said, 'I know I'm a pain, but I'm a person who just wants to do something.' That's exactly the snippet you need to send to everybody. Technology can be a game changer for people with disabilities, but that only works when we make it accessible."
Looking forward: the role of AI and taking steps
When technology needs to be made accessible, it’s tempting to fix that with technology. While Dean sees potential for automation and AI to improve accessibility eventually, he cautions against over-reliance. "At the moment, if you ask a basic accessibility question to any language model, you will not get the best advice. AI may do a reasonable job of providing alternative text for images, but it may also go horribly wrong. So technology can help accessibility consultants in some ways, but human oversight remains necessary.”
For companies feeling overwhelmed by accessibility requirements, Dean offers reassurance: "Accessibility is a huge, broad, scary topic that paralyzes many people into taking no action at all. But as long as you're taking some action, that's good."
He encourages designers and developers to take small steps in the right direction. "Just bringing a contrast check into your process or supplying alt text to developers rather than just handing over a design, these are things that move accessibility forward."
It’s important to realize that accessibility isn't about achieving perfection overnight, but about continuous improvement toward more inclusive digital experiences. As the EAA approaches, organizations that embrace this mindset will not only meet compliance requirements but create better products for all users. And that is what accessibility is really about.
