Sunweb Group's journey towards accessibility

Through the well-known brands Sunweb and Eliza was here, Sunweb Group offers a wide range of vacation packages. The European Accessibility Act was a trigger for Sunweb to start working on accessibility. Since social sustainability falls under Monique's role, she is responsible for this. "We believe it is important to be compliant, but we want to go further. We want to distinguish ourselves through accessibility. It also fits in well with our mission of ‘holidays for the many’. What's more, accessibility offers many advantages. It is essential for many people with a (temporary) disability and it improves our findability. In fact, all our customers benefit from it and it contributes to our goals. We also have the ambition to investigate the physical accessibility of our trips for areas of improvement once we are compliant with the EAA," says Monique.

Accessibility project team with colleagues from across the organization

The implementation of accessibility began with the formation of a project team. "We sought out representatives within Sunweb Group from departments that we thought would be connected to digital accessibility. Such as colleagues from content and marketing, product design, product owners, legal, a colleague from customer services, and because it is a large project, we also have a program manager. We have also secured a sponsor for this project at board level, so that accessibility interests are properly taken into account within the company's objectives and are firmly embedded in its operations."

The practical implementation began some time ago with free tools and scans that were available at the time. The team quickly concluded that they could not do this alone. Monique: "That's when we ended up with Swink. They are a very good match for what we do. Their mission also fits in nicely with ours. Swink also helped organize an awareness session for our colleagues. For this, we used a recording of what someone with a visual impairment encounters online. Our colleagues were shocked to learn that one in four people get stuck due to accessibility issues. Swink also employs people with disabilities, which means they can use their knowledge and experience to help their colleagues learn more about the subject."

“With the help of Swink's expertise and the project team, we started conducting quick scans and official audits of our websites and apps. Based on the areas for improvement that emerged from this, a roadmap was drawn up. It's great to have help with this, because it's very complex.” During the process, it became apparent that more departments are involved in accessibility. That's why our project team was expanded at a later stage.

Incorporating accessibility improvements into existing processes

The app team has now incorporated 50% of the accessibility improvements into its updates. Monique: "This is a good example of how we can break down this issue and incorporate it intelligently into our existing processes. We are now looking at how we can apply this pragmatic approach to other teams as well. The content team has also compiled a manual for colleagues. In this way, accessibility is increasingly becoming part of our daily work. That is also our goal, because it should not remain a separate project. That is why we are now determining the needs in terms of training and tooling. We also regularly attend events for tips and input. This teaches us how we can improve accessibility and bring it more to the fore.

The first improvements have been implemented in the apps. Sunweb will soon begin addressing the findings from the audits for the website. Training sessions for colleagues will be scheduled after the holidays. “This is mainly for colleagues in content, marketing, and development, so that it becomes part of their work process. We also want to have simple accessibility manuals so that new colleagues can easily get up to speed.” In addition to the technology, the content also needs to be adapted. Sunweb Group has therefore mapped out how many PDFs need to be made accessible and is currently mapping all customer-facing content throughout the customer journey. This will be carried out in the coming period.

Capacity is proving to be a challenge for a large project like this. “Sometimes development capacity is needed. It is important that we get that alongside all our other priorities. But I still find it difficult to translate that into how many hours it takes to deliver something. We are still figuring that out.”

Don't wait, start enjoying the benefits of accessibility now

For organizations that also need to work on accessibility, Monique's most important tip is to just get started. "I wouldn't wait until you have everything ready, but start with the first scans and implement improvements. Include this as much as possible when you are already making changes to your website or app. Some organizations rely heavily on the transitional arrangement, but this does not apply to our sector and the products we offer, for example. But obviously, it's a shame if you don't incorporate certain improvements right away. That's how we do it: in small steps. They add up to your ultimate goal. Also, emphasize the benefits of accessibility internally, because it's beneficial for both your target audience and your own objectives."