Introduction
Transform Interactive is committed to treating all people in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration and equal opportunity. We are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner, and will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
The AODA was passed by the Ontario legislature in 2005, with the goal of creating a fully accessible Ontario by 2025.
AODA Section 1:
“Recognizing the history of discrimination against persons with disabilities in Ontario, the purpose of this Act is to benefit all Ontarians by,
(a) developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025; and
(b) Providing for the involvement of persons with disabilities, of the Government of Ontario and of representatives of industries and of various sectors of the economy in the development of the accessibility standards.”This policy applies to either temporary or permanent disabilities,
Transform Interactive is committed to excellence in serving all customers including persons with disabilities.
The following are the policies and procedures developed by Transform Interactive to comply with the AODA.
Part 1: The Customer Service Standard
As of January 1, 2012, all businesses and non-profit organizations in Ontario with one or more employees are required to comply with the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service (Ontario Regulation 429/07). There are two components to this regulation:
- Create an “Accessible Customer Service Plan” which outlines how their business will provide service to customers with disabilities. This includes identifying potential barriers and figuring out new ways to work around them.
- Train staff to provide accessible customer service.
In addition, our company must report to the Ministry of Economic Development annually beginning December 31, 2012, indicating how and when our employees were trained.
At Transform Interactive we are committed to the principals of independence, dignity, integration and equal opportunity for all. We have taken steps identify potential barriers for people with disabilities and take steps to work around them. A barrier is anything that keeps someone with a disability from fully participating in all aspects of our society.
We will ensure our employees make room for assistive devices such as wheelchairs, walkers, oxygen tanks or Seeing Eye dogs. Our workplace recognizes the need to permit service animals to be able to access our facilities, and where prevented by law, alternate arrangements can be made. We also are aware that support persons will often accompany persons with disabilities; we welcome them in our establishment just as we would any other customer.
Where possible, there are no impediments to the free movement of people with assistive devices in our workplace. If a person with a disability requires an assistive device to access our services, we will familiarize ourselves with its use.
We will let our customers know about accessible features such as accessible washrooms. If there is a reason why accessible services may not be available for a period of time due to renovations, or any other reason, we will clearly communicate that to our customers including the reason for the disruption, length of time and alternate arrangements which are available in the meantime.
As always, we welcome the feedback of our customers verbally, on paper, or electronically. Management will typically respond to this feedback right away.
Under the Customer Service Standard, we commit to:
- Establish policies, practices and procedures on providing goods or services to people with disabilities.
- Use reasonable efforts to ensure that policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the core principles of independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity.
- Set a policy on allowing people to use their own, personal assistive devices to access goods and use services and any other measures the organization offers (assistive devices, services, or methods) to enable employees or clients to access goods and use services.
- Communicate with a person with a disability in a manner that takes into account his or her disability.
- Allow people with disabilities to be accompanied by their guide dog or service animal in those areas of the premises the company owns or operates that are open to the public, unless the animal is excluded by another law. If a service animal is excluded by law, other measures to provide services to the person with a disability must be used.
- Permit people with disabilities who use a support person to bring that person with them while accessing goods or services in premises open to the public or third parties.
- Where admission fees are charged, provide notice ahead of time on what admission, if any, would be charged for a support person of a person with a disability.
- Provide notice when facilities or services that people with disabilities rely on to access or use our goods or services are temporarily disrupted.
- Train staff, volunteers, contractors and any other people who interact with the public or other third parties on the company’s behalf, and who are involved in developing company policies, practices and procedures on the provision of goods or services, on the topics outlined in the customer service standard.
- Establish a process for people to provide feedback on how the company provides goods or services to people with disabilities and how we will respond to any feedback and take action on any complaints. The information about the feedback process must be readily available to the public.
Policy
Assistive Devices
Assistive technology is a term used to describe the various forms of devices such as assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices used to assist persons with disabilities. These devices are used to support the needs of the individual person and specific disability by enabling them to perform tasks that they may not have been able to accomplish formerly.
Examples of assistive devices include hearing aids, speech amplification devices, white canes, wheelchairs, screen readers, etc. Ontario Employers are not responsible for providing any assistive devices under the Customer Service Standard, but rather, are responsible ensuring all employees are properly trained.
Transform Interactive will ensure that our staff is trained and familiar with various assistive devices that may be used by customers with disabilities while accessing our goods and services.
Communication
Accessible customer service requires employees to overcome and find ways around different barriers that customers may have. Employers need to ensure that their employees are trained on how to successfully communicate with customers with disabilities to ensure accessible goods and services.
Transform Interactive employees will communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disabilities.
Service Animals
With certain types of disabilities, an animal may be more of an assistive form of aid rather than a device. These services animals are trained to carry out certain tasks that help people with disabilities. There are three types of assistive animals that have been categorized by the international assistance animal community:
- Guide Animals: Used to guide the blind
- Hearing Animals: Used to help signal the hearing impaired
- Service Animals: Used to do work for persons with disabilities other than blindness or deafness
Under the Customer Service Standard, services animals must be allowed on parts of the workplace premises (excluding certain areas such as a kitchen). Transform Interactive will welcome people with disabilities and their service animals into our workplace.
Support Persons
Support persons are those that help persons with disabilities perform day to day tasks. Without support, the person may not be able to access the organization. All support persons should be welcomed into the workplace.
A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them on our premises. Transform Interactive will notify customers of this through a notice posted on our premises.
Notice of Temporary Disruption
Sometimes accessibility features or services require repair or are just temporarily unavailable. The Customer Service Standard requires employers to communicate this to their customers by posting a notice.
In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption to services or facilities for customers with disabilities Transform Interactive will notify customers promptly.
A clearly posted notice will include information about the reasons for the disruption, its anticipated length of time and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available.
The notice will be placed at our premises located at 3310 South Service Road, Suite 302, Burlington, Ontario, Canada L7N 3M6
Part 2: The Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR)
The Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation, created under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, applies to all organizations in Ontario and will increase accessibility for all persons with disabilities.
- The Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation establishes accessibility standards and introduces requirements for Information and Communications, Employment and Transportation.
- The IASR also establishes the compliance framework for obligated organizations
The Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation does not replace or affect Transform Interactive's existing legal obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code and other laws in respect to accommodation of people with disabilities. Organizations must comply with both pieces of legislation.
The Ontario Human Rights Code or other applicable legislation may require additional accommodation measures that go beyond or are different from the standards established by the regulations of the AODA.
IASR Part 1: General Requirements
- Develop accessibility policies for the organization (2015)
- Develop the organization’s accessibility plan (2015)
- Make self-service kiosks accessible (2015)
- Train our employees and volunteers (2016)
- Incorporate accessibility when procuring goods, services and facilities; recruiting staff (2017)
Accessibility Policies
The IASR requires all organizations in the province that have at least one employee to develop, implement and maintain policies about what the organization will do to meet the IASR requirements and become more accessible.
All organizations with more than 49 employees must also write a statement of commitment and make their policies available to the public.
Kiosks
Transform Interactive does not currently use self-service kiosks. Transform Interactive will ensure employees consider the needs of people with disabilities when designing, procuring or acquiring self-service kiosks for use after January 1, 2014.
Training
All employees who work with customers or create customer service plans must be trained. Transform Interactive will provide training to employees, volunteers and others who deal with the public or other third parties on our behalf.
Our training will include:
- An overview of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
- The requirements for the Customer Service Standard
- The requirements for the Integrated Accessibility Standard
- How to interact with people with various types of disabilities
- How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device
- How to interact with people who use the assistance of a service animal
- How to interact with people who use a support person
- How to use any equipment or devices available at the workplace to assist with providing goods or services to persons with disabilities
- What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty accessing our organization’s goods or services
This training will be provided to staff after being hired and they will be retrained in the event that changes are made to the plan.
Feedback Process
Transform Interactive customers who wish to provide feedback on the way we provide goods and services to people with disability can contact us:
Call: (855.824.4716) or email: support@TransformInteractive.com
Customers can expect to hear back within 7 days. Complaints will be addressed according to Transform Interactive's regular complaint management procedures.
Transform Interactive’s feedback process is readily available to the public and can be found at
3310 South Service Road, Suite 302, Burlington, Ontario, or our website
https://transforminteractive.com
IASR Part 2: Information and Communications Requirements (2014 through 2017)
The Information and Communications Standard outlines requirements for organizations to create, provide and receive information and communications in ways that are accessible for people with disabilities.
This should help people with disabilities access sources of information and communications that many of us rely on every day.
Requirements under the Information and Communication Standard
- Make feedback accessible (2014)
- Make information accessible to the public (2016)
- Make our website accessible (2017)
Information and communications
Transform Interactive is committed to meeting the communication needs of people with disabilities. We will consult with people with disabilities as needed to assist in determining their information and communication needs.
In order to meet the requirements of the AODA for information and communications, Transform Interactive will undertake the following steps:
- In addition to the process outlined in the Feedback section of this Policy, employers with 20 or more staff must keep a copy of their accessible customer service plan, and policies and such documents will be made available for customers upon request, in a format that can be read by a disabled person.
- Transform Interactive will ensure all new websites and content on those sites conform to WCAG 2.0, Level A by January 1, 2014.
This will include:
- Ensuring that the web content can be accessed using only a keyboard
- Ensuring that the font used on web content is compatible with screen reading devices
- Transform Interactive will also make all websites and content conform to WCAG 2.0, Level AA by January 1, 2021 which will:
- Ensure that the web content can be accessed using only a keyboard
- Ensure that the font used on web content is compatible with screen reading devices
- Transform Interactive will ensure all publicly available information is made accessible upon request beginning January 1, 2016 by:
- Providing our clients with products in accessible format, such as larger fonts, upon request.
IASR Part 3: Employment Standard Requirements
The Employment Standard, under the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation, requires employers to provide for accessibility across all stages of the employment life cycle. The Employment Standard is a framework for integrating accessibility into regular workplace processes.
By pro-actively removing barriers across the employment life cycle, employers create workplaces that are accessible and which allow employees to reach their full potential.
The Employment Standard applies to paid employees. This includes, but is not limited to, full-time, part-time, paid apprenticeships and seasonal employment. Transform Interactive will:
- Provide Workplace emergency response information using accessible formats and communication supports (2014)
- Make Recruitment, assessment and selection practices accessible (2016)
- Tell staff about policies for supporting employees with disabilities (2016)
- Make information accessible to employees using accessible formats and communication supports (2016)
- Help employees with disabilities stay safe (2016)
- Develop accommodation plans for employees with disabilities (2016)
- Help employees with disabilities return to work (2016)
- Make performance management, career development and job changes accessible to employees (2016)
Accessible Emergency Information
Transform Interactive is committed to providing employees with disabilities with individualized emergency response information in an accessible format upon request. We will also provide customers and clients with publicly available emergency information in an accessible format when necessary.
Individualized emergency response information is a plan to help an employee with a disability during an Emergency, or emergency information that is formatted so an employee with a disability can understand it. Transform Interactive will work with disabled employees to ensure they have the required assistance and support in these circumstances.
If any Transform Interactive employee with a disability would require help in an emergency:
- They will be given individualized emergency response information
- Their consent will be obtained to share this information with persons designated to help them in an emergency
- The employer will designate appropriate persons to assist the disabled employee during emergency situations
- The employer is required to review the emergency response information when:
- the employee changes work locations
- there is a review of the employee’s overall accommodation needs
- there is a review or change to the organization’s emergency response policies.
Employment (beginning in 2016)
Transform Interactive is committed to fair and accessible employment practices.
When notified we will take the following steps to accommodate people with disabilities during the recruitment and assessment processes and when people are hired:
- Ensuring application processes are easily accessed by support devices such as screen readers and audio devices
- Ensuring that interviews are conducted in a location that permits use of any assistive devices that the applicant/employee may require
Accommodation Policy (beginning in 2016)
Transform Interactive will develop and put in place a process for developing individual accommodation plans and return-to-work policies for employees that have been absent due to a disability. Please refer to these policies for more information about the accommodation process:
- Reasonable Accommodation Policy
- Return to Work Policy
Should any employee require modified duties or return to work processes they should contact the Office Manager at the Brantford office as soon as possible.
Performance Review Process (beginning in 2016)
We will ensure the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities needs are taken into account when Transform Interactive uses performance management, career development and redeployment processes:
- Ensuring any employment contracts or job descriptions clearly state any special accommodations or modifications to duties which apply to the specific employee
- Ensuring a performance review process is created to take into account these accommodations or modifications
- Ensuring there is a regular review of the employee’s needs and duties
Part 3: More Information
For more information on this accessibility plan, please contact Human Resources at:
- Phone: 855.824.4716
- Email: support@transforminteractive.com
Accessible formats of this document are available free upon request from: 3310 South Service Road, Suite 302, Burlington, ON., L7N 3M6, Canada, or our website https://transforminteractive.com/
