{"id":10280,"date":"2023-05-18T01:00:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T08:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new-cm-edgedigital.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=10280"},"modified":"2026-04-09T07:27:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:27:25","slug":"disability-as-a-strength-three-practices-to-help-you-create-inclusive-experiences-at-your-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new-cm-edgedigital.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/disability-as-a-strength-three-practices-to-help-you-create-inclusive-experiences-at-your-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Disability as a strength: Three practices to help you create inclusive experiences at your company"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MicrosoftOur mission at Microsoft is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our Microsoft Digital Employee Experience team lives this mission every day by empowering employees across the organization with inclusive digital and physical experiences.<\/p>\n

Leading our accessibility efforts over the past two years, I\u2019ve seen teams make great progress\u2014not just in those experiences, but also in the culture we\u2019ve created across the organization. It\u2019s energizing when you hear someone share an accessibility tip in a meeting or see the \u201cAccessibility: Good to Go\u201d message in someone\u2019s PowerPoint presentation.<\/p>\n

We have continued to evolve the way we incorporate accessibility practices into our employee experiences\u2014from meeting etiquette to the digital experiences that enable our employees to do their best work. And with the recent explosion of generative AI using machine learning to further drive productivity improvements, it\u2019s important we continue to extend these practices to new experiences, so everyone benefits.<\/p>\n

We worked with the Accessibility team to create a quick guide of best practices for large, internal meetings like Town Halls that serves as a checklist for administrators, meeting organizers and leaders. It helps us all be consistent on what to do when planning a meeting to help everyone fully participate.<\/p>\n

\u2014Michelle Strub, executive communications lead, Microsoft Digital Employee Experience<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Strub
Michelle Strub (left) and Jaimie Larsen both say working to meet Microsoft\u2019s accessibility standards makes the work they do stronger. Strub is an executive communications lead and Larsen is a product manager. They both work on the Microsoft Digital Employee Experience team.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following are three practices our teams have learned and do regularly that can be applied across your own organization. Adopting and championing these can increase productivity and higher engagement.<\/p>\n

[<\/em>Learn how to create inclusive content with the new Accessibility Assistant in Microsoft 365.<\/em><\/a> Take our accessibility fundamentals training.<\/em><\/a> Learn about our responsible AI program.<\/em><\/a> Find out about our pursuit of inclusive AI.<\/em><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

Practice #1: Regularly communicate and model key behaviors for inclusive meetings<\/h2>\n

Meetings are critical to getting work done, whether it\u2019s communicating priorities, driving alignment, brainstorming ideas, or making decisions. Features in Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 help people customize their experience, but we found many people weren\u2019t aware of the options available. And while our accessible events guide<\/a> gives lots of useful information, we found it was sometimes hard for people to know what to adopt and when.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked with the Accessibility team to create a quick guide of best practices for large, internal meetings like Town Halls that serves as a checklist for administrators, meeting organizers and leaders,\u201d says Michelle Strub, an executive communications lead in Microsoft Digital Employee Experience. \u201cIt helps us all be consistent on what to do when planning a meeting to help everyone fully participate.\u201d<\/p>\n

It really brought to light the customer pain point by having the employee walk through and share their experience with the tool. I tried to put myself in their shoes by closing my eyes and trying to follow along. That\u2019s when I realized how confusing it was.<\/p>\n

\u2014Jaimie Larsen, product manager, Microsoft Digital Employee Experience<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Companies can develop their own checklists to increase awareness of important practices, building up adoption over time. While some of these features were initially designed to support individuals with disabilities, we found the following practical tips encouraged everyone to participate and engage effectively.<\/p>\n