Inclusive Workplace Culture and Management
Success Stories
Heather (she/her) has been instrumental in shaping the City of Edmonton’s approach to accessibility. Over the past few years, she has developed corporate accessibility plans for the City. These plans have ensured that accessibility remains a top priority fostering a deeper passion for inclusion and sparking a growing interest in learning more about accessibility among staff.
Heather noted that the number of accessibility champions has increased, with representation from all departments. Each department now has its own accessibility committee, which works closely with corporate committees to uphold the commitment outlined in the Accessibility for People with Disabilities Policy. Heather plays a key role supporting these committees by providing data summaries, template documents, and step-by-step guides to help them succeed.
A crucial part of implementing the accessibility policy was developing staff training programs. The City created an online course available to all staff and many departments also offer training on accessibility tailored to specific jobs. The staff awareness and training efforts will be ongoing.
The City also established an internal corporate accessibility fund to support projects that address accessibility issues.
Together, these strategies have spurred a passion for inclusion among staff, centering accessibility in all aspects of their work, and creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.
Story 1.2 (Shelburne, Nova Scotia)
Recruiting enough staff to support each season of programming is challenging for a small community like Shelburne, says Adam. Therefore, disability-related training has been valuable as part of the staff onboarding process, especially for young, seasonal, and casual staff. This training ensures that everyone feels prepared to manage difficult situations and adopts the accessibility lens that the municipality uses to guide their programs. Support from external organizations like Autism Nova Scotia and High Five has been particularly important for delivering such training.