Microsoft Canada’s Accessibility Plan

Our Accessibility Commitment

Microsoft Movies and TV (Microsoft) is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive future for everyone. To do this, we focus on supporting inclusive economic growth, protecting fundamental rights, creating a sustainable future, and earning trust.

Our Approach

Our approach centres on 4 core pillars:

• TECHNOLOGY: Develop innovative, inclusively designed accessible technology
• PEOPLE: Expand opportunities for people with disabilities to thrive at work, school, and home
• PARTNERSHIP: Grow usage and awareness of accessible technology through community partnerships, customer engagements, and product support.

Consultations

In keeping with the principle “Nothing about us, without us”, it is critical to constantly listen to persons with disabilities and those with lived experience. Microsoft consults and engages with several groups of stakeholders regarding existing challenges and barriers and methods to help improve accessibility, including Employees with and without disabilities, customers, partners, customers, and community organizations. Feedback is invited and received via Microsoft’s ACA feedback form, Disability Answer Desk, Enterprise Disability Answer Desk, and direct engagements with advocacy partners like the World Blind Union.

Internally, we continuously leverage signals to listen and learn about experiences and views on accessibility at Microsoft and potential solutions. Our disability employee resource group (ERG) is key in understanding accessibility challenges across different areas of the business.

Across our ecosystem, Microsoft engages with a network of partner organizations and customers to deliver solutions. In addition to business relationships, we have also been developing community relationships with accessibility driven organizations to understand where our opportunities lie.

Microsoft’s Accessibility Plan

The Microsoft Accessibility Plan outlines actions to improve accessibility in the priority areas outlined in the Accessible Canada Act:

• Employment
• Built environment
• Information and communication technologies (ICT)
• Communication, other than ICT
• Design and delivery of programs and services

Employment

Providing an accessible hiring process is key to attracting and retaining talent, powering innovation, and supporting a strong organizational culture.  

To support this mission,  we train and educate our teams on disability etiquette before conducting interviews and provide accommodations during all stages of the employment process including during interviews and after being hired.

Objectives

1. Review and refresh systems, processes, and tools to improve the employee experience end-to-end. 
2. Streamline resource offerings for accommodations, best practices, and training to continue identifying and removing barriers across the employment process. 

Actions we’re taking

1. Design and integrate strategies to support the hiring, onboarding, and provisions relative to departmental goals.
2. Maintain a feedback mechanism to gain a better perspective of current practices and areas of improvement.

Built Environments

Microsoft is dedicated to creating exceptional spaces designed with our culture in mind – one that will result in a connected, sustainable, and accessible workplace that empowers and celebrates innovation, collaboration, diversity, and employee wellness. We also recognize the important role that digital infrastructure plays in the built environment including the use of sensors, data analytics, and other digital technologies to monitor and manage in ways that improve efficiency, safety, and sustainability.

Microsoft leverages its own internal standards that meet and exceed certain legislative regulations, in addition to incorporating municipal, provincial, and federal requirements. With the opening of our new Toronto HQ, we are committed to continuously revising and understanding the improvements to make within our space.

Many considerations have been taken into the design, implementation, and construction of newer real estate portfolios to create an inclusive and accommodating experience for many; however, we heard the need to create a visible and streamlined feedback mechanism on improving existing structures and/or adapting the built environment to support employees and customers.

Objectives

1. Incorporating accessibility considerations and consultations with persons with disabilities into the planning and design of our extended retail portfolio.
2. Improve processes and information sharing for employees, partners, and customers to support the planning of their visits.

Actions we’re taking

1. Channeling feedback and accessibility considerations to consistently improve and enhance the employee and guest experiences.
2. Understanding and incorporating new technologies to not only improve the experience of our Microsoft offices, but the navigational experience to enter our offices through shared lobbies.
3. Revise virtual systems and process to increase accessibility in booking rooms and expanding on the meeting and event room experience.

Information and communication technologies (ICT)

A successful digital workplace is designed to empower employees to maximize their productivity. At Microsoft, it’s critical that our employees are connected to and across teams and organizations, as well as with our customers, partners, vendors, suppliers, and guests. Those connections need to be available whether they are physically in the office or working from a remote location. 

ICT accessibility ensures that people with and without disabilities can access the same information, perform the same tasks, and receive the same services using information technology that includes hardware, software, voice communication, video capabilities and digital content. 

A priority is to support internal conformance awareness and product knowledge on accessible requirements and features, and work towards internal documents having an accessible standard, particularly as the number of co-editors increases.

Objectives

1. Continue to monitor and enhance our digital platforms to establish inclusive product and web experiences that meet and exceed benchmark standards.
2. Review internal processes to provide barrier-free opportunities to leverage and use adaptive technologies, tools, and strategies.
3. Promote modern work and hybrid solutions to enhance user experience and support customers and partners to create inclusive workplaces.
4. Evangelize Microsoft features, tools, and workflows across customer and partner organizations and support equitable consumption and utilization of solutions relative to their environments.

Actions we’re taking

1. Sustaining our centralized employee accommodations capabilities.
2. Partnering with customers and industry to support them in meeting their responsibilities through our published Conformance Reports.
3. Leveraging our Disability Answer Desk and our Enterprise Disability Answer Desk as a means for consumers and customers, and our Disability Employee Resource Group, to ensure ongoing opportunities to receive input/feedback.

Communication, other than ICT

Communication relates to products and services that can be used by two or more people to communicate in real time, in addition to the operation and day-to-day business practices to support individuals in fully participating in meetings and alternate methods of communication with co-workers. 

Furthermore, accessible communication also extends to marketing, which is about making it easy for everyone to experience your content, receive and understand your communication, and have the opportunity to invest in or become a fan of your product, service or brand. Digital inclusion provides opportunities and access to services, products, data, information, and education for all.

Objectives

1. Ensuring internal employees and external customers and partners have equal access to Microsoft content through supports, alternative formats, and accessible communications. 
2. Continuing to foster inclusive meetings and events to empower internal and external accessibility and engagement.
3. Continuing to leverage our existing feedback tools such as our AccessibilityRegulation@Microsoft.com alias, our at Accessible Canada Feedback form for accessibility recommendations and improvements, as well as our Disability Answer Desk - Microsoft Accessibility
4. Amplifying mandatory internal Accessibility 101 course for employees and leaders to educate and become accessibility confident.

Design and delivery of programs and services

At Microsoft, we strive to create the most inclusive experience for all employees and customers. Through this, we integrate inclusive design throughout our products, programs, and services: A design methodology that enables and draws on the full range of human diversity.  

As technology continues to innovate and evolve, digital and hybrid engagements can be more inclusive, whether internal meetings or hosting events, to provide opportunities for all to engage and interact with the presentations and content. With features like Accessibility Checker, captioning services and screen readers among many others, Microsoft is constantly innovating to make its products and service more accessible to people of all abilities.

Objectives

1. Continue influencing internal culture on leveraging inclusive design methodologies through design and delivery of services, products, programs, and processes.
2. Address barriers across services including in-person, phone, virtual & hybrid environments to create accessible interactions.
3. Ensure new and improved playbooks and services are developed in consultation with persons with disabilities, with considerations to virtual and in-person events.

Actions we’re taking

1. Mandate internal teams to complete accessibility training and explore other available content that Microsoft has published.
2. Influence skilling leads to maintain mandatory Accessibility 101 course for all employees.
3. Build investments for closed captioning, ASL, QSL, audio-described videos, and other accessible format options for design and delivery of digital engagements.
4. Continue internal audits, including people with disabilities, to address any barriers and implement feedback for improvement.

Alternate formats

Request alternate formats of our accessibility plan or descriptions of feedback process in the following formats: print, large print, braille, audio format, electronic format, or other productive formats. 

Via web form: Feedback can be provided anonymously, or you can choose to provide contact details at Accessible Canada Feedback form.

Via Email: You can send accessibility related feedback directly to AccessibilityRegulation@Microsoft.com.

Via Phone:

• English: 1-800-936-5900 (Available Monday to Friday from 6 AM to 10 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 7 AM to 6 PM Pacific Time).
• French: 1-855-434-6807 (Nous sommes disponibles du lundi au vendredi, de 9 h à 21 h, et le samedi et le dimanche, de 10 h à 18 h (heure normale de l'Est)).

By mail: Microsoft Canada Head Office, 4400 - 81 Bay St., Toronto, Ontario, M5J 0E7.

When you provide feedback through any of the methods listed above (other than anonymously through the web form), Microsoft will collect, use and disclose your personal information for the purposes of reviewing and responding to your feedback, and will otherwise manage it in accordance with our Privacy Statement.

The designated contacts for receiving accessibility feedback are Jamie Dean, Senior Corporate Counsel, Accessibility Regulation and Conor O’Flaherty, Senior Corporate Counsel, Microsoft Movies and TV.

For Microsoft Office, Windows, and Xbox Accessibility, customers with disabilities can contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk, who can help answer question about products, accessibility, and the use of assistive technology. For additional details, visit Disability Answer Desk - Microsoft Accessibility.