Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Going hybrid: Maintaining accessibility during office innovation
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Overview
Role
Researcher
Industry
Non-profit, accessibility services
Output
A research report outlining accessibility issues with open offices, and the insights from a participatory design process conducted with CNIB employees.
Methods
Literature review, interviews, focus groups, tactile prototyping, participatory design
Background & Business Problem
In 2018, years before remote work was the norm, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind wanted to transition their workforce to a hybrid model. Reporting to the Chief Accessibility Officer, I was contracted to run a multi-phase internal study and recommend how to implement a hybrid working model that prioritized the accessibility needs of employees. The CNIB redesigned its office space to favour hot-desking and remote work. I led a participatory design process to develop principles that maintained the social and physical accessibility values integral to the CNIB.
Employee Problem
Many employees were scared about how the changes would disrupt accessibility solutions and routines that they relied on.
Approach
The goal of this project was threefold:
To understand what was working for employees today and should be preserved as a part of the office re-design
To look into the future for accessibility solutions that could be implemented as a part of the office re-design
To engage employees in the re-design to help co-create their new space.
Following a literature review, I conducted interviews and co-creation sessions with stakeholders across the organization to give feedback on proposed floor plans and protocols for the new office space.
Method Selection
While selecting methods for the primary research phase, I had to balance the needs of the design committee with the needs of employees. The design committee needed in-depth information about employees existing working environments and accessibility needs. Employees needed an anonymous, honest space to share their feelings about the office re-design. To accommodate both, I chose to combine interviews with interactive focus groups.
Recruiting
Because I was conducting internal research on a sensitive topic, I had to carefully weigh the approach to recruiting to make sure employees didn’t feel tokenized, while at the same time fostering a sense of inclusivity and openess. The following were the considerations I had for recruiting for various activities.
Protocol Development
Protocol needed to be conscious of my position as a researcher studying the org from the inside, as well as accessibility needs of the participants.
Stimuli Development
In order to solicit richer feedback from employees, I created visual and tactile floorplan prototypes to use in workshops.
Synthesis
Framework
To choose what to foreground in synthesis, I cross-referenced insights with best practices from accessibility best practices and organizational psychology literature.
Analysis
Descriptive Coding
In vivo coding
Categorization
Thematic analysis
Tie major themes to lit review findings
Sample Recommendations
The final report contained 50+ recommendations, but the following are samples of the type of insights that were delivered:
Project Highlights
Merging org psychology and physical design principles
Drawing on existing insights from organizational psychology and office design studies.
Prototyping physical spaces and objects
Building a tactile version the proposed floor-plan for blind, low vision, and partially sighted employees to provide feedback on.
Developing more inclusive story-telling skills
Using non-visual design communication techniques and learning to be a more inclusive storyteller.