TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIZATIONS UNDER AODA

TRAINING YOUR STAFF FOR ACCESSIBILITY

Information businesses and nonprofits must include when training staff on how to interact with people with different disabilities. Organizations and businesses are required to do the following:

• ACCESSIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING

You must train all staff who work with customers on how to interact with people with different disabilities.

Customers can be anyone who is accessing your organization’s goods or services. This can include paying and non-paying members of the public and other businesses in business-to-business relationships.

Your training must include:

• an overview of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
• an overview of the requirements of the customer service standard
• your organization’s policy on providing accessible customer service
• tips on how to interact with people with various types of disabilities
• tips on how to interact with people who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or support person
• information on how to use any equipment or devices available in your organization to help provide goods or services to people with disabilities (e.g., screen readers, lifts)
• tips on what to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty accessing your organization’s goods or services

You must also train your staff when there are any changes to your accessible customer service policies.

WHO YOU NEED TO TRAIN?

You must provide training to:

• employees and volunteers who interact with customers on your behalf (paid and unpaid, full-time and part-time positions)
• anyone involved in developing customer service policies for your organization ( including managers, senior leaders, directors and owners)
• anyone who provides goods, services or facilities to customers on your behalf ( such as external contact centres or facilities management companies)

You must provide the training as soon as possible after an employee or volunteer joins your organization.

MAINTAIN RECORDS OF TRAINING

You must also maintain records of your customer service training if you are:

• a private or non-profit organization with 20+ employees
• a public sector organization of any size

You must:

• maintain written records of all training done to meet the accessibility requirements that apply to your organization
• record when the training was delivered and how many people took the training

The following Training Videos can assist your organization in meeting the government's requirements.

AODA TRAINING VIDEOS