A workplace should be inclusive and friendly to all employees. Not all working tools are ideal for supporting all employees' activity at work. If you have disability inclusion team members, treating them right is necessary. 
 The role of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools is essential for supporting people with disabilities. The automated nature of AAC tools makes creating and sharing messages easier so that communication can run seamlessly. With various options available on the market, choosing one can be challenging for you. So we&rsquo;ve rolled up five top internal communication tools to support disability inclusion in your company. Keep reading! 
<h2> Grid 3 (for PC)</h2>
 Grid 3 is a comprehensive assistive software designed to help people with disabilities. It offers many features that can help them communicate easily. Also, consider using specific communication channels such as <a href="https://breadnbeyond.com/explainer-videos/">explainer videos</a> so new employees can retain crucial information better. Users can customize and control their computer environment according to their preferences. So they can personalize their working tools to provide the utmost comfort while working. The symbol communication feature allows users to choose words and phrases represented by symbols to communicate. There are ready-made grid sets available, and the editing interface is touch-friendly and easy to use. Moreover, the accessible apps in Grid 3 give access to Facebook, YouTube, email, SMS, and much more. This way, it gets easier for them to communicate and share updates with other employees. 
<h2> Predictable 5 (All Platforms)</h2>
 Predictable may appear elementary at first glance. But it is one of the best communication apps for everyday conversation with family, friends, and coworkers. Predictable offers a range of features designed to assist users in constructing sentences quickly and accurately. This feature is especially helpful for those with communication difficulties who need support making sentences in real-time. There is also backend support for all users through a free login profile. Changes made to settings and saved phrases are automatically and securely sent to the cloud, which users can transfer onto another device. 
Another feature is Floorhold, which speaks sentences while the user types their message. This feature is handy for AAC users who require time to build their responses and want their listeners to wait. Users can choose between automatic, manual, or both options to find the most suitable mode. In addition, Predictable offers five different keyboards, including a 10-key for scanning assistance and a customizable appearance with a modern and practical user interface. 
<h2>EZ Speech Pro (for iOS &amp; Android)</h2>
 EZ Speech Pro is another option to support disability inclusion employees. This app is mainly designed for those who can read but have limited ability to speak. One of the key features is Typing-to-Speech, which allows users to type in anything they want to say and press the &ldquo;Speak&rdquo; button. This feature provides a quick and easy way for individuals to communicate their thoughts and needs to others. EZ Speech also has Text Saving/Retrieval that users can use to create long paragraphs or complete speeches and save them for later retrieval. This feature ensures that users can access their pre-written messages anytime and communicate more efficiently.
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Moreover, EZ Speech allows users to create customized vocabularies with Topics and associated Phrases. Users can add as many Topics and phrases as they like and build a customized language. The app even comes preloaded with 13 Topics and over 350+ phrases, and users can type something and press the &ldquo;Speak&rdquo; button. This feature offers great flexibility and enables individuals to express themselves more accurately and confidently. 
<h2>Clarocom (for iOS)</h2>
 ClaroCom is an AAC app designed for iPad or iPhone. It aims to assist individuals with difficulties producing or comprehending spoken or written language. Offering text-to-speech features, it serves as a communication aid to replace speech or support writing for people with&nbsp;disabilities. Moreover, Clarocom comes in two free and paid versions that users can easily install on their iPhone or iPad. It has word and phrase predictions on a phrase bar above the keyboard. As it speaks out the phrases and sentences, the in-built voices are high-quality to provide the most natural output. 
<h2> Mind Express 4 (for PC)</h2>
 Mind Express is a communication software designed to assist people with communication disorders.&nbsp; The software draws on more than 20 years of experience supporting users worldwide, including those with cerebral palsy, autism (ASD), selective mutism, MS, MND, Down&rsquo;s syndrome, aphasia, and more, in their daily activities. Mind Express is used for various purposes, including <a href="https://onlinebizbooster.net/how-to-improve-team-communication/">communicating with partners</a>, friends, and coworkers. It also has leisure activities like playing games or watching movies. Many organizations, clinics, and schools utilize the app as a communication and teaching aid for children and adults. 
<h2>Takeaway</h2>
 Using supporting communication tools to aid employees is necessary to help them perform optimally. Some inclusive workers may already have communication tools, but companies also need to ensure that the tools they use are ideal for working. The above options are some of the best communication tools for disability-inclusive employers and can really help promote a <a href="https://spacehuntr.com/journal/15-team-building-activities-to-promote-diversity-and-inclusion/">diverse and inclusive work environment</a>. Some are available for desktop use, while others are compatible with smartphones and tablets. Besides, there are also free options available.
 Our platform is designed to connect you with the best and brightest candidates who bring unique perspectives and experiences to your team. Inclusion is not just a buzzword, it's a competitive advantage in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. Companies that prioritize equity and inclusion enjoy increased innovation, creativity, and employee satisfaction. Contact us at gettinghired@careercircle.com to take the first step toward building a more inclusive and successful workplace! 
<hr>
 Content Contributor:
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video production company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order). <img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/kWxHkXH8SqmggDXpCE9L">

Support disability inclusion with top AAC tools. Enhance your workplace communication and create an inclusive environment.

Tools to Support Disability Inclusion | Getting Hired

Tools to Support Disability Inclusion

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Diversity at Merck <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/companies/merck-co-inc-8568e34b-df56-40d7-a296-690d47fb3182" rel="follow">Merck</a> is a partner of CareerCircle, and they have made strides as being a premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world. They have been inventing medicines and vaccines for many places around the world that struggle with the most difficult disease. We wanted to highlight their story about what it means to be a Veteran and working at Merck. Here are some of their stories and how they have learned to work and live this new life outside of the military.&nbsp; Martha VanDriel
<div class="title">Director, IT risk management policy</div>
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From jumping out of airplanes at Fort Bragg to helping launch the Army&rsquo;s first-ever cyberspace forces, retired U.S. Army Colonel Martha VanDriel has never shied away from risk.
Indeed, one of the greatest lessons she learned during her distinguished 26-year military career is the value of stretching beyond her comfort zone. It&rsquo;s one of the reasons she excelled in the cyber field even though she&rsquo;s &ldquo;not a techie.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Today, the skills Martha used to help defend our country against cyber-attacks are the same ones she puts to work managing IT risk policy at our company. &ldquo;As a planner and policy developer, you integrate disciplines that don&rsquo;t normally work together, like IT and intelligence organizations for cyber,&rdquo; says Martha, who retired from the Army in 2017 and joined Merck the same year. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not an expert in any of the areas, but you learn enough to be able to ask the right questions to help develop a solution.&rdquo;

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Danielle Campbell
Operations manager, manufacturing &amp; supply</div>
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&ldquo;Learning how to lead people is of paramount importance as a commissioned officer in the Air Force,&rdquo; says Danielle, who joined as an enlisted airman in 2009 and quickly advanced to the role of logistics officer.
After being a leader in the Air Force, she says, transitioning to Merck in a leadership role felt like a &ldquo;parallel career.&rdquo; &nbsp;
&ldquo;I get the opportunity to lead great people and challenging projects in both roles,&rdquo; says Danielle, who joined our company in 2019 and remains a captain in the Air Force Reserve. &ldquo;I am proud to work for a company where there&rsquo;s opportunity for growth, networking and mentoring.&rdquo;
Now part of a team that oversees vaccine production, Danielle says her experience managing multiple projects in the Air Force informs her work every day. &ldquo;Anytime I&rsquo;m approached with a task or project, I always zoom out and ask &mdash; &lsquo;what&rsquo;s the big picture, what&rsquo;s the goal we&rsquo;re trying to reach?&rsquo; &mdash; before I zoom back in,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;This helps me to stay focused and maintain balance.&rdquo;
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Jessica Trenti
Vice president of human resources, manufacturing division</div>
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That was one of the first lessons Jessica learned in her training as an ROTC scholarship student, and after more than 25 years as a civilian, she&rsquo;s never forgotten it.
&ldquo;I learned more about leadership and accountability, more about myself, more about what I had the courage to lean into, in the military than I did before and probably have since,&rdquo; says Jessica, who was an officer in the Army Signal Corps.
Since joining Merck in 1997, Jessica has held about a dozen roles and supported nearly all of our company&rsquo;s divisions and functions in one capacity or another.
In her current role, Jessica works to help shape the talent landscape of the Merck Manufacturing Division.&nbsp; She is extremely proud of the division&rsquo;s track record in hiring and supporting veterans.
In addition, she loves seeing more women entering the workforce in fields like engineering and tech. &ldquo;Do we still have work to do? Definitely. But it feels like there&rsquo;s a significant change in terms of the kinds of roles women are progressing through and the tremendous leadership impact they are having.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<h2> Championing future leaders</h2>
Merck is proud to support veterans and women through a number of programs, from Hiring Our Heroes to the Women&rsquo;s Leadership Program.
In fact, job-seeking service members can use a military occupational specialty (MOS) code to search for opportunities, making it easier for them to match their skills with potential&nbsp;<a href="https://jobs.merck.com/veterans">careers</a>&nbsp;at our company.
Our employee business resource groups (EBRGs) offer additional support in the form of mentorship, development, networking, and camaraderie.
As executive sponsor of the Veterans EBRG, Dr. Kerry Blanchard works not only to help fellow veterans with the transition to corporate life, but also to be an ally for all employees.<picture><source data-srcset="https://i2.wp.com/www.merck.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/10/Dr-Kerry-Blanchard.jpg?fit=628%2C418&amp;ssl=1?resize=321,214" media="(max-width: 767px)" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/www.merck.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/10/Dr-Kerry-Blanchard.jpg?fit=628%2C418&amp;ssl=1?resize=321,214"></picture>
 &ldquo;Sometimes that means sitting back to listen and learn, or sharing feedback or opportunities that may not be transparent to others,&rdquo; says Kerry, vice president of global safety assessment and laboratory animal resources. &ldquo;Sometimes people just want someone to talk to.&nbsp; And, sometimes it means advocating on behalf of others.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We are making progress,&rdquo; he adds. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve still got work to do.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.merck.com/stories/from-the-military-to-merck-lessons-in-leadership/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Here is the link to check out more information!&nbsp;</a>

Discover how veterans thrive at Merck, a leader in biopharma, through inspiring stories of transition and growth.

Diversity at Merck

<h1>Auditing Your Recruiting Process for Accessibility </h1>
 There is an ethical &mdash; and often legal &mdash; imperative for your company to be accessible in all areas. It&rsquo;s also the case that by welcoming a more diverse employee base, your company stands to benefit from a richer and more innovative culture. As such, you may have made changes to create a hiring process supporting greater diversity in recent years. However, this doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean your practices are as accessible as they could be. Alongside adapting your hiring approach, you must ensure your recruitment process is accessible. Many business leaders use the terms interchangeably, but there are key differences between hiring and recruitment. While the former is a more passive way to fill a vacant role, recruitment is an intentional effort to seek out top talent and attract them to your company. If you&rsquo;re not effectively recruiting in an accessible way, you&rsquo;re likely missing out on a significant portion of the talent pool.
Let&rsquo;s take a look at what you should be focusing on when auditing your recruiting process for accessibility.
<h3> Reviewing Your Target Demographics</h3>
One of the key areas to audit is your target recruitment demographic. This should reflect the accessibility of your recruitment practices. Too often, the approaches companies use to look for the best and brightest in the field are hampered by looking for specific characteristics &mdash; characteristics that don&rsquo;t take into account the hurdles of those living with disabilities. As such, there&rsquo;s a tendency for unconscious bias to creep into decision-making here.
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A way in which this often presents is by targeting professionals with specific types of experience. It may seem desirable to look for workers who have worked with top brands in key roles. However, as stringent as your recruitment accessibility standards might be, those other brands may not share your commitment to a diverse workforce. 
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Indeed, their workplaces may not go beyond the <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/publications/ada-your-responsibilities-employer#:~:text=Under%20the%20ADA%20%2C%20workers%20with,by%20you%20for%20your%20employees." rel="noopener" target="_blank">basic accessibility required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)</a> and, therefore, key roles and experiences aren&rsquo;t filled by those with disabilities. Your focus on recruiting people with certain types of employment history may result in inadvertently overlooking talented professionals that happen to live with disabilities. 
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There&rsquo;s a similar issue that arises when your recruitment strategy only targets a demographic from traditional education backgrounds or degrees from top universities. Too many businesses at the moment are not open to recruiting those who have taken online courses. Yet, this results in a recruitment strategy actively excluding those who utilize distance learning for accessibility reasons. Consider how you can open your recruitment to those with disabilities and target the best talent with more varied experiences.
<h3> Considering the Impact of Your Culture</h3>
Your company culture influences the holistic wellness of your business. After all, it underpins everything from how workers interact with one another to the ethical decisions they make. It also increasingly comes into consideration when auditing whether the best talent is attracted to your business. Therefore, it&rsquo;s vital to understand where there may be hurdles to accessibility within your culture.
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This has to begin by understanding to what extent <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/candidate-experience-blog-series-part-3-how-to-a" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">unconscious biases toward people with disabilities</a> are a feature in your company. This can be problematic not just from the actions of recruiters, but it may make a toxic working environment for a valuable professional living with a disability. It&rsquo;s important to gain perspectives from both current staff and experts in the field. Conduct surveys to ask about employees&rsquo; opinions and experiences in this regard and be open to consultants running audits in this area.
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Another vital part of your workplace culture is the company&rsquo;s attitude and commitment toward mental wellness. A recruitment strategy that seeks to be fully inclusive isn&rsquo;t going to succeed if your workplace doesn&rsquo;t take mental health seriously on a cultural level. 
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If <a href="https://thepapergown.zocdoc.com/how-your-job-can-impact-your-mental-health/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">employees experiencing mental health challenges</a> don&rsquo;t have the support or resources they need, this can affect their health, productivity, and potential to resign. It&rsquo;s important for everyone involved that your company offers access to tools like mental health screening and subsidized therapy. Take the time to assess these elements. Then, make adjustments to ensure you&rsquo;re creating a supportive culture for those facing various challenges.
<h3> Evaluating Safety and Security</h3>
Safety and security are not obvious considerations for a recruitment strategy. You may only include these components for dangerous or sensitive roles. Yet, these elements play a vital role in making your process more accessible.
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Firstly, this is relevant from the perspective of ensuring your company is a safe space for those with disabilities. It&rsquo;s important to frequently evaluate not just whether your workspace is accessible for both candidates with physical and mental disabilities but also how this is communicated during the recruitment process. Look at whether your recruitment processes offer invitations for candidates to make requests about the environment they&rsquo;re interviewed in or for assistance to be provided.
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In addition, make certain the information regarding candidates' individual needs is protected from potential leaks and security breaches. This is sensitive data that must be treated respectfully. It&rsquo;s vital, therefore, to ensure your recruitment process&rsquo; cybersecurity protocols are tight. Understand the various information technology <a href="https://businessdegrees.uab.edu/blog/it-security-and-why-businesses-need-to-know-the-risks/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">(IT) risks your business could be subjected to</a>, from malware attacks to phishing attempts. Make sure you have tools like intrusion detection software in place. Your staff &mdash; particularly recruiters &mdash; should also be trained in cyber-secure behavior.
<h3> Conclusion</h3>
While your hiring practices may be geared toward accessibility, it&rsquo;s important to also make sure your recruitment processes have the same commitment. Take the time to audit aspects such as your choice of target demographic for potential hurdles to accessibility. Review how supportive your culture is to people with a range of accessibility challenges. Explore how your safety and security practices might impact your ability to recruit talented staff living with disabilities. Your attention here isn&rsquo;t just an ethical imperative. With additional effort and scrutiny, you can ensure both employees and your business benefit from greater accessibility and inclusivity.&nbsp;&nbsp; Learn more about CareerCircle, our mission, and how to ensure that you are creating an inclusive recruiting process and workplace. Content Contributor:
Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest. She is interested in better living through technology and education. She loves traveling to beautiful places and is frequently lost in a good book.
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Ensure your recruitment process is accessible to all. Audit for inclusivity and attract diverse talent.

Recruiting and Accessibility | Getting HiredAuditing Your Recruiting Process for Accessibility

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Tools to Support Disability Inclusion

Diversity at Merck

Recruiting and Accessibility

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