Beyond Compliance: How Salesforce Builds Accessibility at Enterprise Scale leveraging a Culture of Inclusion

[MUSIC PLAYING]

VOICEOVER: Beyond Compliance: How Salesforce Builds Accessibility at Enterprise Scale, Leveraging a Culture of Inclusion. Speakers: Kristian Burch, Director of Accessibility Programs, Salesforce. Alex Dunn, CEO of Cephable. Moderator: Matthew Krieger, Chairman, Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: So first, I wanna say thank you to Vista Center and Sight Tech Global. My name is Matthew Krieger. I’m the chair of the Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation. We are a nonprofit grant maker that provides funding to services for blind and visually impaired people. I’m also the president of Cober. We’re an industrial equipment manufacturer. I’m an advisor to several companies, including Creative Coefficient and Tech2Success. I do a lot of presenting and speaking on topics of AI, and finance, and technology, and the intersection of all of those. Kristian?

KRISTIAN BURCH: Thank you, Matthew. Hi everybody, I’m Kristian Burch. I am director of accessible technology with Salesforce. I’ve been with Salesforce, uh, for up, just coming up on 13 years. Located in Portland, Oregon, uh, where I live with my husband and two cats. And yeah, I, I lead our programs team, uh, which basically means I kind of focus on strategy, training, education, and partner engagement for accessibility.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: Wonderful. Alex?

ALEX DUNN: Yeah. Uh, great to be here. Thanks for having me. My name is Alex Dunn. I’m the CEO and co-founder of Cephable. Uh, we are an assistive technology company that focuses on making computing more accessible through hands-free computing, uh, primarily focused on individuals with, uh, motor disabilities or mobility disabilities. Uh, we do a lot of work in the space of switch access, uh, head tracking, voice control, and a lot of custom configuration to help individuals be more productive and independent with their, uh, computing activities.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: Wonderful. So let’s, let’s dive right in. Uh, Kristian, can you start by sharing, uh, you know, what does accessibility mean at Salesforce? And, you know, how do you think about it in terms of the scale of the organization?

KRISTIAN BURCH: Yeah, absolutely. So, uh, you know, Salesforce is a large company. We have about 80,000 employees globally. Uh, we have millions of customers, uh, and billions of users of our platform. And so when we think about accessibility, uh, we really have to think about it at scale. And for us, that means a few things. One, it means that we need to make sure that accessibility is baked into everything we do from the very beginning. It’s not something that we can tack on at the end. It’s not something that we can just, you know, do a quick audit of and fix a few bugs and call it good. It really has to be part of the DNA of how we build products, how we think about our customers, how we think about our employees.

And so, you know, for us, that starts with, uh, really making sure that we have a culture of accessibility at Salesforce. And that means that, you know, from our CEO on down, we have leadership that really believes in accessibility, that really believes that it’s the right thing to do, that believes that it makes good business sense. And then we have to translate that into action, right? So we have to make sure that we have the right policies in place, the right processes in place, the right training in place, the right tools in place to actually enable our teams to build accessible products. And then we have to hold ourselves accountable to actually delivering on that promise.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: So, so when you talk about culture, I mean, that’s, that’s a big concept, right? Like, how do you actually create a culture of accessibility in a company of 80,000 people?

KRISTIAN BURCH: Yeah, it’s, it’s a great question. And I think it’s, it’s something that we’re constantly working on, right? It’s not, it’s not something that you just, you know, flip a switch and suddenly you have a culture of accessibility. It’s something that you have to build over time. And I think for us, it really starts with education and awareness. So we do a lot of work to help people understand what accessibility is, why it matters, what the business case is for it, what the human case is for it. And we do that through a variety of different channels. So we do formal training programs. We do lunch and learns. We do, you know, presentations at our internal conferences. We do, you know, blog posts and articles and videos and all sorts of different things to just constantly keep accessibility top of mind for people.

And then the other thing that we do is we try to make it as easy as possible for people to do the right thing. So we provide them with tools and resources and guidelines and best practices and, you know, design systems and code libraries and all of these things that make it easier for them to build accessible products without having to become experts in accessibility themselves. Because the reality is, you know, most of our product managers and engineers and designers, they’re not accessibility experts, and they don’t need to be. They just need to be able to understand the basics and have the right tools and resources at their disposal to be able to do their jobs well.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: And Alex, from your perspective, uh, you know, working with organizations like Salesforce, what do you see as some of the key challenges that companies face when trying to implement accessibility at scale?

ALEX DUNN: Yeah, I think, I think one of the biggest challenges is just the complexity of it all, right? Like, accessibility is not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are so many different types of disabilities, so many different types of assistive technologies, so many different ways that people interact with technology. And so when you’re trying to build a product that works for everyone, it can be really overwhelming, especially at the scale of a company like Salesforce where you have, you know, hundreds of products and thousands of features and millions of users.

And I think the other challenge is just the pace of innovation, right? Like, technology is moving so fast. You have new products coming out all the time. You have new features being released constantly. And if accessibility is not baked in from the beginning, it’s really easy for it to fall behind. And then you end up in this situation where you’re constantly playing catch-up, where you’re trying to retrofit accessibility into products that were never designed with it in mind. And that’s a really difficult place to be.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: So, Kristian, how does Salesforce approach that challenge? How do you make sure that accessibility doesn’t get left behind as you’re innovating and moving fast?

KRISTIAN BURCH: Yeah, it’s, it’s definitely a challenge. And I think, you know, the key for us is really that shift left mentality, right? So we want to make sure that accessibility is being thought about at the very beginning of the product development lifecycle, not at the end. And so that means that we need to have accessibility champions embedded in our product teams. We need to have accessibility reviews as part of our design reviews. We need to have accessibility testing as part of our QA process. We need to have accessibility requirements as part of our product requirements.

And I think the other thing that’s really important is just having the right metrics and the right accountability in place. So we track accessibility metrics across all of our products. We report on those metrics to leadership on a regular basis. We have goals and targets that we’re trying to hit. And when we don’t hit those goals, we have to explain why and what we’re doing to fix it. And I think that level of accountability is really important because it makes it clear that accessibility is not optional, it’s not a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: And Alex, from the assistive technology side, what do you look for in terms of, you know, when you’re evaluating whether a platform or a product is accessible? What are the key things that you’re looking at?

ALEX DUNN: Yeah, I think there are a few things. One is just basic compliance, right? Like, are they meeting WCAG standards? Are they meeting Section 508 requirements? That’s kind of table stakes. But I think beyond that, what we really look for is usability. Because you can have a product that technically meets all the accessibility standards but is still really difficult or frustrating to use with assistive technology. And so we look at things like, you know, how intuitive is the interface? How efficient is the workflow? How much cognitive load is required to accomplish a task?

And I think the other thing that’s really important is flexibility and customization. Because again, not all disabilities are the same, not all users are the same. And so having the ability to customize the interface, to customize the keyboard shortcuts, to customize the way that information is presented, that’s really important for allowing users to tailor the experience to their specific needs.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: Kristian, can you talk a little bit about, you know, some of the specific accessibility features or capabilities that Salesforce has built into the platform? Like, what are some of the things that you’re most proud of?

KRISTIAN BURCH: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, we have a lot of different accessibility features across our products. But I think some of the things that I’m most proud of are really around the foundational work that we’ve done to make our platform accessible. So we have a design system called Lightning Design System, which is basically a library of accessible components and patterns that our teams can use to build products. And every component in that design system has been designed and built with accessibility in mind from the ground up. So things like proper keyboard navigation, proper focus management, proper ARIA attributes, proper color contrast, all of that is baked into the design system.

We also have a really robust set of accessibility APIs and hooks that developers can use to make their custom applications accessible. So if you’re building on the Salesforce platform, you have all of these tools at your disposal to make sure that your application is accessible without having to reinvent the wheel every time.

And then I think the other thing that I’m really proud of is just the work we’ve done around training and education. So we have an accessibility certification program for our employees where they can learn about accessibility and get certified in it. We have design and development guidelines. We have testing tools and resources. And all of this is available not just to our internal teams but also to our partners and customers so that they can build accessible applications on our platform as well.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: That’s fantastic. Alex, from your perspective working with, you know, various enterprise platforms, how does Salesforce compare to some of the other platforms that you’ve worked with in terms of accessibility?

ALEX DUNN: Yeah, I think Salesforce is definitely, uh, you know, ahead of the curve in a lot of ways. I think they’ve invested heavily in accessibility, and it shows. You know, when we work with customers who are using Salesforce, we generally find that the platform itself is pretty accessible. Where we sometimes run into challenges is more on the customization side, right? So when organizations build custom applications on top of Salesforce, those applications are only as accessible as the people building them make them. And that’s where having those tools and resources and guidelines that Kristian mentioned becomes really important.

But I think overall, Salesforce has done a really good job of, you know, not just building accessible products but also building an ecosystem that supports accessibility. And that’s really important because, you know, a platform is only as good as the applications that run on it. And if you make it easy for developers to build accessible applications, then you’re going to end up with a more accessible ecosystem overall.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: So, Kristian, I want to shift gears a little bit and talk about the business case for accessibility. You mentioned earlier that accessibility makes good business sense. Can you elaborate on that a little bit? Like, what is the business case for accessibility at Salesforce?

KRISTIAN BURCH: Yeah, absolutely. So I think there are a few different angles to the business case. One is just the market size, right? So we know that there are over a billion people with disabilities worldwide. That’s a huge market. And if your products aren’t accessible, you’re essentially excluding a billion potential customers from using them. So from a pure market perspective, it makes sense to make your products accessible.

The other angle is talent, right? So we want to be able to hire the best people regardless of whether they have a disability or not. And if our internal tools and systems aren’t accessible, then we’re limiting our ability to recruit and retain talented employees with disabilities. And we know that diverse teams build better products. They’re more innovative. They’re more creative. They think about problems in different ways. And so having employees with disabilities is actually a competitive advantage for us.

And then I think the third angle is just risk mitigation, right? So we operate in a lot of different countries with a lot of different accessibility laws and regulations. And if we’re not complying with those laws and regulations, we’re exposing ourselves to legal risk. And so making sure that our products are accessible is also about making sure that we’re compliant with the law and that we’re not putting the company at risk.

But I think beyond all of that, there’s also just the human angle, right? Like, it’s the right thing to do. We believe that everyone should be able to use technology regardless of their abilities. And that’s part of our values as a company. And so even if there wasn’t a business case for accessibility, we would still do it because it’s the right thing to do.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: That’s, that’s a great perspective. Alex, do you want to add anything to that in terms of the business case from your perspective?

ALEX DUNN: Yeah, I think, I think Kristian hit on all the major points. I would just add that I think there’s also an innovation angle to accessibility that people don’t always think about. A lot of the innovations that we take for granted today actually came out of accessibility, right? Like, voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, they were originally developed as assistive technology for people with disabilities. Closed captions on videos, same thing. Automatic doors, curb cuts, all of these things that we now use every day were originally developed for people with disabilities but ended up benefiting everyone.

And I think the same is true with digital accessibility. When you design products to be accessible, you often end up making them better for everyone. You make them more intuitive. You make them more efficient. You make them more flexible. And so I think there’s a real innovation benefit to thinking about accessibility from the beginning rather than as an afterthought.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: So, Kristian, I want to talk a little bit about the future. Where do you see accessibility going at Salesforce? What are some of the things that you’re excited about or that you’re working on for the future?

KRISTIAN BURCH: Yeah, so I think, you know, AI is obviously a big focus for us right now, as it is for everyone in the tech industry. And I think there’s a lot of potential for AI to improve accessibility, but there’s also a lot of risk. And so we’re really focused on making sure that as we build AI-powered features and products, we’re doing it in a way that’s accessible and inclusive.

So, for example, we’re thinking about things like, you know, how do we make sure that AI-generated content is accessible? How do we make sure that AI-powered interfaces are usable with assistive technology? How do we make sure that AI doesn’t introduce new biases or barriers for people with disabilities? And those are all really important questions that we’re actively working on right now.

I think the other thing that I’m excited about is just continued innovation in assistive technology. We’re seeing a lot of really cool new technologies coming out, like the smart glasses that were mentioned in the earlier session, like new brain-computer interfaces, like new voice control technologies. And as those technologies evolve and become more mainstream, I think that’s going to open up a lot of new possibilities for accessibility. And we want to make sure that our products are compatible with all of those new technologies and that we’re taking advantage of them to make our products even more accessible.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: Alex, from your perspective, what are you excited about in terms of the future of assistive technology and accessibility?

ALEX DUNN: Yeah, I think, I think AI is definitely a big one. I think we’re going to see a lot of innovation in that space. I’m particularly excited about things like AI-powered image description, AI-powered navigation assistance, AI-powered context-aware help. I think those kinds of features have the potential to really transform the user experience for people with disabilities.

I’m also excited about just the continued consumerization of assistive technology. I think for a long time, assistive technology was very specialized and very expensive and kind of siloed from mainstream technology. But increasingly, we’re seeing assistive technology features being built into mainstream products. We’re seeing the price points coming down. We’re seeing it becoming more accessible to more people. And I think that’s a really positive trend that’s going to continue.

And then I think the other thing that I’m excited about is just increased awareness and understanding of accessibility in the tech industry more broadly. I think five or ten years ago, accessibility was very much a niche concern. It was something that a few people cared about, but it wasn’t really on most people’s radar. But I think increasingly, we’re seeing accessibility become more mainstream, more of a priority for companies, more of a consideration in product development. And I think that’s going to lead to better outcomes for people with disabilities.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: So as we start to wrap up, I want to give each of you a chance to share, you know, maybe one piece of advice or one key takeaway for people in the audience who are thinking about accessibility, whether they’re at a company that’s just starting their accessibility journey or they’re at a company that’s been doing it for a while. What would you want them to know or what advice would you give them? Kristian, let’s start with you.

KRISTIAN BURCH: Yeah, I think my biggest piece of advice would be just to start somewhere, right? Like, accessibility can feel really overwhelming, especially if you’re just getting started. There’s so much to learn. There’s so much to do. And it’s easy to get paralyzed by that. But I think the important thing is just to start somewhere, even if it’s small. Maybe it’s just doing an accessibility audit of your website. Maybe it’s just training your team on basic accessibility principles. Maybe it’s just fixing the most critical accessibility bugs in your product. Whatever it is, just start somewhere and build from there.

And I think the other thing I would say is don’t try to do it alone, right? Like, there are so many resources out there. There are so many communities. There are so many experts. There are so many tools. And you don’t have to figure it all out yourself. Leverage the resources that are available. Learn from other people who have been doing this for a while. Engage with the disability community. And just, you know, be humble and be willing to learn and be willing to make mistakes and iterate. Because that’s really what it takes to build a culture of accessibility.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: Great advice. Alex?

ALEX DUNN: Yeah, I would say, I would say my biggest piece of advice is to involve people with disabilities in your process from the beginning, right? Like, you can read all the guidelines and all the best practices and all the documentation in the world, but there’s no substitute for actually talking to real users with real disabilities and understanding their needs and their pain points and their workflows. And so whether that’s hiring people with disabilities on your team, whether that’s engaging with disability advocacy organizations, whether that’s conducting user testing with people with disabilities, whatever it is, make sure that you’re actually involving the people who are going to be using your product in the development process. Because that’s how you’re going to build something that actually works for them.

MATTHEW KRIEGER: Fantastic. Well, thank you both so much for joining us today and for sharing your insights and your expertise. This has been a really great conversation. And thank you to everyone in the audience for joining us as well. I hope you found this valuable and I hope it’s given you some things to think about as you continue your own accessibility journeys.

KRISTIAN BURCH: Thank you.

ALEX DUNN: Thank you.

[MUSIC PLAYING]