Accessible Customer Service Training
Changing Paces was the first training firm in Ontario to have developed, tested and implemented an Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Accessible Customer Service (ACS) Staff Training Program.
Our AODA Accessible Customer Service Training programs include requirements under the Integrated Accessibility Standards Requirement and will ensure that your organization is not only in compliance with Ontario legislation but also well prepared to support, serve and accommodate the fastest growing sector of our population.
All of our facilitation team members either live with a disability themselves or have been a primary caregiver to someone with a disability.
Our CHANGING PACES ACS Training Programs
“The course was excellent! I learned a lot that I can use with customers coming in and issues in my own personal life as well. Thank you!!!”
~ Accessible Customer Service Workshops Participant
ACS Staff Training
This 3-hour AODA customer service training program has been specifically designed to fulfill the training requirements defined in the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation under the AODA and can be customized to meet your timeline requirements. It is intended for all staff and volunteers of the organization and is highly interactive and experiential.
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How Your Staff Will Benefit
- Receive appropriate direction on interacting and communicating with people with disabilities as well as their service animals and support personnel
- Develop a new awareness about the needs of people with disabilities
- Gain genuine respect for fair and equitable treatment
- Enhance sensitivity about the challenges faced by people with disabilities, through experiential education and open discussion
- Participate in discussions on how to handle situations where accessibility is difficult or solutions are ambiguous
- Explore the impact of positive and negative language
- Discover the opportunities available to you to improve and provide accommodations
- Be fully informed and empowered on the topic of Accessibility Standards for Customer Service
- Receive accessible customer service training specifically designed to meet the criteria outlined and mandated by Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation under the AODA
Your Staff Will Learn
- About the basic principles of Accessible Customer Service and the compliance components of the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service.
- Appropriate terminology and disability etiquette
- Tips for communicating and interacting with people with disabilities
- Respectful practices regarding disability support such as assistive devices, service animals and support persons
- Tools for addressing ambiguous situations and challenges
- Strategies for identifying and removing barriers in your work environment
“Very eye-opening; Well done-learned a lot – opened my eyes in a fun environment! Excellent!”
~ Accessible Customer Service Workshops Participant
ACS Management Training
This 2-hour AODA customer service training program is a condensed delivery of our 3-hour version above. Training will meet the essentials of the training requirements defined in the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation under the AODA. It is intended specifically for management and senior organizational members and takes a seminar-type approach. It can be delivered in a “Lunch ‘n Learn” setting or delivered virtually by webinar.
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How Your Management Team Will Benefit
- Appreciate and understand the rationale and objectives of current disability legislation
- Build confidence in your grasp of the various components mandated by the Act and its regulations
- Develop a vision and a plan for the implementation of an AODA program within your organization
- Learn the compliance and enforcement provisions involving inspections and penalties
- Raise the awareness and expertise of your personnel to ensure your organization is both in compliance with Ontario legislation and well prepared to support, serve and accommodate people with disabilities
Your Management Team Will Learn
- The purpose and vision of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA)
- The compliance components of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation – covering Customer Service, Employment, Information & Communications, Transportation & Design of Public Spaces
- Ways to support your personnel in effectively serving and supporting people with disabilities
- Proper disability etiquette and appropriate language
- How to build a long-term vision of your organization’s contributions to a barrier-free Ontario
“I really enjoyed this workshop. I think that mental health issues are things the general population don’t know enough about. Thank you for the extra knowledge on that matter.”
~ Accessible Customer Service Workshops Participant
ACS Train-the-trainer Program
A 2-day, 14-hour program created to empower your staff with the knowledge, training materials, tools, resources, strategies and licensing they need to deliver our 3-hour program to the rest of your organization. We believe that experiential learning is the best format for delivering this topic with authenticity and sensitivity.
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How Your Trainers Will Benefit
- Receive in-depth training that will build your knowledge of Accessibility Standards for Customer Service and your confidence in teaching others
- Become immersed in disability culture discussions
- The learning is intensive and you will learn by seeing, listening and doing
- Participate in discussions on how to handle situations where accessibility is difficult or solutions are ambiguous
- A completely developed training program is yours to use to roll out within your organization at the end of the program
- You will have completed the program as a “Certified CHANGING PACES Elite Trainer”
- Receive training specifically designed to meet the criteria outlined and mandated by the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation under the AODA.
Your Trainers Will Learn
- Everything in the 3-hour Staff Training program plus the principles of facilitating adult education and how to use them to deliver effective experiential learning opportunities
- Tools to accommodate different learning styles related to accessibility training
- To identify specific types of disabilities, highlighting similarities as well as differences
- Methods for identifying communication barriers and ways to address them
- How to respectfully use disability simulation exercises
- Customer service strategies to accommodate different types of disabilities
- The practical applications for the theory presented
- Tools for rolling out the training plan for your organization
“Great course. There is ample information, resources and examples to facilitate ongoing staff training with ease.”
~ Accessible Customer Service Workshops Participant
ACS Do-it-yourself Trainer’s Kit
This professionally developed, easy-to-use kit comes with everything you’ll need to bring your staff into compliance with the training mandates of the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service under the AODA without having to hire an accessibility consultant to come in to deliver the training for you. It also comes with up to three sessions with our AODA expert, trainer & coach, Trish Robichaud to support your implementation of the required training.
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The Trainer’s Kit Includes:
- Our 32-slide 3-hour PowerPoint
- The 36-page Guidebook (handout for your workshop participants)
- Up to three 55-minute phone consultations with AODA Expert, Trish Robichaud, to support you in the development of your organization’s training plan
- Our 10-module 219-page Trainer’s Manual
“This program is one of the best courses I have ever taken; God love you great & small, service dog and all!”
~ Accessible Customer Service Workshops Participant
ACS Webinar Training
This 90-minute webinar program is facilitated live online so that participants can join by computer from wherever they’re at. It is a very distilled version of our 3-hour onsite workshop and has been specifically designed to fulfill the training requirements defined in the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation under the AODA.
This training is intended for all full and part-time staff of the organization and will bring you into compliance with the training requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
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How Your Staff Will Benefit
- Receive appropriate direction on interacting and communicating with people with disabilities as well as their service animals and support personnel
- Develop a new awareness about the needs of people with disabilities
- Gain genuine respect for fair and equitable treatment
- Enhance sensitivity about the challenges faced by people with disabilities
- New understanding of how to handle situations where accessibility is difficult or solutions are ambiguous
- Explore the impact of positive and negative language
- Discover the opportunities available to you to improve and provide accommodations
- Be fully informed and empowered on the topic of Accessible Customer Service
- Receive training specifically designed to meet the criteria outlined and mandated by Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation under the AODA
Your Staff Will Learn
- About the basic principles of Accessible Customer Service and the compliance components of the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service
- Appropriate terminology and disability etiquette
- Tips for communicating and interacting with people with disabilities
- Respectful practices around disability support like assistive devices, service animals and support persons
- Tools for addressing ambiguous situations and challenges
- Strategies for identifying and removing barriers in your work environment
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“Trish’s presentation was honest, positive, humorous and informative. She was viewed as an inspiration by our event participants – as demonstrated in their post-event survey. Because she has multiple sclerosis herself, I believe our participants were able to better interact with her and were more open to her presentation. Trish is fully aware of what our clients may have or are going through in their own struggles with MS, and she provides valuable tips to help individuals fully develop their potential and set achievable goals.”
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1. What does Accessible customer service standard under the AODA implies?
Accessible customer service under the AODA means:
- To convey appropriate direction on interacting and communicating with people with disabilities as well as their service animals and support personnel.
- To demonstrate and have participants experience strategies for providing customer service to people with disabilities who use assistive devices.
- To facilitate discussion on how to handle situations where accessibility is difficult or solutions are ambiguous.
Q2. Who needs to comply with the AODA accessibility for customer service standard?
Ontario based businesses and organizations (Public, broader public, non-profit and private sectors) that provide goods or services to the public and have at least one employee.
Q3. Why Accessible customer service training for employees?
- To empower participants on how to deliver Accessible Customer Service Training to others.
- To provide participants with all the tools and resources needed to deliver said training.
Q4. What are the deadlines of complying with the Accessibility customer service standard?
- Public sector must comply starting January 1, 2010 and file accessibility reports starting 2010.
- Private and non-profit sector with 20 or more employees must comply starting January 1, 2012 and file accessibility reports starting 2012
- Private and non-profit sector with 1 to 19 employees must comply starting January 1, 2012.
Q5. What are the penalties on non-compliance with the AODA accessibility for customer service standard?
Non-compliance penalties
- Fines may be levied for each day that businesses and organizations fail to comply
- Individuals will be subject to a fine of $50,000 per day and corporations will be subject to a fine of $100,000 per day.