By Sam Alley, Fusion Learning Partners and Jennie Delisi, Office of Accessibility

We know the right things to do. Things like:

• Eat your vegetables.
• Get some exercise.
• Make your digital content accessible for everyone.

Turning these thoughts into action, and eventually habits, can be hard. Mentorship is one way to move a good idea into a daily practice. 

There is a lot of technical learning that comes along with digital accessibility. It’s the whole routine of plan, do, test. But what about:

• Having tough conversations? Example: Advocating for accessibility with a group when it may impact their current project timelines and budget.
• When you can’t find information on a specific topic?
• When you need advice on your next set of learning goals?

Sam Alley from Fusion Learning Partners,  the nonprofit organization that produces the annual Government IT Symposium,  wanted to improve their digital content's accessibility. For six months he partnered with Jennie Delisi from the state of Minnesota's Office of Accessibility. They dedicated a small amount of time each month to studying and took notes along the way to share with you.

You may wonder who benefits from being the mentee (a person receiving mentorship)? Sam shares, “Anyone looking to learn more about accessibility. For example:

• If you’re hoping to become more comfortable and confident talking about accessibility. 
• If you work in web design or build products for consumer use.

In both of these cases, this mentorship is for you.”

The mentor (person providing the mentorship) benefits too. “You get a window into the perspective of people exploring a topic for the first time. They may raise questions that surprise you. And, you will learn from their unique perspectives,” according to Delisi.

Goal and Expectation Setting

As a mentee, it is important to have a general idea of what you want to learn during your mentorship. This can help the mentor bring the right information to your meetings, and help you set more concrete goals. Alley said, "We knew we had work to do to get our website accessible and compliant. The staff at Fusion Learning Partners also wanted to learn how to approach each project with accessibility in mind so we weren’t in a position of cleaning up messes after they happen. Instead, we want to better anticipate and plan accordingly.”

For both the mentee and the mentor, it is important to be open about your expectations. Delisi recommends thinking about these concepts before starting:

• How much time do I want to use for meetings?
• Will I have time between meetings for follow up? How much?
• What is my communication and learning style?

This last one seems more appropriate for the mentee, but it applies to both! Mentors should know their learning style because the resources they have on file may not match the mentee's learning style. For example, some mentors learn better by reading articles, but their mentee may learn better by watching videos.

At their first meeting, Alley shared how much time he wanted to spend each week on learning activities. Delisi sent a follow-up email to help Alley set more specific goals. She wrote:

"Here is a sample goal for headings. It could be: 

• understand the purpose of headings, 
• know where and when to use them, 
• know how to test to ensure you are using them correctly.

The key performance indicators (KPIs) for this goal could be:

1. Review x training materials on headings. (List them so you have a plan for your study time. We can create this list together.)
2. Review materials within your daily work. Find examples of where you have used headings correctly, where you have not, and where you have questions. Record these. (This acts as your baseline to measure your improvement. It is ok if there are problems! In fact, that is how you will learn where you were making mistakes. This helps you make better choices as you work going forward.)
3. Review questions with Jennie at next mentorship meeting.
4. Fix some of the issues you found previously, then measure the improvement. Record this.
5. When working on a new project, do your best to apply what you have learned. Test your headings. Record this score. (Note: we all find issues as we test. That is the purpose of testing. But, the beauty of the comparison is that you are going to notice that you have improved your score over time. The biggest reason to do this is to see for yourself that it improved. And, to help us identify where you may need more help – and that’s ok! That is why we are meeting together.)

Use the above as a model to create KPIs for your goals."

Learning Needs to be Flexible

Alley found that "things change, so being adaptable to shifting focus, new information, changing priorities, etc. was super helpful. Jennie also created an environment where I wanted to share everything – good, bad, or otherwise. She was a solutions partner rather than someone who tells us what the standards are and how we’re failing. We set goals, checked in on them, and continually worked towards them."

As the mentor, Delisi learned that she had to build in more time to accommodate the changing mentee's priorities. "You may have a plan in your mind, based on the initial goals. This includes resources you will share. But life's unexpected turns really influences our accessibility work! Hold time to prepare resources addressing those 'in the moment' needs your mentee will have."

Alley's Outcomes and Next Steps

Alley felt that becoming more familiar with "accessibility terminology, standards, and procedures was extremely helpful. An example – when working with a virtual platform for the hybrid portions of the Government IT Symposium I always asked for a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template). I had been under the assumption that a VPAT meant that the site/platform was accessible. I have learned that it can just be a list of how a site is NOT accessible. Virtual platform vendors are often working towards solutions, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they have accessible design in mind. We have used products in the past that claimed to be accessible, but weren’t. I now know the red flags to look for and the questions to ask that will ensure we use products that are the most accessible. 

What does he plan to do next in terms of his digital accessibility learning? "We started a wonderful thing this year at the IT Symposium by having a greater focus on accessibility with:

• Speakers on topics related to digital accessibility.
• Virtual and in-person experience labs.
• Vendors focused on accessibility, and other resources available. 

I want to continue to push in each of those areas to ensure we are at the forefront of innovation and new information in the accessibility space. We have several folks who help ensure we’re being accessible, but I hope to expand that network so we aren’t always relying on a small handful of folks. Fusion Learning Partners oversees several other conferences as well. I want to apply this learning and the best practices across all our offerings.”

Delisi's Next Steps

"In my former career as a music therapist, there was an established system for not only mentees, but also to support the mentors." When she switched careers she noticed this structure wasn't as formal for digital accessibility. But the good news is that there are more accessibility mentorship programs starting! "I will be looking for opportunities to mentor those wanting to develop their mentorship skills."

Advice For Human Resource Departments

Digital accessibility mentorship has unique components. People may want this type of mentorship as a digital accessibility coordinator, project manager, product manager, and other roles. The type of focus they want may include:

• Technical skills. People who want to learn more in this area may want deep dives into a specific aspect of accessibility like documents or developing mobile apps.
• Consulting skills. Some digital accessibility professionals need to develop ways of approaching a wide variety of team members. This can include working with executives and policy makers, business analysts and project managers, or document and video production staff.
• Advocacy skills. Even with laws and policies, many people continue to need to use advocacy skills in their work.

Ask questions of potential mentees and mentors to ensure that you understand their needs and skills before making matches. 

Advice for Potential Mentors

"There is often the misconception that being a mentor requires a lot of time and expertise." Delisi's advice: "Start small if you are unsure! You can:

• Be available for one-time mentorship sessions.
• Provide mentorship on limited topics.
• Meet with someone and learn about them and their goals before agreeing to a longer-term commitment."

Alley and Delisi set their mentorship agreement to be 6 months. Some mentor and mentee work could be in-depth for a short period of time. Others can be less frequent but over a longer period. And Delisi shares that "a good mentor will always share when they do not have expertise in a particular area. You can always help the person find someone with a specific knowledge area."

Once you know what you are willing to offer, share your availability. 

• Let colleagues know you are ready to mentor. 
• Contact your human resources department. They may have a formal mentorship program.
• Reach out to individuals you know who may be looking for a mentor.
• Share your availability when at a conference. 

Advice to Potential Mentees

Alley has a lot of advice for potential mentees! "There can often be an overwhelming amount of information out there. Some can be hard to navigate, seem contradictory, or really just scare folks into thinking they’re not accessible and therefore – doing a bad job. Meeting with Jennie really tore down those walls and made everything much more manageable. It created a space that we were able to dedicate time to our own improvement. We felt like we were a part of a team and everyone wins in the end." Alley feels there is also a win for his employer. "Focusing on accessibility has helped 

• Broaden our offerings.
• Brought in more dedicated stakeholders.
• Helped us be seen as leaders in an area that has a ton of new innovation going on."