About ICBC

Accessibility principles and pillars​

ICBC’s Accessibility Committee developed our accessibility principles and pillars based on employee feedback and an environmental audit. These principles and pillars began guiding ICBC’s work in​ September 2023. ​

To give feedback, please contact us at [email protected]

Accessibility principles

Core to the principle of accessibility for ICBC are strategies or conditions that enable the full and equitable participation of all community members. ICBC’s accessibility work is guided by the following principles:

  • Inclusion: We will strive to create a sense of belonging by ensuring equitable access for all employees and customers. 

  • Adaptability: We will encourage flexibility and resilience in a change process that creates a more inclusive and accessible culture at ICBC. 

  • Diversity: We recognize that ability and disability come in many different forms and that conflicting accessibility needs may require multiple options for each accommodation.  

  • Collaboration: We will work collaboratively to build inclusion across departments and divisions with subject matter experts and those with lived experience. 

  • Self-determination: We recognize that self-determination is fundamental for disabled people. 

  • Universal design: We will encourage universal design principles in all our facilities so that our space can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all. ​

​​​Accessibility pillars

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Through capacity-building, policy review, resource development and ongoing monitoring and accountability, ICBC will create a culture of accessibility and inclusion. Actions may include:

Capacity-building

  • Build awareness and understanding through cultural-safety and disability-inclusion education and resources.

  • Develop bystander awareness training to empower employees to challenge instances of bullying and harassment.

  • Raise awareness of disabilities and their prevalence to better support staff and customers.

  • Provide education on disability, accessibility and accommodations during onboarding of new leaders to align with inclusion expectations.

Policy review

  • Review policies on flexible work, work from home, return to work, accommodation and others of relevance to ensure that disabled employees are supported to be successful.

Resource development

  • Develop just-in-time tools and resources for managers and teams to promote the inclusion of disabled staff members.

Monitoring and accountability

  • Make ICBC’s work on accessibility visible by adding “accessibility” to the name of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team, for it to become the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Team.

  • Reform the Accessibility Committee to the Accessibility Advisory Committee, with an appropriate terms of reference to reflect its work going forward.

  • Undertake an annual Disability Equality Index audit to track progress, and report on that progress to the Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Executive Leadership Team.

  • Provide annual reports on actions related to the Accessible B.C. Act and to this document to the Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Executive Leadership Team.

  • Engage company leadership with the Disability and Accessibility Employee Resource Group on a regular basis to build an inclusive culture for disabled staff.

Accessible information and communications are essential for employees and customers. Incorporating universal design into our enterprise systems ensures broad accessibility.

Communication

  • Align all communication materials, including digital, print and video with applicable accessibility standards such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level AAA.

  • Ensure all content creator staff receive training on inclusion and digital accessibility.

  • Designate digital accessibility experts in the customer experience, digital and user experience teams.

  • Develop processes to ensure employee and customer access to accessible formats upon request.

Enterprise systems and procurement

  • ​Integrate accessibility standards and universal design principles into the social procurement process.

  • Track metrics on disability-owned vendors and partner businesses.

Our ability to meet the requirements of our jobs is shaped and contained by the infrastructure and built environment that surrounds us.

  • Follow local building code accessibility requirements for all new renovations and incorporate universal design principles as much as possible to provide a more inclusive space for staff and customers.

  • Add an accessibility checklist to the annual facility audit to ensure, where possible, that our older buildings are upgraded to meet current accessibility standards.

  • Add accessibility standards to facility design guidelines for all future renovation references.

  • Provide adaptable and flexible work environments to meet individual needs and make workplaces inclusive, such as by including prayer rooms and quiet space.

ICBC is committed to reflecting B.C.’s diversity by creating a culture of self-identification and supporting the success of our disabled employees.

Recruitment

  • Conduct an end-to-end review of recruitment processes and develop interventions to enhance inclusion.

  • Provide education on disability and accessibility during onboarding of all new staff.

  • Add information on accommodation principles to job advertisements and icbc.com.

  • Develop alternative methods of assessment beyond traditional interviews and screening tests

  • Continue to expand the network of recruitment organizations that support disabled candidates and employees, and gather data to assess recruitment and retention of candidates hired through these organizations.

Accommodation

  • Ensure accommodation practices remain consistent with best practices, and regularly consider promising practices emerging in the field.

  • Develop accommodation metrics to track the success of our inclusion initiatives.

Employment

  • Develop alternative ways to collect demographic information to provide a range of ways for people to self-identify.

ICBC is here to serve British Columbians and has a responsibility to ensure accessibility for all.

Customers

  • Undertake research to understand the experiences of disabled customers.

  • Assess all products for accessibility and take steps to remedy issues where possible.

Community engagement

  • Focus on the development of relationships with disability stakeholders, advocacy organizations and other external community partners.

  • Develop partnerships and sponsorships with organizations supporting disabled people, such as in adaptive sports.

  • Ensure that all in-person and virtual events are fully accessible.