Jumbleberry

Jumbleberry Interactive Group Accessibility Policy

Updated March 2018

Jumbleberry Interactive Group (“Jumbleberry”) is committed to providing an accessible environment in which all individuals have equal access to Jumbleberry services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities. This includes creating and fostering inclusive and positive attitudes that are considerate and accommodating of all individuals, including people with disabilities. This also includes discouraging attitudes that devalue and limit the potential of persons with disabilities.

In working towards its goals under this Policy, Jumbleberry is committed to becoming a barrier free environment, and will endeavour to do the following:

identify barriers,
remove identified barriers,
prevent barriers,
increase awareness of accessibility initiatives at all levels of our organization,
promote compliance policies and procedures with respect to accessibility to our staff, as well as to our customers, and
provide appropriate training to our employees with a view to ensure greater awareness and responsiveness to the needs of those with disabilities.

A barrier is anything that prevents a person with a disability from fully taking part in society because of that disability. Some barriers include:

Physical barriers (e.g. a step at the entrance to the building or a door that is too heavy to be opened by an individual with limited upper body mobility and strength)
Architectural barriers (e.g. A hallway or door that is too narrow for a wheelchair or scooter)
Information or communication barriers (e.g. a publication that is not available in large print for people with visual impairment)
Attitudinal barriers (e.g. ignoring a customer in a wheelchair; assuming people with a disability cannot perform a certain task when in fact they can)
Technological barriers (e.g. a website that is not accessible for people who require the use of screen readers)
Barriers created by policies or practices (e.g. Not allowing animals on the premises; excluding or removing individuals who require the use of service animals)

Existing Legislation

This Policy has taken into consideration our obligations under Canadian laws, including Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As legislation changes and develops, Jumbleberry will review and amend its practices and procedures, as necessary.

Jumbleberry’s Accessibility Policy gives guidance to the delivery of services to people with disabilities, in compliance with requirements of provincial legislation such as Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). This applies to all its employees and any other parties who deal with the public on behalf of Jumbleberry, and those who are involved in Jumbleberry’s policy and procedure development.

The Executive and Management Team at Jumbleberry is committed to, and will work to improve access and opportunity for, people with disabilities by making reasonable efforts to identify, remove and prevent barriers that interfere with their ability to make full use of the services. They will foster an inclusive and accessible business environment for people of all needs and abilities.

Jumbleberry’s goal is to deliver exceptional customer service. We endeavour to service our customers in a manner that reflects the principles of dignity, independence, integration and equal opportunity. Our commitment is to provide all customers, including those living with disabilities, the same opportunity to access our services and benefit from those services in the same place and in a similar way.

Guiding Principles

The following guiding principles clarify expected attitudes and behaviours in daily work life with customers and each other:

Respect: Each of us will demonstrate honesty, integrity and belief in people.
Ownership: Each of us is accountable for creating an environment that contributes to the success of our customers and each other.
Collaboration: Each of us has an important role in working together for a common purpose.
Continuous Improvement: Each of us is committed to ongoing improvement in all we do to anticipate and exceed needs as they evolve.

Providing Services to People with Disabilities

Jumbleberry is committed to excellence in serving all customers including persons with disabilities, by removing barriers to their full participation that might arise in the course of doing business as follows:

Communication: We will communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability. We will train staff who communicate with customers on how to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities.

Telephone Services: We are committed to providing fully accessible telephone interface to our current and potential customers. We will train staff to communicate with customers over the telephone in clear and plain language and to speak clearly and slowly if required by the customer. We will offer to communicate with customers using email if telephone communication is not suitable to their communication needs or is not available. Training will be provided when needed.

Assistive Devices: We are committed to serving people with disabilities who use assistive devices to obtain, use or benefit from our goods and services and as such, customers are free to use their personal assistive devices in any Jumbleberry environment. Jumbleberry offers other measures that may assist our customers while on site and we will ensure that our staff is familiar with the various assistive devices that may be used by customers including: elevators, wheelchair ramps and automatic doors. Assistive devices for access to specific services shall be kept in good working order and our customers shall be informed of their availability. We will ensure that our employees are trained and familiar with assistive devices we have on site or that we provide that may be used by clients with disabilities while accessing our goods or services

Billing: We are committed to providing accessible invoices to all of our customers. We will answer any questions customers may have about the content of the invoice in person, by telephone or email.

Documentation: All published documents can be available in hard copy, large print and email if requested.

Service Animals

We welcome people with disabilities and their service animals. Service animals are allowed on the parts of our premises that are open to the public.

Jumbleberry employees and third-party contractors shall accommodate the use of service animals by people with disabilities who are accessing our services and facility. To be considered a service animal under this Policy, it must be readily apparent that the animal is being used because of a person’s disability or the person with a disability must provide a letter from a physician or nurse confirming that it is required because of his or her disability.

Support Persons

Where a person with a disability is accompanied by a support person, Jumbleberry staff and third-party contractors shall ensure that both persons are permitted to enter the premises together and shall ensure that the person with a disability can access the support person while on the premises. A support person is a person who accompanies the person with a disability in order to help with communication, mobility, personal care or medical needs or with the access to goods or services. The support person can be a paid support worker, volunteer, a friend or a family member.

Notice of Temporary Disruption

Jumbleberry will provide affected customers with notice in the event of a planned or unexpected disruption in the facility or services usually used by persons with disabilities. This notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration, and a description of alternatives if available. Notice of a service disruption will be placed in a conspicuous area and/or communicated by any method deemed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Training

Jumbleberry will provide training to all employees and third-party contractors who deal with our clients. Jumbleberry will also seek to ensure that the staff of any third parties acting on Jumbleberry’s behalf will have received training on serving our customers with disabilities.

Individuals in the following positions will be trained: Jumbleberry Executives and Management, all sales professionals and sales support professionals.

Training will cover the following:

An overview of the AODA legislation and the requirements of the customer service standard, and Jumbleberry’s plan related to the customer service standard
How to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities
How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person. How to use any Jumbleberry assistive devices (i.e. automatic doors or wheelchair lift)
What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty accessing Jumbleberry service

Training for new employees will occur in their first 12 weeks of full time employment, and ongoing training will be provided to all applicable employees with respect to any changes to Jumbleberry policies, practices and procedures such as the accessible customer service plan.

Communication and Feedback Process

Documentation that describes our accessibility commitments will be maintained and provided to individuals, upon request in the appropriate format. Comments regarding the manner in which Jumbleberry provides services to persons with disabilities are welcome and appreciated, and may be shared by email, by phone or via regular mail. Jumbleberry will thoroughly review all customer feedback, investigate its relevance to our accessibility commitments, and take steps to rectify any gaps in our delivery of goods and services.

Questions Concerning This Policy

Any questions about this policy should be referred to the Jumbleberry Health & Safety Committee by emailing admin@jumbleberry.com