2023 Progress Report for the Rogers Accessibility Plan

At Rogers, our diverse and highly skilled employees across Canada work to deliver reliable and easy-to-use services that connect and entertain millions of Canadians. We will continue to work towards our action outlined in our Accessibility Plan, with the goal of being the first choice for all Canadians. 

This progress report applies to those subsidiaries and divisions of Rogers Communications Inc. (collectively referred to as Rogers) that have legal obligations under the Accessible Canada Act (the ACA) and its regulations, as amended from time to time. This progress report reflects Rogers and its operations from April 1, 2023-March 31, 2024. In this report we use 2023 to indicate this timeline. 

“At Rogers, we are committed to delivering accessible experiences for customers and employees. We will continue to make meaningful progress on our journey to deliver industry-leading innovation to all Canadians." - Marisa Fabiano, Chief Human Resources Officer, Rogers. 

The ACA aims to create a barrier-free Canada by 2040. The ACA applies to federally regulated organizations such as Rogers.  

Rogers strives to be the first choice for Canadians as a service provider, broadcaster, and employer. This involves creating an inclusive environment that benefits everyone, especially individuals with accessibility needs. The 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability published by Statistics Canada showed that 27% of Canadians aged 15 and over, or 8 million people, had at least one disability.This is an increase of 4.7% from 2017. This increase is mainly due to the aging population and mental-health related disabilities. This highlights the importance of considering accessibility in all that we do to meet the needs of the changing demographics. 

We recognize that there are individuals who may not identify as having an accessibility need. This could include an individual who is colourblind, has a temporary difference like a broken leg or has difficulty listening because they are in a noisy environment. This is why we embrace the social model of disability at Rogers, to help ensure that human differences are reflected in the design of products, services, or environments, guided by consultations with individuals with accessibility needs and accessibility experts. It is a shared responsibility to remove and prevent barriers by learning/unlearning to shift attitudes and behaviours.  

In June 2022 Rogers launched the accessibility feedback process which helped to shape the Accessibility Plan. In June 2023 we launched our first Accessibility Plan communicating how Rogers will increase accessibility from 2023-2025. This year we are excited to share progress made in 2023 on the actions outlined in the plan.  

Before launching the Accessibility Plan, we created accessibility working groups to help build the Accessibility Plan and fulfill actions mentioned in the plan. As we came together with Shaw in 2023, welcoming it to our group of companies, we refreshed the accessibility governance council and the accessibility working groups. As a combined company, we recommunicated the accessibility strategy with leaders and continued to find new ways to increase accessibility across the organization during a time of significant transformation at Rogers.  

This was our first year of actioning items from the Accessibility Plan. We appreciated the opportunity to learn about the barriers individuals faced and then put a plan in place to prevent and remove these barriers. We acknowledge this is an ongoing journey and there is more to do. However, we have made important progress and want to celebrate the team effort that had a significant impact on individuals with accessibility needs and allies. 

The following are the key accomplishments to date: 

• Launched a large-button voice remote to make it easier for individuals with accessibility needs to access Ignite TV_TM. Features include, press and release voice control, large high contrast buttons, is easy to grip, has haptics and tactile details. 
• We launched mandatory Accessibility Awareness Training for employees. Our frontline employees received additional training based on their job functions ranging from customer experience to technical support, supplemented with knowledge articles. 
• We developed an accessibility hub for employees, which included articles about the accessibility features available in operating systems, applications (Windows and Microsoft Office), and hardware (mobile phones). Employees can self-serve by selecting built-in accessibility features that meet their needs and preferences.  
• Improved efficiencies for medical accommodations by implementing an Accommodation Passport to document accommodations to help with communication between employees and managers as they work together or when employees change roles within Rogers.  

Meaningful progress on the actions described in the Accessibility Plan was the main focus of 2023, as was laying the foundation to support actions that are planned in 2024 and 2025. 

At the time of this report, Rogers has completed all actions described for 2023 in the Accessibility Plan, conducted consultations with employees and the public to gather feedback on how we are doing, and assessed and responded to accessibility-related feedback we received. 

Internal consultations showed that employees with accessibility needs were sometimes unaware of the accessibility improvements made in the employee experience. They also said they would appreciate hearing more from our leaders on accessibility and accommodations. 

External consultations told us that individuals with accessibility needs face barriers to accessing our websites or applications and interacting with frontline employees. Customers are also unsure or unaware of special accessibility offers. We recognize an opportunity to continue communicating the resources available to frontline employees in ways that can be easily accessed and understood to best serve individuals with accessibility needs. 

We value your feedback in helping us create a more accessible Rogers. The Manager for Accessibility is responsible for receiving accessibility-related feedback. 

Please visit Rogers Accessibility to provide feedback about accessibility and to request an alternate format of a description of the Feedback Process, Accessibility Plan or Annual Progress Report. Alternate formats include print, large print, braille, audio, or electronic. 

Contact methods are: 

Online form:  
Accessibility Feedback Form 

Phone:  
Accessibility Feedback Line: 1-866-247-0000 

Email: 
accessibilityfeedback@rci.rogers.com  
(Include “Accessibility Feedback” in the subject line) 

Mail:  
Manager for Accessibility 
Rogers Communications, Accessibility Feedback 
333 Bloor Street East 
Toronto, ON M4W 1G9 

At Rogers, we are committed to improving accessibility across our organization to provide a better experience for our team members and customers. We are taking a meaningful approach to removing and preventing barriers to accessibility across our products, services, retail locations, and virtual and physical workspaces. At the same time, we are evolving attitudes and behaviours to build a more inclusive experience for all. 

We respect the principles outlined in section 6 of the ACA. In addition, these are the principles that will guide the work we do every day: 

• We will engage with persons with disabilities (PWD) and disability groups to help shape and inform our services, products, offerings, and connectivity efforts. 
• We will identify, remove, and prevent barriers to accessibility on an ongoing basis. 
• We will respect and value the dignity, independence, and lived experiences of PWD. 
• We will promote integration, equal opportunity, and positive experiences for everyone. 

In keeping with the principles outlined in section 6 of the ACA, Rogers conducted internal consultations with employees and external consultations with members of the public to gather feedback on progress made in 2023 in regard to our Accessibility Plan. 

Gathering feedback from employees who experience disabilities is a valuable part of our journey to measure our progress. In January 2024, we sent a survey to employees who self-identified as experiencing a disability and to members of our employee group, the Rogers AccessAbility Network. The purpose of the survey was to reflect on the progress we made in 2023 and share their views. We have included themes from what we heard.  

What worked well: 

• Employees are thankful that we have an Accessibility Plan and are optimistic that continuous improvements will be made. 
• They liked that we launched mandatory Accessibility Awareness Training.  

Opportunities: 

• Better communication on accessibility improvements made in the employee experience. For example, employees said they did not know about some of the initiatives we launched.  
• Despite the launch of guidelines on hosting inclusive meetings, employees continued to face challenges in participating fully. 
• Leadership could be more active in communicating Rogers’ commitment to accessibility. Some employees found the accommodation process lengthy, and leaders could be better equipped to support individuals with invisible disabilities in having accommodation discussions. 
• Employees would like to see further improvements made to the medical accommodation process. 

In 2023, we launched a resource on how to ask for and respond to accommodation requests. There are actions in 2024 and 2025 to improve the accommodation process, which highlights how important this work is to employees.  

In November 2023, we worked with a third-party expert to gather feedback from customers and members of the public with accessibility needs. The expert conducted a focus group with individuals who have differences in vision, hearing, neurodiversity, and mobility. They were asked to read our Accessibility Plan and reflect on their interactions with Rogers.  

This is what they told us worked well: 

• They liked that we communicated the social model of disability in the plan. 
• Rogers is perceived as innovative in implementing solutions to the most common accessibility barriers. 
• The plan was written in plain language, which made it easy for many to read and understand. 

Opportunities: 

• Building features at some retail locations can be a barrier for those with accessibility needs. For example, a person who uses a wheelchair was unable to reach the doorbell outside a retail location whose front door was locked. 
• Individuals who are neurodiverse face barriers to authenticating themselves when communicating with our frontline employees because they have trouble recalling their account security PIN and other account information. 

The valuable feedback we received gave insights into areas where we can enhance the customer experience.  

In November 2023, Rogers participated in two consultations with 16 organizations that represent people with accessibility needs. The consultations were organized by the Canadian Telecommunications Association (CTA) on behalf of wireless service providers. The purpose was to get feedback on our accessibility plan offerings, how well our offers are promoted to customers, how providers can verify eligibility for plans and other related topics. 

The valuable feedback we received will be used to ensure the plans we offer are meeting the needs of people with accessibility needs.

For 2023, Rogers received 203 pieces of accessibility-related feedback. Most of the feedback was submitted by email or using our online form. We acknowledged all feedback in the same way it was submitted, except for feedback that was shared anonymously. The individuals who faced accessibility barriers and had provided their contact information were contacted so we could provide support. Other accessibility related feedback was shared with the relevant areas of the business for their consideration for future enhancements or to support our existing Accessibility Plan actions.  

Opportunities: 

• What we heard: Some individuals with accessibility needs cannot use existing service delivery methods due to barriers in the service design. These customers found it difficult to receive appropriate technical / account support. 
  What we did: Some of these scenarios were described in the mandatory Accessibility Awareness Training to increase awareness for our frontline employees. Other individuals were contacted so we could provide support.  
• What we heard: There were questions about how to access special accessibility offers we make available for our customers. 
  What we did: Updated content on our webpages, which describe the accessibility offers to be easier to understand. 
  We thank the individuals who have provided feedback using the feedback process on barriers they faced interacting with Rogers, as this provided the opportunity to address barriers. 

This section lists the progress on the 2023 actions mentioned in the Accessibility Plan. The progress descriptions are organized by the priority areas mentioned in section 5 of the ACA.  

The Accessibility Plan did not identify barriers related to accessibility nor create actions in this area.