Microsoft Teams Administration Cookbook

Chapter 14. Accessibility and Inclusivity Features in Teams

The University of Leeds in the UK estimates that approximately 70% of disabilities are hidden, meaning they cannot be physically observed. People with disabilities can often find a way to work around them, but remote work technologies, including video calling and meetings, are requiring some workers to disclose their disabilities. This may cause concern about how an individual’s disability may be perceived in the workplace.

Employers must recognize how they can be more digitally inclusive for their workforce. The topic of disability can be complex, because one person’s characteristics might be incredibly disabling in one scenario and not disabling in another. Disability is also something that can be acquired gradually or suddenly. This chapter focuses on tools you can use with Teams (and Microsoft 365) that support some scenarios involving disabilities related to hearing, vision, mobility, and dexterity.

14.1 Checking Accessibility in Microsoft 365 Apps

Problem

You need to check that Microsoft 365 contents are easy to read and edit for people with disabilities.

Solution

Open a Word document stored in SharePoint (like the one in Figure 14-1).

Figure 14-1. Opening a Word document in Teams

From Word, open the Review tab and click Check Accessibility (see Figure 14-2).

Figure 14-2. The Check Accessibility tool in Word ...