Clearer Comms, Happier Teams: Accessibility Tips Every HR Consultant Needs

If you’ve ever handed over a policy, launched a new process, or uploaded something to a client’s intranet — only to wonder if anyone actually understood it…

This episode is for you.

I’m joined by Katie Merrien, founder of CommuniKate Design, who specialises in turning complicated information into clear, engaging visuals — and making internal communication genuinely inclusive.

We’re not talking about fluffy graphics. We’re talking about improving performance, confidence, and clarity by helping every employee access the info they need to thrive.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Why most HR documents are accidentally excluding the very people they’re meant to support
• What “accessible communication” really means — and how it boosts performance and compliance
• How to transform dry content (yes, even GDPR) into something people actually want to engage with
• The surprisingly simple tweaks you can make to policies, onboarding packs, and websites
• Why inclusive design isn’t just about being kind — it’s a commercial advantage

Whether you want to improve your own consultancy materials or help your clients create more inclusive workplaces, this episode will show you how better communication leads to better business.

So give it a listen — and see how you can stand out by making your work simpler, smarter, and more accessible to all.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Why HR policies confuse staff (and how to fix them fast)
The cost of unclear HR documentation.

01:55 – What are the benefits of accessible communication for HR consultants?

03:12 – Turn complex HR docs into visual content employees understand

05:49 – How to support employees with low literacy in HR
14 million UK adults struggle with written content — here’s how to help.

07:53 – Writing HR content for neurodivergent employees
How to support autistic, dyslexic, and ADHD staff with inclusive writing.

09:00 – Website accessibility tips for HR consultants
Quick fixes to avoid excluding disabled or neurodivergent users.

10:47 – Colour contrast mistakes that affect HR accessibility
Why poor design can undermine your website messaging.

13:33 – How to audit HR documents for accessibility compliance
Ensure your content meets the Equality Act 2010 standards.

15:55 – Add accessible communication to your HR consultancy
Stand out and charge more by making inclusion a USP.

17:14 – How to create inclusive onboarding content
The easy fix for contracts and handbooks so everyone can engage.

18:56 – When to bring in an accessibility specialist
Expert input enhances client outcomes.

20:41 – Poor communication and Equality Act risk
The compliance gaps HR consultants often miss.

22:14 – Build accessibility into HR from the start
Save time and money with inclusive design.

24:00 – Use captions and video to boost HR training engagement
Why subtitles increase accessibility and effectiveness.

27:17 – Final message: Inclusive HR comms = better teams
Katie's advice for HR consultants ready to lead.

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Transcript

00:02 Nick Poninski: Hello there and welcome back to another episode of Marketing Made Easy for HR Consultants. With me, Nick Peninsky. On this week's show, well, most of the time the show is about marketing and sales, but we also talk about being the best you that you can be so that you get more work, more clients, more
00:18 Nick Poninski: sales, more profits, all that good stuff. And today's show falls in the category of being the best HR consultant that you can be because we are talking about a service that you can share with your clients to help them have the best business possible.
00:33 Nick Poninski: Specifically, we're talking about communicate design in which Kate, who's here with us today, takes complicated processes and concepts and makes them easy to understand using graphics, designs, and animations.
00:46 Nick Poninski: Welcome to the show, Kate. 
00:48 Katie Merrien: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. 
00:51 Nick Poninski: Yeah, my pleasure. It's great to have you here. Obviously, we met at Atomicon, which is really cool. 
00:57 Katie Merrien: Very cool. Yeah, it was really nice getting to meet everyone, yeah, in person and just have a really nice time.
01:03 Nick Poninski: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. It was, um, it was so chaotic as well, because obviously we met in the networking bit before, uhm, the event.
01:11 Nick Poninski: And then at the actual event, I swear I spent a bout two minutes with you and that was it. 
01:15 Katie Merrien: Yeah, it's a huge deal, isn't it? But I did manage to shine, uh, sign your shirt in time, which is good, your excellent networking 
01:22 Nick Poninski: shirt. So that was the best, the 
01:24 Katie Merrien: best idea possible, actually. Did you get lots of 
01:27 Nick Poninski: signatures? I got 
01:28 Katie Merrien: loads. I got loads. 
01:29 Nick Poninski: Amazing! Uhm, so. So for context, for those of you listening along at home, we were supposed to wear a jazzy shirt and I do not own any jazzy shirts and Kate said, well, just take an old shirt and then get people to write on it.
01:43 Nick Poninski: And I was like, wow. So that's what I did. 
01:46 Katie Merrien: I think all my best in it. Ideas involve felt tips. It's just because what I do for a living. So 
01:51 Nick Poninski: wonderful idea. I loved it. Very popular. Um, so yes, anyway. So, Kate, pleasure to have you with us. Tell us a bit about yourself.
02:02 Nick Poninski: You give us a brief introduction. About two minute elevator pitch. Who are you? What do you do? Why should we 
02:08 Katie Merrien: care? Sure, absolutely. So, uhm, hi everyone. I'm Katie and my business is Communicate Design. I am an accessible visual communicator.
02:17 Katie Merrien: That means I help people to tell people things. Sorry. I am really passionate about helping businesses, freelancers, organisations to tell other people what they need to know, what they want to know.
02:29 Katie Merrien: Uhm, because I think that sometimes when you're an expert in what you do, you can use complicated language or talk in a way that people can't really understand.
02:36 Katie Merrien: If they are not the same expert that you are. So I come in and strip out the kind of complicated information so people can understand it.
02:44 Katie Merrien: But the other thing that I do is I turn, like you said in my introduction, uhm, complicated information into pictures, videos, illustrations, designs.
02:54 Katie Merrien: to basically make it more accessible for people that find big chunks of text impossible to access. So that could be people who are neurodivergent, disabled, have a different first language, uhm, have low literacy, or also people who are people that are just stressed, in pain, or tired, and we've all 
03:13 Katie Merrien: been those things. So I basically help organisations by turning complicated information into pictures so more people can understand it. 
03:21 Nick Poninski: Love that. Yeah, that's awesome. Especially it's an important message for my audience, for AHL Consultants. Because, obviously, HR Consultants, they are concerned with getting the best out of employees.
03:33 Nick Poninski: And how can we do that if they don't understand what's going on? 
03:38 Katie Merrien: Absolutely. I think it helps people feel seen and included as well. If they can access information in a way that they understand it, they feel fulfilled.
03:44 Katie Merrien: And that's in terms of both inclusive language and also the way that you're presenting that, giving them a choice about how they can access the stuff that's really important for them.
03:53 Katie Merrien: So whether they're starting a new job or they're already in an organisation, they can feel confident that they can access the information that they need to do their job 
04:00 Nick Poninski: well. Yeah, I love that. So let's talk, uhm, yeah, let's take that and let's talk about the advantages of what you do, because obviously, as you say, you take complicated information and then you make it easier to understand.
04:15 Nick Poninski: So how does that help an organisation? Let's say, let's discuss some of those advantages of what you do. 
04:23 Katie Merrien: Absolutely. So, uhm, it obviously depends on the audience and that's why I'm always going to be advocating for offering choice.
04:30 Katie Merrien: But if we're talking about, uhm, sighted people accessing information, 
04:34 Nick Poninski: 65%… What's a 
04:35 Katie Merrien: sighted person? Sorry to jump in. That's okay. So, uhm, someone who isn't partially sighted or blind. So, uhm, obviously those are two kinds of disabilities and I think that something I'm always trying to consciously do is use the most accepted language in those instances.
04:50 Katie Merrien: So, uhm, I think it's most commonly used now to refer to disabled and non-disabled people. Rather than, uhm, kind of terms that have been used previously, basically.
05:01 Katie Merrien: So, uhm, so sighted people who have full vision, for example, would be able to access, kind of, images and videos and see them fully.
05:08 Katie Merrien: Uhm, whereas partially sighted people might have some difficulty. With accessing images or videos, uhm, which is some of the kind of additional things I think about when I'm creating my work, which is why I do something like audio descriptions on a video, uhm, image descriptions and alt text, which we
05:23 Katie Merrien: can talk about a little bit more later as well. Uhm, but for, yeah, for people that can see images, they're really helpful.
05:29 Katie Merrien: For visual learners. And they've also been proven to help us remember more things, uhm, both in terms of images being more memorable themselves and words.
05:40 Katie Merrien: So that's really helpful for people. They're trying to recall information later on, uhm, 90% of the information. That we put to our brains as visuals and for sighted people.
05:49 Katie Merrien: So that's kind of how things are stored in a lot of people's brains. Uhm, and there's something they say a 
05:55 Nick Poninski: picture paints a 
05:56 Katie Merrien: thousand words, right? Exactly. So I think it's just and it overcomes language barriers as well. So, uhm, I use an example fairly often of when you go to, say, an airport in another country, if you're looking for your luggage, you're looking for that luggage icon to go and find it.
06:12 Katie Merrien: So even if you don't speak the local language, you know what you're looking for, because you can see the picture.
06:16 Katie Merrien: So that's why this is my kind of work of turning, uhm, complicated information into pictures means that more people can see, uhm, you know, an image.
06:26 Katie Merrien: It's looking at someone being supported by an organization. I can turn that into an icon so that people can kind of look through, say, an employee handbook and go, right, you know, is a section on pay, this is a section on parental leave or, you know, caregiving leave, whatever that might be.
06:40 Katie Merrien: So, yeah, I really 
06:42 Nick Poninski: like that. That's 
06:43 Katie Merrien: awesome. Thank you. 
06:44 Nick Poninski: So, as you say, like, uhm, people are all different, right? So, everyone learns and receives information in different ways, you know, we were talking about, and it's important to include everyone, otherwise people 
06:56 Katie Merrien: are left out. Exactly. So, I think my work, I'm really passionate about focusing on those people that are marginalized by society, whether that's communities or individuals, and making sure that they feel included, uhm, through, you know, kind of the work I do.
07:10 Katie Merrien: So, thinking about representation in the, say, the animations that I make, I'm thinking about the characters that I'm using, making sure they are diverse and representative of the real world, rather than just one particular kind of person.
07:20 Katie Merrien: Uhm, in the, in the kind of copywriting that I do, because I do, you know, simplified copywriting for people to, say, to help them strip out that kind of unnecessary information while still conveying the same message.
07:33 Katie Merrien: I'm thinking about inclusive language around pronouns, for example, because everyone has them. So, it's so much easier to use non-gendered pronouns because then you're including everybody.
07:42 Katie Merrien: Things like 
07:43 Nick Poninski: Interesting. Okay. I like that we're talking about, uhm, the copywriting there because that's not something that I'd thought about because, you know, I was thinking, oh, yeah, I've met Katie.
07:53 Nick Poninski: She does some great stuff. She takes, you know, this big chunk of text and then puts it into an image for people, you know, when I worked in HR, we had policies, and at the back of the policies, there was flowcharts.
08:06 Nick Poninski: I used to love that because then that makes it, you know, that's a straightforward process, right? Still a bit of wording, but obviously, uhm, it makes it a bit clearer what the process is.
08:18 Nick Poninski: Uhm, but then when you're talking about copywriting as well, because that's something else that you can bring to people's clients, right?
08:28 Nick Poninski: Because they want more, well, you know, for example, my HR consultants, my clients, they want more clients, but their clients want more clients as well, right?
08:37 Nick Poninski: So we can bring this stuff into websites, is that 
08:39 Katie Merrien: right? Absolutely, that's it. So yeah, website reviews and kind of copywriting for websites is something that I offer because, um, I really like an analogy.
08:47 Katie Merrien: So I, I think of, um, sometimes an organization's website can be a bit like the fridge in the office where stuff's kind of been left there and someone doesn't even work there anymore and they're kind of moldy sandwiches just loitering in the fridge.
09:00 Katie Merrien: And I come in and go, okay, a lot of this stuff is looking really unappetizing to the people that are coming to your website.
09:05 Katie Merrien: Some of it doesn't even kind of fit with who you are anymore, it's all out of date. It looks a bit gross.
09:10 Katie Merrien: Let's think about actually what people are coming to your website for and let's make sure that information is front and center and presented really nicely and really simply because people only spend something, some really, uhm, shocking statistic, it's a matter of seconds.
09:26 Katie Merrien: basically on a website to make a 
09:27 Nick Poninski: decision before they 
09:28 Katie Merrien: are going somewhere else. So you need to tell them exactly what they want to know straight away, in really simple language.
09:36 Katie Merrien: Uhm, I'm definitely not anti-words. They're really important as well to say about offering choice. I'm not going, let's never use words, but if you're going to use words, just use really simple ones because it helps with cognitive load.
09:47 Katie Merrien: So basically the more complex the language is and the more words you use, the harder it is for people to process that if they're unfamiliar with the words or if they're just having to read vast volumes of text.
09:59 Katie Merrien: So that can be blind or partially sighted people, but also some neurodivergent people use screen readers which read the text aloud to them when they're accessing, say, a website.
10:10 Katie Merrien: And the more text you've got on there, they have to sit and listen to that. There's no, they can't, you can't sit through that because you don't know what you're missing when you skip and you, you don't know where the important information is coming.
10:23 Katie Merrien: So you're, you're basically sort of holding someone, uhm, just in this, in this sort of, I was going to say hostage, that 
10:31 Nick Poninski: feels a bit weird. You 
10:32 Katie Merrien: have another term, basically, if you, if you've got a lot of text on your website, you are taking up that person's time, if they're a screen reader user, until they've got some information that they really want, and more often, they're probably going to go to somebody 
10:43 Nick Poninski: else's website where they 
10:44 Katie Merrien: can launch in 
10:45 Nick Poninski: straight away. Yeah, yeah. A peep. People click on someone's website, and it's just something I know about, so I can contribute here.
10:51 Nick Poninski: You're about two, three seconds before someone clicks off, because if you haven't got, if you, you know, people's brains, they are built to keep people safe, keep people alive, and your brain won't let you invest tons of energy.
11:03 Nick Poninski: Reading through someone's website, if it hasn't got an indication of whether or not it's right or wrong, and if it's not right, it's wrong, because the brain's just like nope, somewhere else, somewhere else, so you've got like two or three seconds, so.
11:17 Nick Poninski: Yeah, and it's interesting that you say like, um, the pictures, is this something I'd like to- on to my clients about, right?
11:23 Nick Poninski: If they have a niche, you know, and their website then is then, I don't know, they wait with healthcare providers or something, and their website's covered in healthcare provider images.
11:34 Nick Poninski: I healthcare provider, they instantly know they're in the right place, just 
11:37 Katie Merrien: because of the image. Yeah, absolutely. You say they can see that and think, oh, yeah, this is something I'm familiar with.
11:42 Katie Merrien: I've been gone. Yeah, 
11:44 Nick Poninski: it spikes off in the brain. I'm familiar with this. Okay, you've got my attention. Definitely. Yeah. So, how else would a HR consultant benefit from?
11:55 Nick Poninski: The services that you offer in terms of for themselves or potentially for their clients. So we've got, obviously, sharing big blocks of text into more manageable and interesting ways.
12:07 Nick Poninski: Um, what else have we got? Okay. Talk to us a 
12:10 Katie Merrien: little bit. So, um, so. Obviously say there's lots of different people in the world, and they've all got different needs.
12:16 Katie Merrien: So, um, when I'm, when I'm writing things, when I'm creating things, whatever kind of design that might be, I'm thinking about, for example, with, um, designing images and videos and thinking about things like color contrast 
12:28 Nick Poninski: as well, because. 
12:29 Katie Merrien: Well, well, color palettes, you know, I'm a big fan of all the colors. Honestly, if I could make everything bright and rainbow, I absolutely would.
12:36 Katie Merrien: But, bright colors just aren't that accessible. Um, it's a fun fact that before I started my business, lilac was my least favorite color.
12:44 Katie Merrien: And now that is my brand color, because it's one the most accessible, so Sanjanyella is not. So otherwise, my branding would be, I know, but that is okay.
12:53 Katie Merrien: I've made my piece with it, because you know what, it means more people can see the 
12:56 Nick Poninski: things that I have. Because I would picture you, you, you are the Sanjanyella. If I had to pick a 
13:00 Katie Merrien: color for you, yeah. Yeah. I'm the human embodiment of Sanjanyella, but yeah, from my branding, because it means that, um, so it's not, it's not the case for everybody, but basically I'm trying to pick things that are the most accessible for the most people, because one size is never going to fit everybody
13:17 Katie Merrien: , but. Some autistic people find bright yellow and bright red really overstimulating, really overwhelming. A lot to look at for a long period of time, whereas pastel colours, thinking about the contrast of those and obviously with the text.
13:33 Katie Merrien: They don't, for example, you want to. on. to make sure that there's a really good contrast there so people can read the text against the background.
13:39 Katie Merrien: Um, pastel colours are more accessible because they're not so bright and overstimulating and kind of in your face. Um, so those are the sorts of things I'll be thinking about as well when I'm designing things.
13:50 Katie Merrien: Um, the statistics around this, again, are kind of incredible. So particularly, um, fair, so this is a global statistic, but one in twelve males are colourblind.
14:00 Katie Merrien: Isn't that 
14:00 Nick Poninski: amazing? Yes, that is a lot of males. I remember my friend was colourblind. We used to play snooker and 
14:06 Katie Merrien: pull. Used 
14:07 Nick Poninski: to, 
14:08 Katie Merrien: No, no… hahaha!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! He didn't 
14:12 Nick Poninski: work that well. Well 
14:15 Katie Merrien: about jibw bit 
14:16 Nick Poninski: like that for a second. Eh, I mean, it was fun at first. You know, I tricked it tricking him up.
14:19 Nick Poninski: But um after a while, you have to be honest, 
14:21 Katie Merrien: don't ya? Yeah, absolutely. Thanks! Yeah, and there's loads of different kinds as well, so to say I'm trying to think about that when I'm creating designs as well because there's lots of different colour pairings that can be difficult for people to differentiate between.
14:33 Katie Merrien: So that's also why if I'm designing things or I'm looking at people's websites, I'm advocating for not using… just colour to show where something's important because if someone is colourblind or if they're, you know, looking at it all kind of accessing it via a screen reader, a screen reader doesn't 
14:49 Katie Merrien: know that it's blue, so they're not going to know it's important and they're not going to know that that green bit is the important part.
14:54 Katie Merrien: So you need to have, make sure… If you're sharing information, it's important. You're telling people it's important in multiple ways, basically, that sort of thing.
15:02 Nick Poninski: So… I trust them. Because this is, you know, you've just rebinded me, um, your website. Like you say, it's, um, I remember talking to this, it's a… talking about this to you.
15:14 Nick Poninski: It's white, 
15:14 Katie Merrien: with black letters, 
15:16 Nick Poninski: and then obviously there are various 
15:18 Katie Merrien: colors or whatever. 
15:19 Nick Poninski: And I remember thinking that's, like, it's really easy to access, really easy to read. I remember thinking about my website, black and yellow, and thinking, God, I've been my website 
15:29 Katie Merrien: so difficult! code. I guess it's, I do get it's really tricky. So yeah, my website has got a slightly off-white background because basically my website and the work that I make is a combination, the combination of all these different things that I've learnt in my journey to finding out more of accessibility
15:44 Katie Merrien: because I didn't know any of these things. I'm gonna It's six years ago before I started my company. So it's all through learning.
15:50 Katie Merrien: So when I found out that slightly off-white background and black text is a really great combination because it's got high contrast, but also the kind of off-white background means it hasn't got a really high glare.
16:02 Katie Merrien: If people- Thank I'm looking at it as well because staring at white-white screen for a long time, regardless of whether you're partially sighted blind or fully sighted, that's going to be something that might cause issues for people, um, just from looking at it for a long time.
16:14 Katie Merrien: So that's where I kind of adjust these things as I go. It's always- there's new stuff to learn all the time, which- I really enjoy, um, but that's also why hopefully when I'm kind of doing this work with my clients, I always get feedback about how, you know, kind and positive I am because I'm not coming
16:29 Katie Merrien: in going, I can't believe you didn't know this because there was a time when I didn't know it either and how- how could you or would you if you've never come across it before, so.
16:37 Katie Merrien: I like to help myself. Um, there's an amazing, uh, Maya Angelou, I've just pronounced that wrong, I think. Maya Angelou, I want to say a quote, um, that says once you know better, do better, which I really love.
16:50 Katie Merrien: Yeah, so powerful, definitely you need to credit her because- that is amazing, that is not me. But I just, I love that as a, you know what?
16:58 Katie Merrien: Okay, so you didn't know this before, and that's fine. But I would hope that once people find this information out, it's a chance to pause and think actually, is there something that I can do to make my information or whatever- it might be a bit more accessible to people, umm, the need to know what I'm
17:14 Katie Merrien: trying to tell them. 
17:16 Nick Poninski: Oh, I really like that. That's a very good quote. Because when you said Maya Angeli Orson can have that quote, that everyone shares everywhere.
17:23 Nick Poninski: People won't remember what you do, the meme. Yeah. How you make 
17:26 Katie Merrien: them feel or whatever. Mm hmm. That's true. But then I guess also that kind of ties in with this one because if people don't feel included, they will remember that feeling.
17:35 Katie Merrien: So, I guess if they're working at an organisation where they don't feel like they're, umm. They're kind of, their needs are being taken into account, then they probably won't work there anymore.
17:47 Katie Merrien: You know, if they're kind of not able to access things they need, anything around reasonable adjustments, 
17:52 Nick Poninski: basically, as well. Yes. Um. I'm glad you've said that because my brain was starting to think we've. Had loads of great information here.
18:00 Nick Poninski: How do we pull this together for a HR consultant who's listening along? So, I guess, before we go with some takeaway tips 
18:07 Katie Merrien: for them, 
18:08 Nick Poninski: let's summarize. Why should a, or when, when you. You know, because I, I, I'm understanding from you the idea, the benefit that you provide main benefit, overall benefit is that you ensure that everyone is catered for, um, to make sure that their staff, everyone can produce the best possible work, which
18:31 Nick Poninski: is amazing. So, yeah, where am I going with this? I am going to, um, when, when would be a good time for a HR consultant to get in touch with 
18:46 Katie Merrien: you? I mean, I can do, Things from, you know, scratch, like, I can come in at the start of a process if it's a new thing, but I can also review existing things as well.
18:56 Katie Merrien: Very kindly, like, a very kind, critical friend come in and kind of look at things that already exist. Because obviously, these organisations are going to have things in place already.
19:04 Katie Merrien: Um, I'm- also always advocating for getting, you know, sign a peer reviews and focus groups together of the people that are part of that organisation.
19:14 Katie Merrien: So, as you say, from an HR perspective, there'd be members of staff that I would love to involve in the process.
19:20 Katie Merrien: So, lots of my clients I've worked with before. For a healthcare provider, for example, we're getting that some of their patients involved in feedback around the process if we're making a new thing.
19:28 Katie Merrien: It's because, yeah, I want to make sure that it, I mean, I think that the benefit I bring a lot of the time is that I have an outsider's perspective, so I'm often coming to this topic.
19:38 Katie Merrien: I pick whatever it might be because I work with lots of different services, with about as much knowledge as their clients might have, which is often, you know, it's brand new to me, so I come in and thankfully I have the confidence to ask as many questions as I need to to make sure I really understand
19:52 Katie Merrien: something because I need to understand it so I can tell other people. But then once you're kind of embedded in that world, I still want to test it with their target audience, which is going to be members of staff at these organizations, but also those organization's clients as well because if they're
20:06 Katie Merrien: putting out messaging, then obviously tip for their customer base, that needs to be inclusive as well. So. Having people there that are real people that are experiencing this is a great way to also find out if there's anything that's being missed because people have got different NFT experiences.
20:21 Katie Merrien: You know, I'm doing constant research to try and make sure that I'm thinking about everybody when I'm doing my work, but there will be people.
20:28 Katie Merrien: So that there who have got experiences that have never been considered before because they've got a particular combination of characteristics that makes it difficult for them to access a certain thing because that's the way society's structured it not so any thought of their own.
20:41 Katie Merrien: It's the denoted, um, social vs. medicine. I have no idea what 
20:45 Nick Poninski: that is. That's okay. Um, okay. It's something I've had. 
20:47 Katie Merrien: So basically 
20:49 Nick Poninski: the medical 
20:49 Katie Merrien: model of disabilities suggests that like someone is disabled because of the condition that they have, whatever that might be if they're a wheelchair user or they're blind.
21:00 Katie Merrien: Whereas the social. The mental model of disability suggests that they are disabled by society. That's the one that I believe.
21:06 Katie Merrien: So basically a wheelchair user isn't disabled. It's because there's no ramp to get into the building. The ramp is the problem.
21:11 Katie Merrien: Not the person in the 
21:13 Nick Poninski: wheelchair. Oh, okay. 
21:15 Katie Merrien: Basically. Yeah. So changing the To include people that have disabilities, for example, makes it more inclusive for them. Got ya.
21:23 Nick Poninski: So I guess this is talking more towards, uh, reasonable adjustments, a quality act, all that kind of 
21:29 Katie Merrien: stuff. Absolutely. That's it because, I mean, yes, I think, I talk about, you know, all of this and- very, uh, kind of nice, friendly, because I want just people to be included because why wouldn't you want people to be included and feel like they're seeing at work and thought about and having a nice
21:44 Katie Merrien: experience in their, you know, their organization is listening to them, making sure they have what they need. But also- you know, there are laws in place you need to be doing all these things because lots of the kind of areas I support, lots of the characteristics I support, fall within the Equality 
21:58 Katie Merrien: Act, so it's really important to be thinking about those just all the time, to be honest. But in terms of when to kind of bring me in for stuff, it's at any point but I- I would suggest for people anytime they think about making a new process, think about accessibility and inclusion from the start.
22:14 Katie Merrien: It's so much easier to build it in as you go because otherwise you're in debt with and this is no criticism of your website.
22:22 Katie Merrien: But if you build a brand, for example, that you absolutely love and that is your baby and that I totally get it.
22:27 Katie Merrien: That's your, like, the brand that you love or an organisation has built this, this website or this app that they love.
22:32 Katie Merrien: Then you think about accessibility, you're probably gonna have to unpick some of that and that's gonna go all this bad.
22:38 Katie Merrien: And also- obviously takes a lot of time and resources and so on as well. Whereas you're about it kind of upfront with all of this stuff and I would also, yes, it always advocate for kind of testing decisions with the people that are gonna be affected by them.
22:51 Katie Merrien: That's gonna flag up a whole bunch of stuff that in the long run is gonna save you time and money.
22:55 Katie Merrien: Because you've already kind of considered it and built in. 
22:59 Nick Poninski: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not that's absolutely true. Uhm, so interesting that you're sharing this because I, you know, I bring it back to a mic in perspective.
23:07 Nick Poninski: That's immediately where my brain went to. Oh, you know, I'm aware of all this, hey, try stuff. I used to work in HR.
23:12 Nick Poninski: Right? But my brain is now thinking, ah, I share most of my content as written, written, writing, and I'm going through at the time of recording, uh, podcast series about doing video because then that gives you the whole visual audio.
23:24 Nick Poninski: Okay. but no read and write actually. I would say 
23:33 Katie Merrien: include captions. I mean, you 
23:35 Nick Poninski: can do either 
23:36 Katie Merrien: way. So open captions, the ones where they're always visible. So I normally make those in my animation. So they are part of the video.
23:44 Katie Merrien: So they are always shown basically, I allow. out. Those are really good because then you have got the written option so people can read it on.
23:53 Katie Merrien: And that's good for different contexts as well. So in terms of accessibility, there were three kind of contexts that are recognised for that.
24:00 Katie Merrien: Um, Microsoft actually. Did those so there's permanent, temporary and situational. So these, this is part of the reason why it's good to make stuff accessible because people's needs around accessibility change 
24:12 Nick Poninski: constantly. So 
24:14 Katie Merrien: permanent ones wouldn't because if someone has a disability and more of us are going to get us abilities as we get out.
24:18 Katie Merrien: They're older as well because it's the only group where actually more people are going to become sick because the older you get, the more 
24:23 Nick Poninski: likely you want to become 
24:24 Katie Merrien: disabled. So permanent disability, that's just a continuous, this is what I need, absolutely fair. Um, temporary might be if someone's got a cataract was going to be awkward.
24:34 Katie Merrien: And they've broken their ankle, you know, or kind of other things like that. But there's also situational stuff as well.
24:39 Katie Merrien: And part of that's around safety in a loud environment. Or if you're somewhere where you can't access audio. So for videos, it's really good to put captions in because someone might not be able to watch it with the, with the kind of sound on any.
24:51 Katie Merrien: Um, or someone on the train. Yeah. And that's interesting to be honest, I'm hoping they're watching it with the sound off.
24:56 Katie Merrien: I don't want everyone on the train watching it with the sound on. So that's kind of another way that you can offer that as a people and engage with it.
25:02 Katie Merrien: Which is good for my marketing. Thank watching. Umm, I don't have captions on a video. I think people, it's either they watch it for like 12% longer or they finish it 12% more.
25:13 Katie Merrien: Basically, it increases the amount of engagement with that video if you've got captions because people can. 
25:18 Nick Poninski: Yeah. I don't doubt that. As well, because the message will sink in as well because not only are 
25:22 Katie Merrien: you hearing it and seeing 
25:24 Nick Poninski: it, but you're also 
25:25 Katie Merrien: re-driting it. So then 
25:26 Nick Poninski: you're covering the whole 
25:27 Katie Merrien: gambit. 
25:28 Nick Poninski: Definitely. Love it. Okay. So just before we wrap things up, take away a message for the audience for HR consultants.
25:37 Nick Poninski: What would you say to them? Umm. So have a little shout out. Where does someone get hold of 
25:43 Katie Merrien: you? Oh, that's a good one to start with. So, umm. So, 
25:47 Nick Poninski: yeah. So 
25:49 Katie Merrien: I'm. Yeah, absolutely. Umm, so I am Katie Marion from Communicate. Design, Kate with a cape, because I love a pun.
25:56 Katie Merrien: So you can find my website at Communicate.design. Or you can email me at hello at Communicate.design. Umm. I can never remember my phone number, but it's on my website.
26:06 Katie Merrien: And I'm also on LinkedIn. It shouldn't be on your 
26:08 Nick Poninski: website. Why would you want to- 
26:10 Katie Merrien: Oh, there's no like pun. That's okay. It's my right pun. That's alright. And also, I kind of offered the weekends because there are no animation 
26:18 Nick Poninski: emergencies. So. evening's as well, I 
26:22 Katie Merrien: would hope you're looking great, definitely. But anyway, so people can text me or call me because if I'm not offering choice with how to contact me, then I'm not doing a good job 
26:32 Nick Poninski: offering 
26:32 Katie Merrien: choice. So, yeah, I've got a form of my website, but I'm also on LinkedIn, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Facebook, I'm on, I'm on Instagram, I'm on I I know.
26:42 Katie Merrien: I'm on Tyran. Um. I'm not on that, you know, I'm not on all of them all the time. I'm mostly on LinkedIn.
26:50 Katie Merrien: Um, so I'm going to tell my joint TikTok, but I think I'm a bit too old for that now, to be honest.
26:54 Nick Poninski: So, I'm 
26:55 Katie Merrien: going to stick with those ones. Oh, don't be a just, eh? You've got to be inclusive. That's true. I do have to be inclusive.
26:59 Katie Merrien: Let's cut that bit out. Yeah. 
27:04 Nick Poninski: So, okay, so we've got the website, so if somebody wanted to get in touch with you. So I guess, yeah, all that remains now is what is your lasting message.
27:12 Nick Poninski: What do you want people to take away from our wonderful conversation? 
27:17 Katie Merrien: Umm, I would say that the world is wired, you know, we are naturally driven to communicate in writing, but they're writing as a default is really inaccessible to lots of people.
27:30 Katie Merrien: That is, neurodivergent people, including people who've just- Calculia, or dyslexia, so dyscalculia is the numerical equivalent of dyslexia. Um, people who have low literacy as well, which is about 14 million adults in the UK.
27:45 Katie Merrien: Jesus. 
27:46 Nick Poninski: Is that like one in five? It's 30% apparently. 
27:50 Katie Merrien: Wow. UK adults have low- literacy. And again, that's just, erm, so if you're basically only showing things in writing, that's gonna make it really difficult for those people to access the information they need to understand in HR, you know, context.
28:05 Katie Merrien: What their signing is a contract, what they're meant to be doing for their job. Um. And how they can access health if they need it.
28:11 Katie Merrien: So, the sharing things in multiple formats basically makes things more accessible to more people. 
28:16 Nick Poninski: Or when you make it more fun 
28:17 Katie Merrien: as well, right? I can actually have to go and 
28:19 Nick Poninski: employ e-contracts and it's not just boring, black and white, and sometimes it's cool. That's a really cool element of someone- Come It's brand for their 
28:26 Katie Merrien: company. Thank you. And I promise it can be done. One of my proudest achievements in my business is that last year I turned a youth center's data privacy policy, which is about 12 pages of, and we're talking GDPR.
28:40 Katie Merrien: We're talking, um, IP address. Umm, into a four minute animation that still has all the information in it, but now the young people that go to their events actually watch it, know what they're consenting to around sharing their data, and they enjoy it.
28:54 Katie Merrien: So I feel like if I can make GDPR interesting to teenagers. That is, I'm 
29:00 Nick Poninski: winning. That's fascinating. That's fantastic because no one can make GDPR 
29:05 Katie Merrien: interesting. Thank you. I think we have to change all my strap lines to be like, I once made GDPR interesting, so just don't know what 
29:12 Nick Poninski: you're doing. Yeah, that is a cool story. So, you should have that as a story on your website. Oh, yeah.
29:18 Nick Poninski: In animation, and video, and 
29:20 Katie Merrien: subtitles, all of Yeah, I love it. Well done. Yeah, perfect. Um, so yes, I would say, say, share things in different formats so everyone can access them.
29:28 Katie Merrien: And when you're creating anything for, For an organisation where you're writing a document basically, be thinking about all the different kinds of people out there and the people that have different experiences and look different to you.
29:41 Katie Merrien: Um, because there's going to be so many other kind of things to consider alongside your own perspective, um, as well.
29:48 Katie Merrien: And I think, yeah. 
29:49 Nick Poninski: Love it. Well, thank you very much for 
29:52 Katie Merrien: joining us. Thank you for having me. It's 
29:54 Nick Poninski: been a joy. Yeah, absolutely. Um, I guess I, I, yeah, I don't have any more questions. Um, we know where to contact you.
30:03 Nick Poninski: Communicate desire. I know my, uh, phonetic help a bit. Me too, but only because I had to 
30:12 Katie Merrien: stop saying N for Nicholas Cage on phone calls, so. Ah, there's nothing wrong with saying 
30:19 Nick Poninski: N for 
30:19 Katie Merrien: Nicholas Cage. No, there isn't. Yeah, I think it takes a lot more 
30:24 Nick Poninski: time. Well, true. Very enough. Um, well, thank you for joining us. It's been a real pleasure. Um, I've enjoyed learning about trying to make information more accessible to everyone so that everyone can.
30:41 Nick Poninski: Partic and get the best out of them and, uh, well, yeah. Partic, I think is the most bit, isn't it?
30:49 Katie Merrien: Cool. Yeah, wonderful. Thank you for having 
30:51 Nick Poninski: me. No problem. Well, hopefully everyone alone, everyone at home, you've enjoyed listening along. Um, as I say, if you need to get hold of Kate, you know where to do that.
30:59 Nick Poninski: I'll include a link in the show notes. Um, and, um, yeah, thank you for listening along. Um, and as ever, all that remains to be said is get marketing because without marketing, there's no sales.
31:10 And without sales, there's no business. So get