They wanted a solution that would:

• created a long-term accessibility and inclusion strategy, 

• fixed all automatically detectable accessibility issues on Zurich's UK website,

• produced a role-based accessibility microsite through a strategic collaboration.

As a result, there has been consistent funding for accessibility projects and notable advancements in creating a design system that is "accessible by default."

Understanding Zurich’s accessibility challenges

Zurich knew the main challenge was the lack of organisational awareness and practical knowledge, despite leadership's willingness to increase accessibility.

They wanted a solution that would:

• give staff members concise, useful advice on how to be accessible in their daily work,

• encourage a change in the organisation's culture towards one that is inclusive and accessible at all levels,

• create a methodical accessibility strategy that complies with legal requirements and current corporate objectives.

Discovery: Researching people, procedures and requirements

To create an approach that would work for Zurich, we conducted:

• stakeholder interviews to understand accessibility difficulties across several teams, to develop a strategy that would work for Zurich

• focused workshops to look at current procedures, equipment, and problems

• desk research desk research on accessibility guidelines' best practices

• user needs analysis to define the most useful topics and formats for accessibility guidance.

This research served as the basis for a structured set of accessibility standards that were applicable to the Zurich team's day-to-day operations.

Designing the accessibility microsite

With insights from discovery, we designed wireframes for a dedicated accessibility microsite.

The site aimed to:

• present accessibility guidelines in an intuitive, role-based format,

• align with Zurich’s Customer Experience Principles and Standards to integrate accessibility into existing processes,

• ensure content was actionable, addressing common tasks like ‘creating a PDF’ rather than solely focusing on job titles.

Content development, quality assurance and publishing

We created a preliminary set of accessibility rules after the framework was established. These have been subjected to stringent quality control inspections in Zurich and GAIN to guarantee:

• accuracy and alignment with accessibility best practices

• practicality for different roles and teams

• clear, engaging language to encourage adoption.

To ensure accessibility and ease of use, we explored multiple publishing options. Ultimately, we recommended hosting the microsite on Zurich.co.uk, leveraging the company’s existing design system components.

This approach ensured seamless integration with Zurich’s digital estate, greater control over the accessibility of the guidelines, and a cohesive user experience for employees accessing the guidance.

Establishing a long-term accessibility roadmap

Beyond the microsite, we worked to create a long-term accessibility and inclusion roadmap. This involved ongoing feedback cycles to refine guidance, workshops to prioritise key themes, and frameworks to align accessibility efforts with business goals.

To further embed accessibility into Zurich’s culture, we introduced a mix of engagement and support initiatives, including interactive Empathy Labs to help teams experience accessibility barriers first-hand and weekly technical drop-in clinics to troubleshoot challenges in live projects.

The impact: a robust accessibility foundation

Zurich has made great progress in integrating accessibility as part of their company DNA. They have taken significant steps to make accessibility a business-wide priority, rather than merely a regulatory requirement, by giving staff useful advice and encouraging an inclusive culture.

We continue to provide consultancy, Empathy Labs and other interactive activities to build awareness and confidence, and targeted accessibility auditing and review services to provide an objective external view on progress.

Need help embedding accessibility as an organisational priority? Get in touch.