Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility CertificationTM  (RHFAC)

​Pursuing a Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification can help to differentiate your business and attract new visitors and employees. Please visit the Rick Hansen website for more information.

Why Should Smart Businesses Improve Accessibility for People Living with Hearing Loss?
​1. People who are Hard of Hearing represent a large group with voting and spending power:

• There are 2.9 million Canadians living with a physical disability that impairs their mobility, vision, or hearing, representing 10 per cent of the country’s population.
• That number will rise by 1.8 per cent annually over the next 13 years, nearly double the pace of the population as a whole.
• Real spending by this group is set to rise from $165 billion in 2017 to $316 billion in 2030, increasing from 14 to 21 per cent of the total consumer market (Conference Board of Canada, 2018).

2. Providing accessibility to customers improves an organizations' image:

• The aging Boomer population is adding to the number of PWD (people with disability) daily.
•  Boomers’ control a larger share of the national wealth than any previous generation.
• In Canada, PWDs and their friends and families add up to twelve million people, more than a third of our population, with total disposable income in excess of $311 billion.
• Product development and customer-centered messaging learned from PWDs can drive a company’s return on investment through enhanced ease of use and stronger brand connection.
• Consumers feel strongly about something, like disability, then they identify strongly with brands that meet those emotional needs (Vogel, 2006).

3. Organizations who create barriers to customers who are Hard of Hearing reduce profits and decrease the quality of life for people in your community:
The effects of Hearing Loss can include:

• Withdrawal/Social Isolation
• Embarassment
• Depression
• Poor service experience/bad word of mouth advertising
• Misunderstanding of important messages your organization wants to deliver (e.g., legal, financial, health)​​

4. Organizations will be required by Federal and Provincial Accessibility laws to comply with creating a space that is accessible for people who are Hard of Hearing. For more information, check out our 'Accessibility Laws' resource page above. 
​Accessible Hearing Solutions helps to improve accessibility by providing organizations with site assessments. Site assessments educate organizations about the best ways to improve communication and understanding in locations such as counter-service areas, meeting rooms, and large venue sites. Our assessments provide a written report detailing communication areas that are causing barriers and the best ways to improve accessibility for your customers or clients. 

Academic References
Conference Board of Canada, The. (2018). The Business Case to Build Physically Accessible Environments. The Conference Board of Canada.
​Vogel, N. (2006, July 31). Not marketing to people with disabilities? you’re missing out | ad age. Ad Age. https://adage.com/article/viewpoint/marketing-people-disabilities-missing/110797