Episode 124 - Sharon Castillo - Why Good Accessibility is Good Customer Education

Have you ever considered how an overlooked design choice could shut out a swath of eager learners? Imagine excluding twenty-five percent of adults from your training programs. That's the staggering possibility we tackle in Episode 124, as we welcome our friend Sharon Castillo to the show!  Sharon is a Customer Engagement and Education Leader currently working as Sr. Director of content Strategy and Enablement at Okta. Making training accessible is more than a box-ticking exercise; it's a strategic imperative that opens the door to a diverse audience, ready to engage with your product. Our conversation not only sheds light on the barriers to learning but also equips content creators with the know-how to craft learning experiences that welcome everyone to the table. Accessibility is a topic we've perhaps only touched upon on the CELab podcast, so Sharon shares why accessibility - particularly good accessibility, is also good customer education.  We discuss the kinds of platforms and tools you'll want to include in your planning, even as a very early-phase program. So join us as we ‘access accessibility’ for Customer Education! About the Show CELab is the Customer Education Lab for Innovative Customer Success, Enablement, and Marketing Teams. Our mission is to explore how to build Customer Education programs, experiment with new approaches, and exterminate the myths and bad advice that stop growth dead in its tracks. Listen in as we discuss: Importance of accessibility in training programs Balancing content delivery speed with inclusive design Design choices affect learning experience, color, captions Accommodating diverse abilities and learning styles Utilizing tools, guidelines for accessible content creation Collaboration with disabled Subject Matter Experts essential Economic benefits of inclusive eLearning for businesses Pre-adjusting templates, style guides for accessibility Flexibility of eLearning platforms, Rise vs. Storyline Evaluating tools for WCAG conformance, accessibility levels And - please - if you’ve found value in this podcast, share with your friends, your peers, and your network to help us “Find the Others”! Resources: Sharon Castillo LinkedIn Okta Docebo Intellum Thought Industries Dave Derington LinkedIn Adam Avramescu LinkedIn