GoTo Technologies Canada Ltd. Accessibility Plan 2023
Foreword
At GoTo, we strive to make it easy for people to connect with others and accomplish their best work – simply, reliably, and securely.
We want people with disabilities to work for us and with us, and we want people with disabilities to buy and use our services. For these reasons, we see accessibility not only as a social good but as an important business objective.
This accessibility plan documents our commitments to advance the objective of accessibility for all. We look forward to continuing this journey in service of our employees, customers, and users of all abilities.
Michael Donahue
Chief Legal Officer
GoTo
Introduction and Feedback Description
GoTo Technologies Canada Ltd. is a software development and sales company based in Canada and is part of a global group of companies (collectively “GoTo,” “we,” or “us”). GoTo provides GoTo Connect – a unified communications solution for businesses that combines voice calling, video meetings, and messaging into a single application.
To help achieve the vision of the Accessible Canada Act reflected in the mantra “nothing without us,” we have created this plan to address our accessibility practices and commitments. This plan will help ensure that the work we undertake to improve the accessibility of our services is sustainable and transparent.
As we work to implement this plan, we will continue to count on feedback from our employees, customers, advocacy organizations, and other stakeholders.
GoTo has designated certain members of its Legal and Product teams to receive feedback about this plan. You can reach them by email at accessibilityfeedback@goto.com. Alternatively, you can provide feedback by calling (781) 850-1458 or by sending correspondence to the following address:
GoTo Technologies Canada Ltd.
Attn: GoTo Legal
410 Charest Est., Suite 250
Quebec City, QC
G1K 8G3
You may submit feedback anonymously if you wish. GoTo will acknowledge receipt of your feedback unless you choose to submit it anonymously.
To request a copy of this plan or a progress report in an alternative format, please use the contact information above.
Consultations
To identify accessibility gaps and needs, GoTo has sought input from employees via an accessibility-focused survey as well as regular, anonymous, company-wide “sentiment” surveys that solicit feedback about accessibility among other topics. GoTo has also consulted with its internal, volunteer group of Accessibility Champions about accessibility challenges and opportunities and has sought input from its customers and users via surveys and one-on-one listening sessions.
Statutory Priority Areas – Progress and Commitments
GoTo has reviewed its accessibility status with employees and customers and made commitments for improvement in the priority areas defined under the Accessible Canada Act, as set forth below. Commitments stated in this plan are on a three-year horizon.
Employment
To ensure access to employment opportunities and accessible workspaces, GoTo welcomes applicants with disabilities to apply for open positions and invites accommodation requests in the hiring process. When such a request is made, GoTo has staff dedicated to facilitating needed accommodations in both the paperwork and interview phases of hiring.
After a candidate is hired and becomes and employee, they have an assigned Human Resources Business Partner to whom they can address requests for accommodation at any time, which GoTo processes according to its accommodation policy.
In addition to seeking feedback about its accessibility efforts via regular, company-wide employee surveys and by organizing an active working group of Accessibility Champions who focus on accessibility challenges and opportunities, GoTo has also created an employee resource group called ADAPT which stands for “Abled and Disabled Advocates Partnering Together” in which approximately 200 disabled or allied employees can share ideas, raise awareness, and find community.
Through its various listening efforts, GoTo has identified opportunities for improvement and has committed to the following specific actions:
- Commitment 1: Decrease the amount of text in employee onboarding materials by simplifying written materials or by replacing them with video-based or other materials.
- Commitment 2: Clearly inform newly hired employees during onboarding about the option and process to request accommodations at any time during their employment.
Built Environment
GoTo has two physical offices in Canada – one in Quebec City and the other in Montreal. Both offices are leased and have accessible features such as wheelchair access, high-contrast signage, and braille lettering in elevators. Accessibility within our offices has been, and will continue to be, a priority for GoTo.
Additionally, GoTo is now a work-from-anywhere company. Although GoTo had granted some employees an accommodation to work from home full-time before the COVID-19 pandemic, it gave every employee – with few, role-based exceptions – that option in 2020. This means that almost all employees can work from their home without ever having to visit an office. Within GoTo’s culture and policies, visiting an office is optional.
With the adoption of this work-from-home policy and culture, GoTo has supported its employees through stipends for home office equipment and specific accommodations for disabilities. GoTo has committed to the following additional actions to support accessibility in its leased office spaces and its employees’ home offices:
- Commitment 1: Ensure that any additional leased space includes accessibility features required under law.
- Commitment 2: Ask employees via survey or similar means if they have any unmet accessibility needs in GoTo’s leased office spaces or in their home offices and establish a plan to provide help with those needs to the extent feasible.
Communications other than ICT
For customers who want video-based, self-service troubleshooting and support options for GoTo Connect, GoTo has created a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/GoToConnectSupport) with a library of searchable videos. By default, these videos have optional real-time captions provided by YouTube. Additionally, to improve the viewer experience, GoTo has added captions of its own to some videos.
To help ensure important customer information is provided in an accessible way, GoTo has committed to the following actions:
- Commitment 1: Establish a plan to include pre-populated captions in new GoTo Connect customer support videos in our YouTube channel.
- Commitment 2: Add pre-populated captions to the most-viewed existing GoTo Connect customer support videos in our YouTube channel.
Procurement of Goods, Services, and Facilities
GoTo has procured office facilities and relevant employee software tools with accessibility needs and requirements in mind. To further advance accessibility objectives, and in addition to commitments stated elsewhere in this plan, GoTo has committed to the following action:
- Commitment 1: Evaluate how to further take accessibility into account in vendor selection and review processes for the purchase of relevant products and services.
Design and Delivery of Programs and Services
GoTo Connect combines voice calling, web meetings, and chat features into a single application that is available in desktop, mobile, and Web clients. To measure the accessibility of GoTo Connect across these client applications, GoTo initiated a formal review using a separate Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) document for each client. This review is nearly complete.
Additionally, to improve the consistency of user interface (UI) elements, GoTo has created a design system called “Chameleon” which includes various UI and design elements – analogous to Google’s “Material” or Microsoft’s “Fluent” design systems. Chameleon will make various GoTo Connect client applications not only more consistent with each other, but also more consistently accessible. This is because GoTo’s technical teams are currently in process of bringing all elements within Chameleon into compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA standards. Their work has already made delivery of accessibility features easier and more consistent, and this will only improve as Chameleon reaches full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and as development teams increase their adoption of the UI and design elements within Chameleon.
To continue improving GoTo Connect’s accessibility profile, GoTo has committed to the following actions:
- Commitment 1: Finalize VPAT review for GoTo Connect’s desktop, mobile, and Web clients.
- Commitment 2: Complete the work to bring GoTo’s Chameleon design system into compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA requirements.
- Commitment 3: Assess adoption of the Chameleon design system within GoTo Connect’s desktop, mobile, and Web clients and then, as necessary, establish a plan to improve adoption.
Transportation
GoTo does not provide transportation services to the public or its employees.
Conclusion
GoTo is motivated to continue its journey of accessibility for all employees, customers, and users and will document its ongoing progress under this plan. We welcome feedback under this plan as described in the Introduction.