Feedback processes and descriptions: key concepts
Feedback processes and descriptions: key concepts
From: Employment and Social Development Canada
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Feedback
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and the Accessible Canada Regulations (regulations) require that your organization develop an accessibility feedback process.
Feedback is information you receive through the process that the ACA requires you to establish. This information is related to:
- the barriers that your employees encounter
- the barriers that other people who deal with your organization encounter
- the manner in which you are implementing your accessibility plan
The feedback that you receive may be:
- positive or critical
- general or specific
- lengthy or brief
- identified or anonymous
Regardless of the perspective a piece of feedback offers, the regulations require that you:
- acknowledge your receipt of any non-anonymous feedback you receive through your feedback process
- send this acknowledgement through the same means by which you received the feedback
- retain an electronic copy or print copy of any feedback you receive, identified or anonymous, for 7 years after the day that you receive it:
- this includes feedback you receive by telephone
- it also includes feedback you may receive by any other means your organization uses to communicate with the public
When you publish a progress report, it must include a “Feedback” heading. Your report must provide information about the feedback you have received through your feedback process, and about how you have taken it into consideration.
Feedback processes are ongoing and open to anyone.
Additional guidance on progress reports will be available in 2022.
Consultation input versus feedback
For the purposes of the ACA and its regulations, keep in mind that there is a difference between consultation input and feedback:
- consultation input is comments you receive when you consult persons with disabilities
- feedback is comments you receive through your feedback process
Consultation input is information that your organization receives when it consults persons with disabilities as it prepares its accessibility plans and progress reports.
Consultation input is targeted and time limited.
Any information you provide about your consultation process, including about input given by participants, should appear under the “Consultations” heading.
For more information:
Feedback processes
Since organizations have different resources, needs, and capabilities, there are different ways to create and maintain a feedback process. Your organization must decide how you will receive and deal with feedback.
Your process for receiving and dealing with feedback must:
- designate a person to receive that feedback, and provide that person’s position title
- establish how people can submit feedback by:
- telephone
- any other means your organization uses to communicate with the public
- establish how people can submit feedback anonymously
- account for how you will acknowledge each piece of feedback you receive by the same means in which you receive it
- remember: you do not have to acknowledge receipt of anonymous feedback
- ensure that you can retain electronic or print copies of each piece of feedback for at least 7 years
You must also make sure that your process for receiving and dealing with feedback:
- establishes how you will take that feedback into consideration
- enables you to describe that feedback, and how you have taken it into consideration, in your progress reports
Feedback process descriptions
Your organization must prepare and publish a description of your feedback process.
The description should explain how your organization receives and deals with feedback. It should also reiterate the position title of the person you have designated to receive feedback on your organization’s behalf.
Your description could also:
- explain how people can submit feedback, including anonymously
- provide contributors with a timeline for when they can expect you to acknowledge your receipt of their feedback
- explain what your acknowledgement will include
- describe how you plan to take feedback into consideration
- explain how people can request a copy of your description in an alternate format
Your organization must publish this description of your feedback process at the same time as you publish your initial accessibility plan. Read the guidance on requirements (such as format and location) for publishing the description.
Remember: if you amend your feedback process, you must publish a new description of that process. Read the guidance on amending your feedback process.
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