CREA Customer Service Standards Accessibility Plan

Purpose

The purpose of this Customer Service Standards Policy is to fulfill the requirements set out in regulation 191/11, Part IV.2 to establish a policy for The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) for governing the provision of its goods, services and facilities to persons with disabilities.

Policy

Providing our customers with the highest quality of customer service is a matter of great importance to us at CREA. CREA shall ensure that our goods, services and facilities are accessible to all customers, and will strive to promote equality, dignity and respect for everyone. Treating you fairly is at the heart of our business, and we aim to make sure that you can enjoy the highest possible standards of service at all times.

CREA shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that its policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the following principles:

• The goods or services will be provided in a manner that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities;
• The provision of goods or services to persons with disabilities, and others, will be integrated unless an alternate measure is necessary, whether temporarily or on a permanent basis, to enable a person with a disability to obtain, use or benefit from the goods or services;
• Persons with disabilities will be given an opportunity equal to that given to others to obtain, use and benefit from the goods or services;
• CREA employees, agents and volunteers when communicating with a person with a disability shall do so in a manner that takes in to account the person’s disability.

Responsibility

This policy shall apply to every person who deals with members of the public or other third parties on behalf of CREA, whether the person does so as an employee, agent, volunteer or otherwise. The training provision of this policy has a broader scope and shall apply to all CREA employees, volunteers and every other person who participates in developing CREA’s policies or who provides goods and services on behalf of CREA regardless of whether they deal with members of the public.

CREA has established an Accessibility Working Group to advise about the requirements and implementation of AODA accessibility standards, preparation of accessibility reports, including access for persons with disabilities to CREA services and premises.

It is the responsibility of all the managers to ensure that all employees follow the guidelines as set out in the policy.

Definitions

Accessibility Coordinator - The person appointed by CREA as Accessibility Coordinator.

Assistive Devices - Any auxiliary aid such as communication aids, cognition aids, personal mobility aids and medical aids (i.e. canes, crutches, wheelchairs, or hearing aids).

Disability - as per the Ontario Human Rights Code, means:

• any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical coordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or any other animal or a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device;
• A condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability;
• A learning disability or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language;
• A mental disorder; or
• An injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.

Persons with Disabilities - Individuals that are afflicted with a disability as defined under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Service Animals - Any animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.

Support Persons - Any person whether a paid professional, volunteer, family member or friend that accompanies a person with a disability in order to help with communications, personal care or medical needs or with access to goods or services.

Procedures

Within CREA, we will deliver our goods and services in a consistent manner using the following procedures:

Published Service Standards

• We will publish details of our core customer service standards and values in our public offices and on our website.
• We will monitor our performance against these standards and publish details of how we are performing against them in a variety of ways, including on our website.
  
• We will also review our core customer service standards and values following ongoing feedback from you, our stakeholders and our staff.

Inform the Customer/Feedback

Information about our goods and services will be accessible, accurate, and up to date. It will be made available in our offices and on our website. This information

• will contain relevant contact details including a telephone number, office address and e-mail address.
• We will take steps to make sure the information we provide is clear and straightforward so that it is easily understood.
• We will only use customer information in a lawful and fair manner as required by PIPEDA.
• Customers can provide feedback on how CREA provides accessible customer service by submitting a comment to CREA’s general inquiries coordinates available at www.crea.ca/contact.

Service Accessibility

• We will take all required steps to make sure our goods, services and facilities are accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. CREA will comply with all applicable customer service accessibility legislation requirements.

Consulting with Customers

• We will seek the views of our customers regarding the delivery of our services, the quality of our service and the standards of service they expect from us. We welcome customer comments or suggestions on how we can improve the quality of our service.
• If a customer wishes to make a comment or has a suggestion on how we can improve the quality of service, please provide the customer with our Help Desk 1-800 phone number and email address.

Polite and Helpful Staff

• CREA staff members shall be polite and helpful, act with integrity and discretion and treat customers with respect at all times.
• CREA staff shall be provided with appropriate customer service training to help them deliver our goods and services in an efficient and professional manner.

Service Animals

A customer with a disability that is accompanied by a service animal will be allowed access to CREA premises and facilities that are open to the public unless otherwise excluded by law.

Support Persons and Admission Fees

If a customer with a disability is accompanied by a support person, CREA will ensure that both persons are allowed to enter the premises together and that the customer is not prevented from having access to the support person.

If CREA charges an admission fee in connection with a support person’s presence at an event or function, the support person is permitted to attend at no cost. Please note that the support person is responsible for other services such as food, lodging, etc. however, CREA will work to facilitate payment arrangements in this regard.

Complaints Procedure

If a customer is unhappy with the quality of service received, they may make a complaint through our Help Desk via phone or email.

• We will fully and fairly investigate the complaint and offer the customer a full explanation of the circumstances and take appropriate action.
• We will record and monitor complaints about the quality of service and try to address concerns. We want to learn from complaints so that we can improve the quality of service we provide.

Notice of Service Disruption

In the event that there is a temporary service disruption in the availability of facilities, services or goods used by persons with disabilities (e.g. temporary loss of elevator service), CREA shall give notice to the public of the reason for the disruption, the date(s) of disruption, its anticipated duration and a description of alternative facilities or services, if any, are available. Such notice may be provided by a variety of methods, depending on the circumstances, and may include postings in conspicuous places at the affected premises and CREA’s website www.crea.ca and www.realtor.ca.

Training Policy

All CREA employees and volunteers and other persons who participate in the development of CREA’s policies or who provide good and services on CREA’s behalf shall be required to undergo training on the requirements of the AODA accessibility standards (including the customer service standards) and on the Human Rights Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities.

The training provided shall be appropriate to the duties of the employee, volunteer or person. Training shall take place as soon as is practicable and upon completion, CREA shall keep a record of the training provided including the dates on which accessibility took place.

The training program includes:

1. Management overview to understand the legislated requirements, responsibilities of the organization and how to comply; how increased accessibility impacts the bottom line; and what is expected for compliance and reporting.
2. E-learning module at time of orientation of new employees or volunteers to train about the regulations, about how to best provide exemplary service to customers with disabilities, and about CREA’s policies and procedures for doing so.
3. Accessibility Training for Customer Service Staff with the focus on understanding the requirements of the Act, what accessible customer service is and how to properly implement it, as well as how the legislation contributes to the goal of an accessible Ontario.

CREA shall keep records of the training provided under this section, including the dates on which the training is provided and the number of individuals to whom it is provided.

Employment Standards

CREA shall post information about the availability of accommodations for applicants with disabilities in its recruitment process. Job applicants who are individually selected for an interview and/or testing shall be notified that accommodations for material to be used in the process are available, upon request. CREA shall consult with any applicant who requests an accommodation in a manner that takes into account the applicant’s disability. Successful applicants shall be notified about CREA’s policies for accommodating employees with disabilities as part of their offer of employment.

CREA will also ensure that third party recruitment agencies have policies and procedures in place to ensure that their recruitment process is in compliance with the new AODA legislation.

Accessible Formats and Communication Supports for Employee

Upon an employee’s request, CREA shall consult with the employee to provide or arrange for the provision of accessible formats and communication supports for:

• Information that is needed in order to perform the employee’s job; and
• Information that is generally available to employees in the workplace.

Workplace Emergency Response Information (tie in with BCP)

If an employee’s disability is such that workplace emergency response information is necessary and CREA is aware of the need for accommodation, this information shall be provided by its employees. In addition, this information shall be provided, with the employee’s consent, to the person designated to provide assistance. The information shall undergo review when the employee’s overall accommodation needs and plans are reviewed and when CREA reviews its general emergency response plan. (See the Business Continuity Plan)

Documented Individual Accommodation Plans

A written process for the development and maintenance of documented individual accommodation plans shall be developed for employees with disabilities. If requested, these plans shall include information regarding accessible formats and communications supports. If requested, the plans shall include individualized emergency response information.

Return to Work Process

CREA shall have in place a documented return to work process for employees returning to work due to disability and requiring disability-related accommodations. This return to work process shall outline the steps that CREA shall take to facilitate the return to work.

Performance Management and Career Development and Redeployment

CREA shall take into account the accessibility needs of its employees with disabilities as well as any individual accommodation plans when providing career development, performance management and when considering redeployment.

Customer Service Standard Documents

CREA shall notify customers that the documents related to the Accessibility Standard for Customer Service, including this document, are available upon request and in a format that takes into account the customer’s disability. Notification will be given by posting the information in a conspicuous place owned and operated by CREA, or on this website and/or any other reasonable method.