Zendesk Product Accessibility

At Zendesk we don’t really think about Accessibility as a technical or business issue. We think about it as a human issue. It’s about inclusivity and opportunity for everyone.

The customer service industry is a source of jobs for millions of people, and if people can’t use our technology, they can’t access those jobs. Also, because we power customer service software for other companies, it’s our job to make sure their customers can get help, regardless of how they access technology or experience the world.

Our goal is not only to meet the industry standard, WCAG 2.1 AA, but to go beyond it wherever possible. We want anyone accessing Zendesk with assistive technology to encounter a successful and positive experience.

Accessibility is an ongoing effort, and we acknowledge that issues can slip through our release process. If you spot a problem with one of our products, please use one of the channels below to let us know.

What we’re doing

To deliver accessible products we pay attention to Accessibility throughout our release cycle. This includes:

• Following the standards and documentation created by our Product Accessibility team.

• Training everyone involved in delivering our products around assistive technology and Accessibility best practices. This includes, designers, engineers, product and program managers, and content writers. At a personal level we try to make sure all Zendesk product and engineering employees think about the humans at the other end of the internet by sharing stories and feedback.

• Leveraging Garden, our design system, from early design through development to ensure an accessible foundation for all our products

• Testing our products before release using both manual and automated techniques.

• Conducting regular research with agents, admins and end users who rely on assistive technology to collect feedback and help us prioritize improvements.

• Systematically tracking both remediation and new feature progress to drive quality improvements

• Engaging third-party auditors to conduct regular compliance audits of our products.

• Listening to feedback from customers. Please use the channels listed below to get in touch.

Please refer to our help center to review our current Accessibility features.

Recommended Screen Readers and browsers

Please refer to your specific Zendesk product system requirements for recommendations on Operating System and browser combinations. Make sure you are on the latest versions of all software so you benefit from Accessibility bug fixes.

To ensure the best possible screen reader support in Zendesk products, we recommend the following:

• Windows: Use the latest version of Google Chrome, combined with the latest version of Jaws or NVDA.

• MacOS: Use the latest version of Safari, combined with VoiceOver, which are both built into the operating system.

Accessibility Compliance

Zendesk uses the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), to publish an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), which documents an audit of our systems relative to WCAG 2.1 AA performed by a third party accessibility vendor.

One use of the reports is to describe how the accessibility features of the Zendesk product help federal agencies address the requirements of Section 508 Standards. This can assist Federal contracting officials and other buyers in making preliminary assessments regarding the availability of commercial “Electronic and Information Technology” products and services with features that support accessibility.

At this time we have the following reports available:

How to get in touch

If you have questions about any aspect of Zendesk Product Accessibility, we offer the following channels for you to get in touch:

• To learn about our compliance, please review the Accessibility conformance reports listed above.
• If you have additional questions, please use the guidance at Zendesk Customer Support to get in touch.
• If you encounter any issues with any of the above channels, please email product-accessibility@zendesk.com.