Accessibility at Zenna

Zenna is the hiring platform built by Rokstars Global HRM. Accessibility is not a feature we added to it. It is one of the requirements we started with, and it shapes how every page, form, and workflow is built.

We build this way for a straightforward reason. When a product works for the people with the hardest access needs, it works better for everyone. Designing so that someone using only a keyboard, or only a screen reader, can finish a task from start to end means the same task is clearer and faster for every other person too, including anyone on a phone, in bright sun, on a slow connection, or working one handed.

The standards we hold ourselves to

Zenna serves employers and candidates in both Canada and the United States, and we design and test against the recognized standards in both:

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, the international standard set by the World Wide Web Consortium.
• The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), Ontario's law covering accessible information and services.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the United States civil rights law covering access to digital services.

Who we build for

Accessibility is often talked about as if it means one group. It does not. The work reaches many different people:

• People who navigate by keyboard instead of a mouse, whether from a motor or mobility condition, tremor, repetitive strain, or simple preference.
• People who are blind or have low vision and use a screen reader or magnification.
• People who need clear structure, plain labels, and predictable behaviour, including many with cognitive or learning differences.
• People who cannot rely on colour to carry meaning.
• Anyone facing a temporary or situational limit, from a broken arm to a bright screen to a one handed moment.

Building for the first people on that list is what opens the door for the rest.

If you need an accommodation

Applying should never mean choosing between your privacy and your shot at a role. If you need an accommodation at any point in the hiring process, use the Accessibility and accommodations section on the role you are interested in, or email us at gethired@zennahr.com, and tell us what would help. You do not need to disclose a diagnosis. Tell us what you need in order to take part, and a Rokstars advisor will follow up with you.

The existence of an accommodation request is not provided to the scoring process, and it is never used as a qualification signal or a negative factor. It is not scored, it never counts against you, and it plays no part in deciding on a candidate who is qualified for the role. And it does not vanish into an inbox. A real advisor reviews every request, takes ownership of it, and gets back to you. Your request has a person's name on it.

Your accommodation information is kept separate from qualification scoring and is shared only as needed to arrange the accommodation. When an employer needs to be involved, they receive the accommodation need and the relevant advisor guidance, not unrelated medical or disability information.

And if you believe an accessibility barrier, an assistive-technology issue, a communication difference, or an accommodation need affected your application or your screening answers, you can ask us to review it. We will not rely on an automated score alone to resolve that concern. A person will look at your application.

What we have built into the platform

This is not a checklist we ran once. These are things the platform actually does, on the pages a candidate or a client uses every day:

• Full keyboard access. We build so that interactive elements, menus, and dialogs can be reached and operated with the keyboard alone, without a mouse.
• Tested with real assistive technology, including JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver, not automated scanners alone.
• Semantic structure. Real headings, real lists, and page landmarks, so a person can move through a page by its structure instead of reading every word.
• Controls that say what they do. We give links and buttons meaningful text, and avoid "click here" and unlabelled buttons.
• Labelled forms with clear errors. We label form fields, and when something is wrong we give a specific, announced message rather than just a red outline.
• Announced updates. When the platform saves, changes a status, or loads new information, that change is announced as it happens, so nothing changes silently.
• Dialogs that behave. Pop-up dialogs move focus to their heading when they open, close on the Escape key, return focus to where you were when they close, and hold the rest of the page still behind them, so you are never lost.
• Meaning never carried by colour alone. Where colour signals something, text and shape carry the same message. A candidate's fit score, for instance, always appears as a number, a colour, and a written label together, so it reads clearly whether or not you can see colour.
• Sufficient contrast. We design text, headings, and controls to meet the WCAG 2.1 AA contrast minimums.
• A choice of light or dark mode in the client and advisor portals, so each person can pick the brightness and contrast that suits them.

Tested by people, not only tools

Automated checkers catch some issues and miss many. So the platform is reviewed and tested by people who use assistive technology in their daily lives, across the workflows that matter most, searching for a role, completing an application, answering screening questions, requesting an accommodation, and using the client and advisor portals. Accessibility is checked as the platform changes, not signed off once and forgotten.

An ongoing commitment

Accessibility is never finished, because the platform keeps growing. As we add features, we build and test them to the same standard. When we find a barrier, we treat it as a defect to fix, not an optional extra. We would rather hear that something did not work for you than have you quietly give up on it.

We continue to test Zenna and may not catch every barrier right away. If something stops you from applying, requesting an accommodation, reviewing information, or finishing another task, tell us, and we will work with you to find an accessible alternative while we look into it.

We review this statement when we ship a consequential change to the platform, and at least once a year. Accessibility is owned by Rokstars Global HRM, the company that operates Zenna.

Assistive technology we test with

• JAWS with Chrome and Edge on Windows
• NVDA with Chrome and Firefox on Windows
• VoiceOver with Safari on macOS and iOS
• TalkBack with Chrome on Android
• Keyboard-only navigation across all major browsers

Services we do not control

Some parts of the hiring process connect to outside services we do not run, such as a video meeting tool, a calendar, or a job board. We cannot guarantee the accessibility of those services. If one of them gets in your way, tell us and we will help you find another way to finish the Zenna task it was part of.

Tell us about a barrier

If any part of Zenna is difficult or impossible for you to use, we want to know, and we will help. If it affects an application, an accommodation, or a candidate's experience, email gethired@zennahr.com. If it affects the employer or client portal, email team@zennahr.com. We acknowledge your report within one business day, look into the barrier, give you an accessible alternative where we can, and keep you posted on next steps. How long a full fix takes can vary with the issue, but keeping you moving through an active hiring process is a priority.

Formal complaints

If you are not satisfied with how we have responded, you can contact the accessibility body in your jurisdiction:

• In Ontario, Canada, if you believe you experienced discrimination based on disability in employment or services: the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, which accepts applications under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
• In Ontario, Canada, to report a suspected violation of Ontario's accessibility standards: Accessibility in Ontario: what you need to know.
• In the United States: the United States Department of Justice, which receives ADA complaints about digital accessibility.