This is something I keep seeing, even in places that genuinely want to do better.
Everyone agrees access matters. That part isn’t the issue anymore. But when it comes down to making it happen, it gets unclear pretty quickly. Who is actually responsible?
It gets passed around. Sometimes it’s HR. Sometimes it’s the person planning the event. Sometimes it lands on a manager or whoever happens to be coordinating things. And without realizing it, it can end up back on the person who needs the access in the first place.
That’s usually where things start to fall apart.
When responsibility isn’t clear, access becomes inconsistent. One situation might be handled well, another might be missed completely. It depends on who is involved, what they know, and how confident they feel navigating it.
That’s not something you can rely on.
What I’ve learned is that access doesn’t work when it’s handled case by case. It needs to be part of how things are planned from the beginning. Not just something people support in theory, but something they understand how to actually do.
And that’s where I’ve seen a shift happen.
Working with organizations like META Employment Services, we didn’t just talk about access; we broke it down into what it actually looks like in practice. Through a 5-session, 2-hour training series, their team had the space to understand where access fits, what their role is, and what needs to be considered before things are put in place.
From there, something changed.
They didn’t wait for someone to ask. They started planning for it. They looked at their own structure, figured out what was missing, and began seeking out funding and resources to support it properly.
That kind of ownership doesn’t happen by accident.
It comes from understanding what access actually requires and feeling confident enough to take it on.
This isn’t about adding more work to someone’s plate. It’s about making sure the responsibility is clear and supported so things don’t fall through the cracks.
If your organization is still trying to figure out where access sits and who carries it, that’s usually a sign it hasn’t been fully built into the system yet.
And that’s something that can change.
If you’re ready to move from uncertainty to something more structured and consistent, I provide training to help you get there.
