You thought it was a successful meeting.  Everything came off as planned, and your client was happy.  Then, a week later your client calls you in a panic–that successful meeting did not have a closed caption screen or sign language translator and her company is being sued.

As a meeting planner,  you need to be prepared and familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

There are many types of disabilities, and the ADA has two disability lists: one is the conspicuous impairment and the other is non-visible.

While some disabilities are very clear visually, you may have a participant with dietary restrictions. He may end up not being able to eat anything at a lavish meal simply because you didn’t ask the right questions. Or worse, he could be harmed because he ate anyway without knowing some of the invisible ingredients.

As with anything else in your career, education is key. While the disabled or impaired make up a small percentage of your participants, you will be remembered favorably for having been thorough enough to include a request for detailed information from that minority of attendees. You will also help keep your clients from getting sued. “Who knew” is no longer an excuse.

When opting for adventure travel for team building, there are several factors to keep in mind. First and foremost, it is absolutely essential to choose an adventure travel option that is accessible to all of the members of your team. Differing levels of physical fitness, disabilities that may require accommodation, dietary restrictions and religious affiliations should all be considered when determining the type of adventure travel that is an appropriate choice and will meet your needs.

Since the point of this type of travel is to encourage your employees to work together and to build team spirit, it is exceedingly important that no one will feel left out or will have to decline the experience due to one of the abovementioned factors. While it is true that team building adventure travel should push employees to leave their comfort zones and for the team to find and rely on the different strengths each of member, there is a distinct difference between encouraging a loner to participate and putting someone in an extremely uncomfortable position that alienates them from the rest of the team due to physical characteristics, abilities or beliefs.

Considering these factors during the selection process will assist you in ensuring that you do not waste resources on an ineffective team building experience and will help you avoid the pitfall of setting your team up for failure, rather than success.