Client

Creating an inclusive people strategy for deaf and hard of hearing talent

Deaf Awareness Week takes place annually in the UK and its focus this year is on inclusion.12 million adults in the UK have a hearing disability and creating awareness is key for actively supporting the Deaf and hard of hearing workforce.Throughout recent years, we have seen a positive shift in company culture and inclusion. More awareness is being raised every year about the best ways to support disabled talent, starting with the recruitment process through to how we collaborate as a team. It can be difficult for some hearing typical people to comprehend what it is like to have a hearing disability and how everyday interactions can cause anxiety and stress. Thus, it is important to educate yourself and your teams about the different types and causes of deafness to create awareness and help everyone communicate effectively.

Many employees do not disclose their hearing disability at work for fear it will negatively affect their career journey and how their employer will perceive them. Research by the Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD) highlights the difficulties faced by deaf people in the workplace with 63% not being given equal opportunities in the workplace and just over half (53%) not feeling supported at work. Accessibility and inclusion are the main challenges, and a further statistic shows that 83% of respondents have been excluded from conversations with colleagues.

As members of the hard of hearing and Deaf community, Daisy Marriott, Marketing Executive at Adecco, and Spencer Collins, Researcher at Adecco Housing have first-hand experience of the challenges associated with having a hearing disability. They want to create positive change in the workplace and ensure that future generations don’t face the same challenges. In a recent Q&A interview, they gave guidance and advice on how employers can create more inclusive cultures for deaf and hard of hearing talent.

The interview process

Make sure you ask ahead of time if your candidates need any adjustments to be made for their interview. If they disclose the information that they have a hearing disability, you should offer extra support for the interview depending on their needs.

“Access to Work” support

As an employer, you can make sure your candidate is aware that they can apply for “Access to Work” support. It can help pay for communication support at a job interview for a candidate who is Deaf or hard of hearing and needs a BSL interpreter or lip speaker.

Communication support

there might already be a communication support worker accompanying your candidate to the interview, and depending on the candidate’s hearing level, a sign language interpreter may be needed. during the interview, ensure lipreading is as easy as possible for candidates by speaking clearly and not covering your mouth or exaggerating lip movements. if you are having a virtual interview, please ensure live captions are enabled in your meeting.

Meeting the team

Meeting the team on your first day in an office can be a daunting prospect for anyone, but it can be made worse by a hearing disability. as an employer, you can definitely provide support to your new hire and facilitate the onboarding process.

Introductions in person

Talk to your employee and ask them if they would be comfortable with an in-person introduction to each team member. some deaf and hard of hearing people will enjoy meeting others in person for the first time and this could help them feel included. you could book a quiet private space for one-to-one introductions and invite their communication support worker to be present.

The virtual option

others might prefer having a virtual interaction for the first time to save the stress of having to lip-read without any assistive technology. virtual introductions can be spaced out over the course of a week to not overwhelm your employee on their first day.

Utilising technology in meetings

There are so many technologies available today that can support the deaf workforce. organisations should be willing to make reasonable adjustments so that employees can bring their best selves to work. to make the workplace more inclusive, these are some of the latest available tools you can look into:

MS Teams Live Captions

With real-time captioning, ms teams can detect what’s being said in a meeting. if you have enabled the new meeting experience, your captions will include speaker attribution, so you’ll know who’s speaking. it is useful for all team members to be aware of the live caption function in MS teams.

Google Live Transcribe

Alive transcribe, google’s recent asr release, transcribes speech into text in real time. it can be useful for people who are deaf and attend conferences or in-person meetings, for example. the words spoken will appear on the phone of the user and there are about 70 different languages supported by the tech.

Live transcribe, google’s recent asr release, transcribes speech into text in real time. it can be useful for people who are deaf and attend conferences or in-person meetings, for example. the words spoken will appear on the phone of the user and there are about 70 different languages supported by the tech.

Accessibility and safety in your office

Ensuring accessibility and safety in the office is crucial for each and every employee. the following are some examples of how safety can be inclusive and accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing workforce.

Visual and sensory alarm

Fire safety plans must include smoke detectors with red flashing lights for employees that cannot hear the audible alarm and a vibrating alarm pager may be useful for some individuals. red calling cards should be placed outside the toilet walls so any colleague or communication support worker can notify the person who is deaf by sliding the card underneath the toilet door to alert them of an emergency.

Educate and upskill

To ensure the safety of deaf and hard of hearing employees it is vital to educate not only them about fire safety but everyone on the team. practice fire safety drills regularly and watch videos with subtitles or in british sign language. be sure that everyone in the workplace especially the elected fire marshals understand the emergency plan and can practice it together in case of a fire.

Small changes can make a big difference and by educating your teams and leadership on each of the areas mentioned in this article you can support the Deaf and hard of hearing community in the workplace. Here at Adecco, we are experienced and passionate about creating inclusive cultures and making the future work for everyone. For guidance with inclusive recruitment please contact Elyse Hodgess, D&I Committee Chair, Associate Director of Housing for Adecco UK, and advocate for neurodiverse and disabled talent.