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Simon Couper is a profoundly deaf IT developer who does not use sign
language, but needs to lip read to understand conversations. He recently
graduated from the University of Leeds with an MA in Military History.
After a year-long search for the right job, he joined a scheme that provides
placements for disabled graduates.
At first I was sceptical when I heard of Ford Motor Company's ambitions
and commitment to diversity. Many large corporations define their policies,
print the literature and give out funds to good causes, but have they
really looked at themselves and their practices? Are they doing it to
follow the crowd, or are they a true leader in diversity? To make a real
difference you need to take the lead and go beyond the norm by setting
benchmarks for others to achieve.
I joined Ford in March 2000 as one of its first Fast Track trainees. Fast
Track is a scheme run by the charity Scope, in partnership with several
corporations, to provide disabled graduates the opportunity to prove what
they can do in the workplace. The scheme consists of a 12-month contract
of employment, made up of two six-month secondments to partner organisations.
To date the Fast Track scheme has a 100 per cent success rate with trainees
gaining permanent employment with their placement companies or with other
organisations. This is what attracted me to the scheme as I found that
I had become disillusioned with recruitment processes when I graduated
from university. I was almost screaming at interviewers to just give me
a chance to prove what I can do. So when I joined Ford on a six-month
placement my first thought was would I, as I have in the past, get buried
under paperwork, processes and authorisations to get the assistance I
needed to do my job?
First impressions
What happened when I arrived at the offices in Essex? First, I was amazed
by the amount of effort that had been put in prior to my arrival. My immediate
manager had been on a disability awareness day to help him understand
some of the things he would have to do to adapt to my deafness.
The awareness sessions covered virtually all disabilities, so he had a
good all round knowledge. When I met him he knew that he needed to keep
his mouth clear to enable me to lip read and use diagrams to explain complex
ideas or systems. These are small details that make all the difference
to someone like me arriving in an alien environment.
Quick to offer help
Within the first week I was introduced to other deaf employees to find
out their experiences and try out their aids. The best was a conference
aid that would help me to hear what everyone is saying in meetings. Previously
I had used a small ball (or any kind of small non-breakable object) and
the person who wants to talk has to hold the ball. This is a good tool
to bring some discipline to a rowdy meeting.
When I introduced the idea to people who were chairing meetings, they
were somewhat cynical now they use the ball in chaotic meetings
even when I am absent! The pace of the meeting slows down, but this ensures
that its sense of direction is not lost. A simple idea but it works so
in the next meeting that you feel is getting beyond control
try it!
The conference aid I was introduced to in my first week is more suited
to larger meetings where the ball concept is not ideal, as it takes too
long to pass it around. A microphone sits in the middle of the room, picks
up the conversation and directs it to my hearing aids via the receiver
I wear. Any speakers can wear the microphone if they are giving a presentation
to the group. The aid is expensive, but Ford was more than willing to
buy one for me.
As for telecommunications, I tend to use email or Microsoft Net Meeting.
In the event of someone needing to phone me I have a textphone on my desk.
A textphone account was set up for me within days in some other
places I had worked it took weeks. The use of textphones is easy: I can
be called direct by using the prefix 18001 before my number, and a Typetalk
operator relays the conversation if the call is answered. However, this
will not work on internal phone systems.
So what happens if a visitor tries to phone from reception to let me know
they have arrived? Ford offered an excellent solution. Visitors can text-page
me via SMS to my mobile phone, and this even works via the company's intranet.
When a colleague requests my contact details on the Ford intranet, a button
comes up next to my phone number and, when selected, enables them to send
an SMS message to me. My mobile phone is a Nokia 9110i, which means I
can receive faxes while I am on the move very useful when I am totally
lost and can send an SMS to the person I am meeting asking them to fax
a map with directions.
For me the best tool within the company is a group of employees called
the
Disability Action Group (DAG). The emphasis is always on 'Action' and getting
things done rather than just meeting up and talking about issues. Anybody
can talk about disability issues, but implementing the solution or change
is what separates a success from a failure. At each meeting you can see
issues being resolved and new ones identified. The drive of the group is
relentless and my colleagues' determination to make a difference is infectious.
Getting down to action
The group has a wide network of contacts across the company from recruitment
to the building facilities department. We constantly consult and talk with
external organisations and have presentations from groups such as the Disability
Rights Commission (DRC).
Recently the group visited the Mobility and General Information Centre (MAGIC)
in Swindon, a centre funded by Ford which seeks to provide information,
not advice, to the UK's disabled drivers. It is not Ford's intention to
sell more cars, but to provide disabled drivers with the means to ake their
own decision about what car would be suitable for them.
Over 20 per cent of MAGIC's staff have a disability themselves, which sadly
is a unique figure in the workplace today. However, the centre is ground-breaking
and should be held up as the standard for other companies to achieve and
surpass.
The key to the company's success is that diversity issues, including disability,
are driven from the top and are combined with the proactive attitude of
the DAG. In addition, a senior manager with the network and influence to
make things happen champions the DAG. These three main ingredients make
a good recipe for success.
Throughout my six-month tenure the company has offered me its full support.
Today I come in to work knowing that I can do a good job. I can focus on
my work and not worry about whether I will be missing anything crucial about
the applications I am working on.
With the tools I have I can show my true potential and ability in the workplace.
Such a feeling of contentment is hard to achieve and even harder to find,
but I feel I have found mine here. That is why when the company offered
me a permanent job I said yes before I had even looked at the full package
on offer.
The company deserves a pat on the back for its achievements as well as its
efforts but, knowing Ford, it will not be resting on its laurels. The company
will be endeavouring to make its policy of best practice even better practice.
The Fast Track scheme recruits eight disabled graduates every year.
For more information about the scheme and how to apply see its website at:
www.fast-trackpartnership.co.uk
For further information about this article contact Simon Couper at email:
scouper@ford.com
Posted: 21 Jan, 2002, Ability issue 41 |
