Deaf awareness excellence

We have beenhighlighted by a national charity, for the quality of service weprovidefor customers and staff with hearing difficulties.

In a new report called Working for Change, Action on Hearing Loss (AOHL) the national charity for people with deafness or hearing loss, identified usas a business that provides excellent levels of service and accessibility for customers and employees who are deaf or hard of hearing.


WPD Contact Centre Adviser, Kate Kenny pictured answering calls from customers.

The report follows a survey by YouGov, commissioned by the charity which polled over 600 businesses across the UK to gain understanding and insight into good practice which could be replicated.

The survey presents findings of its research plus recommendations on how to improve attitudes to hearing loss in the workplace.

We arean equal opportunities employer and holder of the AOHL Louder than Words Charter Mark, we wereone of only five UK businesses from the 618 polled to be interviewed in a bid to gain more understanding of good practice and attitudes to hearing loss.

Employees with hearing loss were also interviewed and their comments used as good examples of how businesses can help staff in their day to day tasks by providing simple but effective solutions.

One of them, Kate Kenny, a WPD Contact Centre Adviser in Derby explained: “I’ve worked for the company for three years and when I joined they knew exactly what to do. They arranged for me to have a work based assessment and then an advisor recommended a telephone amplifier and handset that best suited my needs.

“Initially I had been concerned about how my hearing loss would impact on the job when I applied for it, but at no point did WPD mention it which reassured me that I could do the job.

Laura Cook, AOHL’s Senior Research and Policy Officer said: “We applaud WPD for taking really positive steps to employ people with hearing loss and to make the workplace inclusive. We want to see this attitude replicated across the country and in all sorts of workplaces.”