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Twm, HR Advisor

Gilfach Goch  |  Moderately deaf  |  Two hearing aids

My Job

I speak to managers regarding team members’ attendance and coach them to offer support to help team members return to work and avoid further absences. It can vary from issuing warnings to putting adjustments in place. I like to think that as someone who has previously had to have adjustments in place, I am able to support managers to think about what can be done. I really enjoy my job and it is such an exciting place to work with opportunities always being offered to progress. I always feel happy knowing that I can give someone the advice to help them carry out their job the best they can.

My technology

I am lucky enough that the hearing aids I currently have are good enough to suit my needs, and I haven’t had to have any adjustments put in place. However, when I first started in BT as a Call Centre Advisor I did have a referral to assess the equipment and I was given an adapted headset to block out background noise. I was also offered a separate room. I didn’t need that at the time, but it was good to know that was an option for me. The referral was completed by AbilityNet and the whole process was really smooth from arranging appointments to getting the equipment.

Although I don’t currently have any technology adjustments in place I am confident that if I ever felt my hearing got worse or started to struggle my employer would be very accommodating and make any changes they needed to for me.

How I got here

When I finished my A levels I wanted to start making money so completed an apprenticeship in Customer Care which were skills I can transfer anywhere. If you know to deal with someone shouting at you, you can deal with anything! I then took the jump to HR in December 2018 and it’s the best thing I have done. I do believe I have worked really hard to be where I am and have been pro-active. I do believe it is more about what I can offer rather than grades.

My advice

My advice would be to speak up! If you need something, ask for it and any reasonable business would make those adjustments you need. There will be something that can help you which you may never have thought about.