Yes, they can

More and more corporates are integrating the differently-abled into the workplace. Kavita Devgan meets both the enabler and the enabled, across a spectrum of services

Thirty-seven-year-old Shilpi Kapoor heads the Mumbai-based Barrier Break Technologies, which specialises in making websites designed for the differently-abled. Besides having designed seven such websites for the government and several international clients, the company also tests existing websites to check how accessible these are to the differently-abled. It also sources specially-designed devices from across the world for people who need them in India. And no, Kapoor does not do this for charity; in fact her business has a sound profit element worked in. After all, it is bread and butter not just for her but also for her 65 employees, 75 per cent of whom are differently-abled.

Kapoor decided to set up this venture when she realised that corporates in India simply weren’t doing enough. She was working in the US and happened to find out that the person she’d been reporting to for the last two years, but hadn’t met, was paralysed neck down. “He worked so efficiently with the help of a sip and puff device (where you keep a pointer in the mouth, which clicks the button on the computer when you puff) that I would never have come to know had he not told me himself. And when he did, I realised just how good the facilities in other countries are for disabled people in the workplace. And how far behind we are. And so unconcerned,” she says.

On her return to India, Kapoor started teaching computer basics to two visually-impaired students at home. Later, she moved on to start a computer training centre for the visually-impaired, funded by the Bill Gates Foundation, in Mumbai. “But I soon realised that all I was doing was giving them hope because nobody wanted to hire them because of their condition. That’s when I launched Barrier Break in 2005, and started hiring them myself. This was a conscious decision, because I genuinely believe that the specialised work is done better by them. Their concentration level is much higher,” she says.

“Take the case of 20-year-old Debashish Alreja, who works with us as a content digitiser. He has Autistic Spectrum Disorder but if I teach him something once, he never ever falters. We have many such exemplary employees,” Kapoor adds.

The Disability Act of 1995 mandates a three per cent job reservation for the differently-abled across government sectors but in reality the figure is much lower (about 0.5 per cent). However, many corporates are now beginning to think like Kapoor. This was amply evident at the recent Helen Keller awards 2010, which, like every year, selected10 role models who led by example to help differently-abled people find positions of equality and dignity in the workplace.

Javed Abidi, honorary director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, pointed out that most of the award-winning organisations were established in India less than a decade ago, and are now training and employing far more differently-abled people as compared to corporate and government organisations that have been here since Independence.

New beginnings
Intelenet, a Mumbai-based BPO with a strength of 32,000 employees, hires 5 per cent uniquely-abled people. “Whether it’s with wheelchairs, crutches, transport or anything else, we make sure that we provide individual support to our differently-abled employees,” says Manuel D’Souza, chief human resource officer, Intelenet Global Services. “These employees at Intelenet are into voice process and engaged in duties such as taking customer complaints to data process entry. The company uses a software called JAWS for this purpose,” he says and goes on to explain, “This software reads out the message word by word, facilitating and enabling the employee to respond to the customer’s query accordingly. The infrastructure too has been tailored to their needs.”

The company has specially-designed washrooms and also provides low floor cabs for its physically-challenged employees. It also ensures that there’s someone to escort them to their work station.

We are hospitable!
The hospitality industry, especially, has taken a leap in this regard. Lemon Tree Hotel Company (a Helen Keller award winner this year) took on board seven differently-abled people who were 100 per cent speech and hearing impaired. Today the number has grown to 46. They plan to increase the current presence of 5 per cent (of their total strength) to 10 per cent. “By 2013, we intend to have least 250 differently-abled people on board,” says Patu Keswani, the company’s chairman and managing director.

At Lemon Tree, these individuals are trained to be at par with other employees. To begin with, they usually operate in the back areas of the hotel where the need for communication is minimal (such as housekeeping, kitchen and laundry). But within two to three months, with the help, support and encouragement of their colleagues, they are part of regular work operations and function independently.

Yum! Restaurants ( India) Pvt Ltd, too, also employs over 160 specially-abled individuals across the country and has seven specially-abled Kentucky Fried Chicken stores where hearing and speech impaired people account for more than 50 per cent of the staff. Yum provides equal employment opportunities with equal pay to all, and rigorously trains them with the help of audio visual modules designed in sign language to ensure that they are effective employees.

To make their integration in the company easier, all managers and buddy trainers are certified in Indian sign languages. Briefings are done on a white board placed at the back of the restaurant, and everyone carries a pocket book and pen. They use vertical bun toasters (to avoid missing the 35-second toasting beep sound), flashing lights in the kitchen and switches at supply base, order taking mouse pads at the cash counters (on which customers can place orders), pen and pad next to the sale counter (for customers to communicate effectively) etc. All these structural changes have been introduced with the aim to make the work environment conducive to the differently-abled employees.

Identifying the gems
The gems and jewellery industry has a huge potential to employ the differently-abled. “We have found that differently-abled people are dedicated and hard working, and have great productivity,” says Mehul Choksi, CMD, Gitanjali Group. Gitanjali Gems Limited has 205 differently-abled employees among its 1, 600 workers — 185 of them have ortho and polio problems and 20 are speech and hearing impaired. The company intends to hire an additional 1,000 differently-abled people in the next three years.

A special training centre operates at the Rajiv Gems Park in the Hyderabad SEZ where differently-abled individuals from Andhra Pradesh undergo a six month training program in diamond cutting, polishing and jewellery manufacturing. In addition to getting complete technical training, behavioural training is also imparted which focuses on soft skills like attitude, motivation, communication, interpersonal skills, discipline etc. “We believe that these are essential to help them realise their full potential,” says Mayuri Asar, manager (Corporate Social Responsibility) Gitanjali Gems.

“The workplace, too, has been modified to make it barrier-free, with lifts, ramps, and special toilets. Wheelchairs are available and seats are reserved for them in the company transport,” she adds.

Taking it further
Helen Keller award winner Sinar Jernih, an Integrated Property Management Services provider based in Chennai, is also doing its bit. Of its total strength of 48 employees, 10 are differently-abled (three being intellectually-impaired). The company is also associated with Need Trust, an NGO which conducted a job fair for persons with disabilities (370 jobs were given) and has started a web job portal, ‘Able Job’ (it also has a vernacular version to expand its reach).

There are also plans to set up a panel of differently-abled experts who can help, guide and provide technical expertise to corporates keen on integrating people like them in the workforce. All with the hope that more and more differently-abled people will be brought to the mainstream.

(Kavita Devgan is a Delhi-based freelance writer)