 "Workers at the factory in Chennai")
Around 30 people are standing in a line assembling mobile phones. Among them is 25-year old Dhanalaxmi, a Class X pass-out and now the sole bread-winner for her family. Dhanalaxmi is speech and hearing impaired, but this becomes evident only when the supervisor uses sign language to give her some instructions. She springs into action and gets the job done, while her colleagues go about their business, unmindful of the exchange between her and the supervisor.
Dhanalaxmi is part of the production staff at the Flex factory in Sriperumbudur, some 40 km from Chennai. There are 4,000 employees at the factory that manufactures mobile phones (one in every 15 seconds), set-top boxes, cartridges, amplifiers, LED bulbs and modems for brands like Motorola, Lenovo and Philips.
Over 50 employees at the factory and 43 at the Flex corporate office are differently-abled. The decision to give employment to people with special needs, which was taken in 2010 as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative, has today created a unique culture at the factory. The integrated work environment has changed the lives of people who were once overlooked or disregarded for jobs.
Initially, the company partnered with the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre in Chennai to impart training to its differently-abled employees. Uma Maheswari Santhanaraj, who joined the company as technical trainee, was identified by Flex to train the employees. It was a learning experience for her too. Today, Santhanaraj acts as the interpreter for the speech and hearing impaired workers at the factory.
"I'm very happy here," Dhanalaxmi communicates through Santhanaraj. "We feel we are no different from the other employees and are treated as equals in a safe and supportive environment." Being able to support her family financially, she says, has changed her life completely.
Her colleague, 30-year-old M Jagan who is physically-challenged, says there was a time when he wasn't sure if he would ever get a job. Today, he sends nearly Rs 15,000 a month to his parents in Puducherry. He was been working at the factory since 2002, when he was offered a job and recruited as trainee. He is now a permanent worker.
Ask them about their plans and each one of them says he or she would like to continue working here. The employees say they feel this is where their future is secure. They know merit is what matters here and it will get them far. "For instance, we have a senior manager who is physically challenged. He shoulders a huge responsibility," says Jagan. "He handles the entire night-shift operations for GBS (Global Business Services ) Finance, a division that provides round-the-clock back-end services to Flex globally and has over 200 employees. He was awarded the 'GBS Star People Manager Award'."
Initially, the company started employing differently-abled staff in its finance department. The next year, the concept was extended to the shop floor. Dhanalaxmi was the first person to be recruited to work at the shop floor.
On the first day at the job, their families are invited to visit the facility so that they know where and in what conditions their dear ones would be working. A welfare officer is put on the job to address whatever concerns they might have. This exercise has gone a long way in making both the employee and his or her family comfortable from Day One.
In the three-week initiation that follows, they are introduced to the corporate culture and the facilities available, and are guided about whom to approach for what. Each employee is attached to a "buddy" who takes them around and familiarises them with the company and its people.
The success of the programme in Chennai has set an example for not only other Flex facilities but also for other manufacturers, says Kannan Srinivasan, senior manager (Human Resources).
Sekaran Letchumanan, head of Flex Chennai Industrial Park, says the staff has given the factory's productivity a boost. The company, he adds, has only benefited from them. Their focus on their work is remarkable, he says. "They don't waste time chatting or lazing around." And, he says, they never quit.
