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Article Excerpt
Paula--not her real name--was a Verizon Wireless supervisor of customer service representatives when she was diagnosed with progressive corneal degeneration. Over time, her vision deteriorated; although she has some sight, she is legally blind.
Paula was always a highly motivated and well-respected employee, but her performance declined as she coped with physical and psychological issues connected with losing her vision. Verizon Wireless' HR professionals implemented three strategies to support her.
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First, we empowered information technology, facilities and HR employees at her location to partner with Paula, our national human resource team and a disability management vendor.
Second, we made technological accommodations--including screen-reading and magnification software--and provided appropriate training. One application--our call-monitoring graphics software--remained inaccessible, so Paula monitors calls the old-fashioned way, periodically observing each representative, listening to calls and creating personal monitoring reports.
Third, we temporarily reduced the number of Paula's direct reports from 12 to eight. As Paula grew more confident with her new tools, we gradually restored representatives to her team. She was supervising a full team within six months.
Such disabilities can strike at any time. They can happen suddenly or develop gradually. They can be visible and obvious, such as an injury, or may be a condition with no outward signs, one that comes to the employer's attention only when an employee discloses it.
Until about five years ago, Verizon Wireless' efforts in accommodating our employees with disabilities tended to be uneven and reactive rather than systematic and...
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