Inclusivity in recruitment
Going the extra mile for our people
In January 2023, our team at the Malden Centre in Surrey asked themselves the question; why should somebody with a disability be excluded from certain roles within the leisure setting?
What our team had to say
"As part of our goal to fill Lifeguard vacancies, we undertook some outreach at Kingston job centres, where we were approached by Luke, a young man with a hearing impairment, who wanted to start a career in leisure.
We looked into how a Luke could communicate with the rest of the team from poolside in a safe manner.
Background noise at poolside could pose problems with existing internal radios, impacting Lukes ability to hear what is being communicated, an integral part of his role and being part of a team.
One of our Duty Managers, Jack, took it onto himself to contact our radio company who were able to provide a “Bluetooth” radio specifically for Luke which would link to his hearing aid.
Upon its arrival, Jack and Luke worked together to go through all the functions and link it to Luke’s hearing aid. They carried out hearing tests to set the appropriate volume before going live. The radio has had a huge impact with Luke and his ability to communicate with his colleagues. He feels much more included with the team.
Not only did this mean that we were “safely” able to recruit Luke, it opened up opportunities for future deaf sessions in the pool hall for both staff and customers. We are also now looking to promote deaf sessions at the pool in the knowledge that technology is available."
Here's what Luke had to say
"I have never come across a company that has gone out of their way to ensure a disabled member of staff did not feel excluded from a role.
The simple act of even looking into a suitable radio to link in with the hearing aid just shows that Places Leisure is an inclusive employer who cares for their “internal Customer” i.e. Me!"
