Inclusion at toom: A hearing-impaired employee does an impressive job in the store environment

Mario Boy: Employees are normally required to spend a few days working in a store as part of their training. Because of the challenges posed by my hearing impairment, however, I didn’t feel able to do that at the time. The requirement was waived for me. But the component lab is closely linked to the stores, and I had little insight into them. Lacking experience, I didn’t know how the stores handle product exchanges, for example, or the best ways to support my colleagues in that context.

Having worked at the component lab since 2019, I finally wanted to change the situation – for my own sake, and to be better able to assist Christoph, my boss. Christoph and I reached out to toom’s disability representatives and several regional sales managers. The disability representatives didn’t know anyone who spoke sign language and could support me while I was working at a store. Fortunately, a regional sales manager soon put me in touch with a man in Albstadt who was willing to help me after his transfer to Villingen-Schwenningen. As luck would have it, the colleague, Joshua, and I already knew each other.

Mario Boy: Although Joshua has mastered only a few signs, he already knew exactly the kind of support my disability required. It was helpful in a number of situations that he has some familiarity with sign language. He is also aware of the need to look at me when speaking so I can read his lips, and he knows that it’s best to speak slowly. Other colleagues can do that too, of course, but the fact that Joshua was already used to interacting with me and did these things automatically made everything easier.

Mario Boy: The toom component lab is responsible for preparing items from our product line for presentation in the stores, using prototypes and shelf displays. The product line consists of several modules. So there are certainly similarities between my work and that of my store-based colleagues.

At the component lab, I’m mainly responsible for documentation and assembling the modules. I also see to it that parts are assigned to the appropriate store and replace articles in the module with successor products or updated packaging.

Joshua gave me a brief tour of the store, then my work began immediately. Our first assignment was to handle product returns, which went very well. We then checked a few components in anticipation of the upcoming autumn review, which would include an inspection of all components. I expected it to be a quick process, maybe an hour, but I was mistaken! We spent an entire day on that task. I hadn’t taken into account one thing, namely that there aren’t any customers in the component lab. Aside from Joshua and me, only one other employee was on the floor at the store. So we spent most of our time helping customers. It’s incredibly exhausting, more so than you would expect!

Overall, I was really surprised at how much I was able to do. Joshua was looking over my shoulder, but I really pitched in and did the job. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.