{"id":23388,"date":"2024-03-13T14:44:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T13:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/de\/?p=35076"},"modified":"2024-09-05T13:15:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T11:15:29","slug":"inclusion-at-toom-a-hearing-impaired-employee-does-an-impressive-job-in-the-store-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/press-and-media\/newsroom\/stories\/inclusion-at-toom-a-hearing-impaired-employee-does-an-impressive-job-in-the-store-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusion at toom: A hearing-impaired employee does an impressive job in the store environment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The REWE Group has launched many projects and partnerships, such as corporate volunteering, aimed at improving diversity and inclusion. Through numerous measures, we encourage inclusion in the workplace and seek to give as many employees as possible the opportunity to use their talents in a barrier-free environment.<\/p>\n

Mario Boy, 30, is hearing-impaired and works as a system merchandiser in a toom component laboratory. He wanted to spend a few days seeing what life is like in the stores \u2013 an experience that is the norm for anyone who works at toom headquarters. How did it go? How does Mario Boy deal with the barriers and resistance he encounters in his day-to-day work? We talked with him about his experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Responsibilities at toom range from receiving goods, working in a warehouse and handling distribution to positions as sales representatives, IT specialists and marketing managers. The daily lives of employees at headquarters are generally very different from those of employees working in the DIY stores. So it\u2019s all the more important that employees on both sides know something about the day-to-day work of their counterparts.<\/p>\n

In particular, those who work at company headquarters need to be familiar with the work their colleagues in the stores do every day. That is why, during their training, they are required to spend a few days in the store environment. This requirement did not apply to system merchandiser Mario Boy because of his hearing impairment, since he would need assistance in order to participate. He explains in our interview how, years later, he was ultimately able to have that experience at the toom DIY store in Villingen-Schwenningen and why it was so important to him.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Mario, why did you want to experience working in a store?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mario Boy: <\/strong>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\u2019t 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\u2019t know how the stores handle product exchanges, for example, or the best ways to support my colleagues in that context.<\/p>\n

Having worked at the component lab since 2019, I finally wanted to change the situation \u2013 for my own sake, and to be better able to assist Christoph, my boss. Christoph and I reached out to toom\u2019s disability representatives and several regional sales managers. The disability representatives didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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What a happy coincidence! Can you explain to us, as non-experts, why it was so important to have someone there to assist you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mario Boy:<\/strong> 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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What were your responsibilities at the store? Were there any similarities to your regular job?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

At the component lab, I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t taken into account one thing, namely that there aren\u2019t 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\u2019s incredibly exhausting, more so than you would expect!<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Can you describe the highlights of your experience? What did you like best? And least?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mario Boy: <\/strong>The best thing was having Joshua there to assist me, and he let me try everything. I was able to do much more on my own than I had imagined. Among other things, I cut carpeting, turf and wood, and I was able to operate the electric lift truck, removing items from the shelves. Joshua was always there to encourage me and offer tips about the best way to do things. I loved the fact that he had such confidence in me.<\/p>\n

What didn\u2019t I like? I\u2019m at a loss to answer \u2013 overall, I found working in the store to be a wonderful experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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What insights did you gain?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mario Boy: <\/strong>As I mentioned, work at the component lab is quite straightforward. We put together a component, it looks great \u2013 and we\u2019re done.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very different in the store. I was almost shocked by how things look in the flesh. The customers really make a mess \u2013 and that surprised me. (He laughs) It makes sense, but I\u2019d never thought about it. I\u2019ll definitely remember that the next time I\u2019m planning a component. Real life happens in the store, and you have to keep that in mind.<\/p>\n

And unlike me, our colleagues in the stores don\u2019t have flexible working hours, of course. The day starts at 8 a.m. Working fixed hours takes some getting used to. (He smiles.) And when one person is sick, another has to stay longer to take care of customers. In that respect, the people working in the stores do have a harder job. I was amazed at how different Joshua and I are in terms of our routines and attitudes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Did you encounter any difficulties because of your disability? Were there any aspects of the job that you couldn\u2019t handle?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mario Boy: In situations like this, my biggest issue is communication. For example: I\u2019m completely at a loss when customers come to me and ask \u201cWhere can I find…?\u201c \u2013 first because I don\u2019t understand the question, and second because I don\u2019t know the store well enough. Rather than giving a wrong answer, I would leave it to Joshua to handle questions.<\/p>\n

Moreover, my self-confidence quickly plummets every time I have to say, \u201cCould you please repeat that? Unfortunately, I\u2019m having trouble hearing you because of my hearing impairment.\u201c Some people respond by becoming annoyed and unpleasant.<\/p>\n

Another issue is that people in Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg speak a very different dialect, and it\u2019s much harder for me to read their lips. For that reason, and because I wasn\u2019t familiar with the store and didn\u2019t want to provide false information, I would always ask them to wait for my colleague, explaining that it was my first day on the job. Most customers would accept that response. But of course there are always some people who refuse to wait and become rather nasty \u2013 especially because they may have had trouble understanding me and have noticed my hearing impairment. I guess that made things a bit more difficult. Still, I wouldn\u2019t have missed this experience for anything. I learned a lot \u2013 and I was also happy to see Joshua again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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    Mario Boy talks about his experience working in a store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":21350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","nl_adhoc_sent":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"sales_line":[29],"focus_theme":[142],"class_list":["post-23388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers","sales_line-toom","focus_theme-undefined"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23388"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23408,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23388\/revisions\/23408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23388"},{"taxonomy":"sales_line","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sales_line?post=23388"},{"taxonomy":"focus_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/focus_theme?post=23388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}