Bridging the gap
Postwoman Tamara Hudson has been teaching the team in Harlow to sign some basic Royal Mail-related words and phrases, to help improve inclusion for her deaf colleagues.
Click here to watch Tamara and her colleagues in action signing the new words they have learned.
‘Tamaras Signed Songs UK’ YouTube channel currently has more than 1,200 subscribers, who tune in to watch Tamara sign along to the deaf community’s favourite songs.
Tamara is a native signer whose mum is profoundly deaf and also works at the Harlow office. She took it upon herself to help improve engagement with the seven other colleagues in her delivery office, who are also either profoundly deaf or have hearing impairments.
Jim Matthews, supporting performance lead, said: ‘I know Tamara’s mum personally and she is a lovely lady who works very hard. As you will see from the video, the phrases are very basic, but they allow some simple day-to-day connections to be made with our people.
‘The ability to communicate in this simple, but effective way, also extends to our customers whether it be on the doorstep or in our customer service point, providing yet another reason to use Royal Mail over our competitors in the Harlow area.
‘Tamara’s work has been welcomed locally and also via the world of social media. Tamara has now received more than 50,000 hits from across the world for what she has done in raising awareness of how isolated so many people may feel when they have a disability like this and how just a simple gesture can make such a huge difference.’
‘This has been a huge step within the office,’ said Tamara. ‘For many years, we have had deaf colleagues who have struggled with communication and missed out on vital information. To be able to provide that bridge of communication and see the enthusiasm behind it’s really fantastic!
‘The feedback received from other deaf colleagues within Royal Mail across the country has been really positive. Hopefully, this is the start of something and Royal Mail will roll this out so that all colleagues are given the opportunity to either learn a few signs or be made deaf aware to help deaf colleagues feel more a part of the team and deaf customers feel more inclusive in the outside world.’
Supporting our people
As one of the UK’s biggest employers, we are committed to putting equality and diversity at the heart of our business. Call our internal disability helpline on 0800 028 6142 for advice if you are a disabled employee or manager looking for support with organising reasonable adjustments.
For more information on how to obtain support from our Disability steering group or if you would like advice on managing someone with a disability, please contact DisabilitySteeringGroup@royalmail.com.
