Inclusive Recruitment - meet Yasmin

Great communication isn't always about hearing every word.

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Get to know Yasmin

Yasmin is 45 and has more than 20 years’ experience working in administration. Highly organised, dependable and calm under pressure, she has built her career around keeping things running smoothly, supporting colleagues and customers and making sure the details don’t get missed.

Over time, Yasmin experienced gradual hearing loss and now wears hearing aids. It hasn’t changed her ability to do her job, but it has changed the environments and ways of communicating that work best for her. She is confident in one-to-one conversations and has excellent written communication skills, but busy environments, overlapping conversations and poor-quality audio can make communication more difficult.

After recently being made redundant, Yasmin is looking for her next opportunity. With two decades of experience behind her, she knows the value she can bring to an organisation. But she is also conscious that disclosing her hearing loss during recruitment can sometimes lead employers to focus on what she might struggle with rather than the experience, professionalism and capability she brings.

For Yasmin, inclusive recruitment isn’t about lowering expectations. It’s about removing unnecessary barriers so she has the same opportunity to demonstrate what she can do.

A day in the life

Yasmin spends time searching for suitable administrative roles, researching employers and tailoring applications to reflect her experience.

When considering an opportunity, she also looks for clues about how inclusive the recruitment process will be. Will an initial conversation automatically take place over the phone? Are captions available for an online interview? Will she be interviewed somewhere quiet enough to hear the conversation clearly? And, importantly, will she feel comfortable asking for an adjustment without worrying that it might affect how she is perceived?

Simple options such as email communication, live captions or a quiet interview environment can remove these barriers without changing what Yasmin is being assessed on: her ability to do the job.

  • More than 20 years’ administrative experience
  • Excellent written communication skills
  • Strong organisation and attention to detail
  • Extensive customer service experience
  • Calm and professional under pressure
  • Reliable and dependable
  • Adaptable and resilient
  • Confident communicating one-to-one
  • Strong planning and prioritisation skills
  • Hearing loss means someone cannot communicate effectively
  • Hearing aids restore hearing completely
  • People with hearing loss will struggle in customer-facing roles
  • Adjustments will be complicated or expensive
  • Telephone communication is essential for administrative roles
  • Asking someone to repeat themselves means they have not understood the conversation
  • Hearing loss limits someone’s ability to work effectively as part of a team
  • Focus on Yasmin’s experience, skills and professional track record
  • Don’t assume hearing loss means poor communication
  • Recognise that people with hearing loss have different needs and preferences
  • Ask what communication methods work best rather than making assumptions
  • Avoid defining Yasmin by her hearing loss
  • Recognise written communication as an equally valuable professional skill
  • Focus on removing communication barriers rather than changing the individual

Small changes make a big difference

An inclusive recruitment process would give Yasmin the opportunity to demonstrate her experience and ability without unnecessary communication barriers. Providing clear information, offering different ways to communicate and making straightforward adjustments can help ensure she is assessed on her suitability for the role rather than her hearing loss.

Small changes that could make a big difference:

  • Offer email as an alternative to telephone communication
  • Ask candidates about communication or accessibility requirements in advance
  • Hold interviews in quiet environments with minimal background noise
  • Ensure only one person speaks at a time during panel or group interviews
  • Provide live captions for online interviews
  • Share key information or interview instructions in writing
  • Make sure the interviewer is clearly visible to support lip reading where appropriate
  • Train recruiters and hiring managers on hearing loss and inclusive communication
  • Create an environment where requesting an adjustment feels normal and welcome.
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