Ooredoo has announced that 20 retail shop employees have completed sign language training so as to help hearing-impaired customers access products and services.
Ooredoo conducted the training in co-ordination with the Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of Special Needs. Ooredoo staff who complete the training receive a certificate, which recognises them as a "translator assistant", and wear badges that carry the universal sign language icon so that customers can easily recognise them.
Guiding Ooredoo's solutions that help improve communication capabilities for customers with special needs is the company's corporate social responsibility initiative, "Access for All".
One of the key components of "Access for All", which was launched in 2010, is to provide Ooredoo shop employees with training in sign language. Ooredoo trained 20 employees in 2012 and another 20 this year.
Mohamed Saleh al-Marri, chief sales and service officer at Ooredoo, said: "Training our staff in sign language is a cornerstone of our 'Access for All' activities, in partnership with the Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of Special Needs. This training represents our core values of caring, connecting and challenging - caring for people with disabilities, connecting with hearing-impaired customers and challenging us to find and deliver on innovative solutions."
The rigorous sign language course lasts three weeks and instruction is provided by Mohamed al-Binali and Samir Samareen, who are both certified sign language trainers and sign on-air for Al Jazeera programmes.
Ooredoo plans to have staff trained in sign language at all shops in the coming months.
Currently, there are employees trained in sign language at 11 Ooredoo shops across the country. These shops are located in the Al Gharafa LuLu Hypermarket, Al Khor and the Al Khor LuLu Hypermarket, Al Rayyan, Al Wakrah, Dukhan, Hyatt Plaza Mall, Lagoona Mall, Qatar Foundation and on Salwa Road.
The 11th one is the Ooredoo shop on Airport Road, which will provide a fully-immersive Ooredoo brand experience when it opens soon.
Ooredoo has additional staff trained in sign language working in the company's training team, credit control department and back office, in order to provide services for hearing-impaired employees and other stakeholders.
Ooredoo customers with special needs can also receive handsets and accessories tailored to different needs, along with discounts on products and services. Customers can visit the "Access for All" section on the corporate social responsibility page of the Ooredoo website at www.ooredoo.qa
© Gulf Times 2013
