- By quade
- 4 December 2023
BPO Tech Advancements Provide New Horizons for PWD Staff Members
MANILA— On Wednesday, the business process outsourcing (BPO) company Accenture said that it is giving its PWD (persons with disabilities) staff members new tools to help them succeed at work.
Rudy Guiao, the Inclusion and Diversity Lead for Global Infrastructure Shared Services at Accenture, announced during a press conference that the company has begun providing blind employees with We Walk, a smart cane that can be coupled with a phone app to provide walking directions to their home or workplace.
In addition, a bone conduction headset—which enables sound to pass through one’s facial bones and directly into the inner ear—works in tandem with the cane and app.
MANILA: Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are receiving new tools from business process outsourcing (BPO) company Accenture on Wednesday to help them succeed at work.
We Walk, a smart cane that can be coupled with a phone app that provides employees with walking directions to their home or office, is being provided to blind employees by Accenture, according to Rudy Guiao, the company’s inclusion and diversity lead for global infrastructure shared services, at a media conference.
Together with the software, the cane creates a bone conduction headset that enables sound waves to pass through the bones in the face and into the inner ear.
On November 29, 2023, staff members at Accenture’s Mandaluyong City headquarters show how to deploy VR assistive technology equipment for the company’s disabled employees.
This is in addition to the assistive devices Accenture already offers its employees with disabilities, which include wheelchairs that are manual or automatic, color-coded and Braille-stickered keyboards, and software that converts speech responses into text during conference and video calls.
Guiao claimed that in addition to helping their employees with disabilities, they also give them the mental health support they require.
“We have iTalk. iTalk is another partner of Accenture wherein we can actually talk to them, we have counselors that are available 24/7 to give counseling to our employees who are in need of guidance, advice from professionals.”
– Guiao
Additionally, he mentioned that their Microsoft Teams platform has apps integrated into it that let workers listen to relaxing audio while at work.
According to Guiao, PWDs make up more than 3% of Accenture’s workforce in the Philippines.
“We have an unwavering commitment to continue to provide opportunities, it’s equal opportunities for everyone.”
– Guiao
“We are not discriminating, we are open for any genders, any disabilities. So whatever growth opportunities that we have an Accenture, it’s always open for everyone. And we can confidently say that when you join Accenture, we celebrate the uniqueness of each individual,”
– Guiao
