• By quade
• 29 August 2024

BPO Players Support PBDN’s Annual Conference on Disability Inclusion

Teleperformance BPO has announced its support as one of the many companies that have sponsored the Philippine Business and Disability Network (PBDN). This organization has long advocated for stronger inclusion of People With Disabilities (PWDs) in the workforce.

To continue their fight for equality, the PBDN has hosted its third annual conference on Disability Inclusion. This event takes place in the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia Complex and focuses on how workplaces like BPOs can provide for greater accessibility to PWD employees.

PBDN Advocates Beinging More PWDs Into the Workforce

This year, the PBDN has themed its conference “Working Beyond Barriers: When Social Good Meets Business Sense,” and aims to show concrete steps that businesses such as BPOs can take to allow more PWDs to work there. To help with this plan, the conference has gathered policymakers, advocates, and leaders from across different industries.

BPOs are one of the largest employers and economic contributors to the country. They can also offer countless opportunities to PWDs if the right steps are taken. As a result, many BPO players are paying close attention to this conference.

One such PWD worker is Aileen Sibal, a deaf employee who works as part of TP’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team. During this event, she shared her insights into working with Teleperformance and how they have become a more inclusive environment for PWDs like her.

“At Teleperformance in the Philippines, we ensure that Filipino Sign Language (FSL) interpreters are available at all our events. We encourage our leaders and employees nationwide to take formal FSL lessons,”

-Aileen Sibal, TP HR associate

TP joined OBDN in September 2020 as part of their growing programs for inclusivity in the workforce. Among these policies is implementing an annual disability sensitivity training for all its employees.

Teleperformance boasts a partnership with the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS) where they host training establishments for the DLS-CSB Student Internship Program. This gives those deaf students more opportunities to gain experience in major BPOs and allows the organizations to make full use of their talents.

Benefits of the PBDN Programs

According to Robie Ner Monasillo, one of the new interns with hearing issues, Teleperformance has helped accommodate her. She claimed that she joined because they could provide her with valuable experience and develop her skills in graphic design.

“I think I can learn a lot here and gain valuable experience for my future. I hope to improve my graphic skills for professional development and contribute to the company.”

-Robie Ner Monasillo, employee at Teleperformance.

Another intern, Vee Jahnsen Agatep also pointed out the importance of training and how this can secure future employment outside the company. The skills he learns here can be carried over to other jobs which only further improves the industry such as the training he received in video editing. 

“I hope I can contribute to the company and apply for a permanent role here in the future. I want to use these skills for marketing, advocacy, and to help the community.”

-Archie Drilon, employee at Teleperformance.

Even with these positive developments, Teleperformance plans on launching its 2nd run of Project Echo. This will focus on hiring additional deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals across the selected TP sites nationwide.

How PBDN Can Benefit BPOs?

This latest conference by PBDN highlights an important but underutilized sector for BPO industries. So rarely do many players consider the importance of PWDs. Even though they are often overlooked, they are just as skilled as other workers and can provide a vital untapped source of expertise.

By providing them with extra training, companies can access these skills which can range from video editing, graphic design, and HR. All it takes is a bit of sensitivity in dealing with them. More importantly, this helps the industry as a whole.

BPOs have managed to provide employment opportunities to countless people. It is only fair that the PWDs share in the benefits. Like with existing programs, this allows us to recruit workers while they are still young and provide them with valuable work experience so long as we follow the PBDN requirements.