Learning to Communicate

The manager of the World Bank Fitness Center in Washington, D.C., shares experiences and insights gained from employing an intern who is deaf.

By Mike James

The phone rang in n1y office on a typically busy day in February 2004. "Hello, Mr. James. This is the phone relay service calling for a Ms. Jenny Stack. Have YOU used a phone relay service before?"

"No," I said warily, suspecting another telemarketing firm was about to regale me with the latest and greatest money making scheme. But this was no sales ruse. It was a call from a young student interested in an internship with our corporate fit ness center. Jenny Stack explained, via the relay operator, that she was in her final year of physical education studies at Ga1laudet University. (Gallaudet is almost exclusively made lip of hearing-and sight-impaired students.) She had heard about the World Bank Fitness Center, and was interested in broadening her experience in a fitness center environment.

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL INVOLVED

The World Bank is a proud equal opportunity employer that makes accommodating employees with disabilities a high human resources priority. After discussions with my management team, we decided to reward Jenny's initiative, and also demonstrate our support of the World Bank's vision.

Even with 20 years' management experience, I had rarely dealt with deaf people in a professional or personal setting. My staff shared this lack of exposure to deaf people. We knew there would be some challenges, but rather than see it a problem, we saw it as a great opportunity ~or learning and personal growth.

People with disabilities are an unexplored and underused source of employment for fitness centers. Working with Jenny has been a terrific experience for members, staff and management of the World Bank Fitness Center.

A LEARNING PROCESS

We decided that our mantra for Jenny?s time with us would be "No limits." This was not going to just be a token gesture; Jenny would be expected to do everything other fitness staff members do, from teaching classes to interacting with members, taking assessments and participating in staff meetings. If there were difficulties, we would find a way around them.

Our "No limits" policy started with the pre-employment interview. We wanted to assess Jenny's suitability for working in the World Bank Fitness Center in the unusual fashion. She would be asked the same questions we ask any prospective staff or intern:

The learning process started il11mediatelv. Never having worked with sign language interpreters before, we were unsure of the appropriate protocols and etiquette. During the interview, the interpreter sat beside me. Jenny and her course advisor from Gallaudet sat directly across hom us.

When I spoke to Jenny, her gaze was fixed on the interpreter, who was signing. T soon learned to talk directly to Jenny, and avoid acting like a tennis spectator by constantly turning my head throughout the conversation. Deaf people find this frustrating, especially when questions are directed through the interpreter, such as "Ask her if' or "Tell her that."

DEAF AWARENESS TRAINING

Once we had established that Jenny would be a good fit for us, we worked closely with the course advisors from Gallaudet to provide a deaf awareness training seminar. Tills seminar was held one week before Jenny started her internship. We made sure that staff members from all spheres of our operation, including maintenance, fitness, group exercise, custodial and management, attended.

The seminar was conducted by two Gallaudet staff, who were also both deaf. The two-hour session served as both an introduction to deaf culture and as a way to introduce Jenny to staff members. Jenny is what is termed "profoundly deaf," with less than 2 percent hearing, and unable to lip read or communicate by voice.

The information provided ranged from acceptable ways to communicate with a: deaf person, habits to avoid and some basic signs for communication.

MEMBERS' REACTION

Members' reactions have been very positive. It helps that Jenny is a friendly person who is always willing to help. She now teaches Abs Express classes, and regularly takes members through fitness assessments and program orientations. Her goal is to be able to teach group cycling and Muscle Fitness classes. Fitness staff and the group exercise co-coordinator are helping her achieve this goal.

STAFF REACTION

Aside from Jenny's initiative and personal drive, the most important factor has been other staff members' willingness to embrace the "No limits" vision. Initially, there may have been a tendency for some staff to be overprotective. The moment we saw Jenny dealing with a member, we would rush to help. While the intention was noble, it also hindered Jenny's confidence and the development of communication skills and rapport with members.

Staff members feel that working with Jenny has made them focus more on their own communication skills. Whether it be explaining a concept regarding exercise science, administration or membership policy, more focus needs to be placed on clarity and conciseness. During meetings, with either an interpreter or transcriber present, we found that we shouldn't talk over or interrupt each other. We often forget that we do this. Dealing with a deaf team member makes us realize our own bad habits, which can become ingrained over time.

No doubt there are a few challenges we haven't quite solved yet. We sometimes forget that Jenny cannot hear a phone to answer it. We sometimes inadvertently talk in a group and forget to include her. It is a learning curve that still has not reached the summit.

THE FUTURE

At the conclusion of Jenny's internship in June, we decided to make her one of our regular part-time fitness staff members. She has also commenced studies for her master's degree in health management, and is training to teach a greater variety of group exercise classes in our program.

Jenny has some unique skills and abilities. As we attempt to make our center more accessible to people with disabilities, she offers some unique insights that will help us achieve our goals. One of her goals is to make our exercise machines more accessible for blind people by including instructions in Braille. And, her computer skills on programs like Power Point and Excel are her strengths.

Like any new employee, Jenny's career will ebb and flow with life's changing fortunes. For staff and members of the World Bank Fitness Center, our relationship with Jenny and Gallaudet University is a continual journey of learning and self-discovery.

We will continue to seek to incorporate employees from different backgrounds. Perhaps not all will be as success as Jenny, but it is only by testing our own comfort zones that we can grow to achieve our vision of a future that truly has "No limits." FM

Mike James is a freelance writer and manager of the World Bank Fitness Center in Washington, D.C.