An all-inclusive approach

BY VISHANNA PHAGOO

vishanna.phagoo@trinidadexpress.com

AFTER recognising the need for greater inclusion and diversity within the organisation, Leesa Rondon, Nestle's operations human resource partner, reflected on the successful execution of the Women in Leadership Position Programme and decided it was time to move on.

Currently, 60% of the company's leaders are women.

'This came after a lot of discussion with the leadership team on which segments of the population are not getting opportunities. What we're working through is considering our 'Nestle meets youths' initiative, so we focus on people aged 18-30 who are also deaf or hard of hearing, and the project started to roll after that,' said Rondon.

She noted while the project, lauched last November, required extensive planning, it has been garnering significant attention from project partners such as the T&T Association for the Hearing Impaired, also known as Dretchi, and the On-the-Job-Training (OJT) programme under the Ministry of Labour.

Addressing the challenges faced during the establishment of the project, Rondon said: 'We had to start from scratch. There was no research or content for us to mirror. We had to look at what our counterparts in other markets were doing; just talking to the T&T Manufacturers Association to get some insights. What was particularly challenging was finding a sign language specialist. We found Qushiba La Fleur by chance and she has been a blessing, because we wanted to make sure we had someone who is supporting the population. No one here speaks sign language to an expert level, so we didn't have the internal resource.'

The training programme has generated excitement and active participation across the wider company.

'We're always finding ways to communicate, always writing something trying to get (to) the deaf and hard-of-hearing employees.'

Le Fleur, the sign language specialist, added, 'We have about five or six groups learning sign language and we started off with 20 per group, but we boiled down to about 40 per class-the least (numbers) we have is about seven persons in a group...in Jamaica, doing an online session.'

Nestle is also working on an online classroom for new employees to learn on their own time.

The company has also prioritised bringing young people with disabilities on board as part of its youth programme, in addition to its goal of creating employment opportunities at its facility through the OJT partnership, said Kristin Martinez, the head of human resources.

Rondon added, 'We also partnered with the Equal Opportunity Commission, so they were telling us that we need to meet certain criteria, we can't treat them differently-the same way you have to interview people-all of that we had to consider. While pulling resumes, we found that it's difficult for them (deaf and hard-of-hearing people) to go to school because the schooling system is not equipped to teach in the language and style that they learn in. We have some of the deaf trainees who advanced and did pretty well in school, but some of them would have just finished at CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exam).'

In light of this this, when placing the candidates-Amir Andi-Abdoerachman, Johnathan Guischard, Cheyanne Awai, and Phillip Belgrove-Rondon said they also used the behaviourial test.

'We were looking at not only what was on paper, but the behaviours- and that's something that we recruit generally on, as well. This is what we call the Nestle Leadership Framework, which is certain behaviours being looked for in all of our employees.'

She explained they looked for whether candidates were detail- oriented, ambitious, and even if they cooked well, so they could be placed based on their strengths.

'Since we're focusing on digitalising our operations, we sent them to learn the power of AI (artificial intelligence) and Excel, so we had a training week where we brought people from the Massy Learning Institute to teach them these skills-because that's the future for us.'

Explaining the project outcomes, Le Fleur said, 'There are a lot of challenges in the community of the deaf. They are not afforded the same opportunities because of that language barrier. But they have been having a good experience.'

When Express visited the factory, the four candidates were performing their respective duties. They communicated with us using sign language, expressing gratitude for the opportunity, mentioning their appreciation for the challenges the job presented, and even explaining how they carried out their duties.

Rondon said this was not just a 'token project', as the company has many other initiatives aimed at inclusivity.

'We have a parental leave policy that doesn't focus on just women; if you're an adoptive parent or if you're a man who's the primary caregiver, you get the same type of benefit, it doesn't go by gender. We also have a prayer room which has been cornered off for Ramadan, and even a lactation room, as well as a 'no dress code' policy.'

Touching on the 'no dress code' policy, Martinez said, 'It's very empowering to our employees. It has also influenced the culture and brought people together because they're comfortable together.'

Asked about future commitments, the company stated, 'Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is an ongoing journey, and we remain dedicated to driving meaningful change within our organisation and society at large. Our goal is to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background or abilities, has the opportunity to thrive and succeed within Nestle. By staying true to our values and fostering a culture of inclusivity, we believe we can create a more equitable and sustainable future for all.'

READINGTHE SIGNS: Nestle's deaf and hard-of-hearing NesTrainee, Cheyanne Awai, left, uses sign language to explain her job at the Nestle factory in Valsayn to Express business reporter Vishanna Phagoo, second left, and photo editor Robert Taylor. Looking on is Nestle's internal sign language specialist, Qushiba La Fleur, third from right, and deaf and hard-of-hearing NesTrainees Johnathan Guischard and Amir Andi-Abdoerachman.

COMMUNICATING: Nestle's deaf and hard-of-hearing NesTrainees, from left, Phillip Belgrove, Johnathan Guischard, Cheyanne Awai and Amir Andi-Abdoerachman.