Sally Booth – Switchboard Operator/Receptionist

“If an employer wants to know how to handle disability, ask a disabled person – after all they live with it.”

When Sally Booth won The Derbyshire Hotel’s Employee of the Month award in January 2008, she was totally taken by surprise. She’d only been in her job for two months and had no idea just how much of an impact she had made. Her colleagues however, were impressed with her work and wanted her to know it – that’s why they nominated her for the award.

Sally, who has been partially sighted since birth, had about twenty years experience as a receptionist to bring to her new role as a Switchboard Operator/Receptionist. She also had the motivation and the transferable skills to make a success of a job in an industry that was totally different from anywhere she’d worked before.

Employer’s story

“I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to assess a job candidate’s suitability for a job.” That’s what Angela Bell, Human Resources Manager at The Derbyshire Hotel in Derby, says about work trials. Sally was recruited after both a successful interview and work trial. “Work trials are useful because they give employers and employees the chance to find out whether they are suited for a job – before either side makes any kind of commitment” says Angela. She adds: “We see the work trial as a sort of working interview.”

Assessing potential

The hotel works in close partnership with Jobcentre Plus and Remploy, an organisation that helps disabled people find employment. Angela says: “I like the idea of supporting people who want to work and I’ve always been committed to giving people a chance and assessing their potential regardless of age, disability and so on.”

Sally’s disability was not a barrier to her recruitment because her experience, personality and skills were a good match for her dual role as a Switchboard Operator with Receptionist responsibilities. Angela says: “Some people find reception work quite daunting because it can be a very demanding and high pressured role. However, Sally has never been frightened of working out on the desk.”

For Sally’s ‘front of house’ role, communication skills are essential, but the ability to be organised is equally important. Although Sally had never worked in a hotel before, her responsibilities soon increased because she was such a quick learner says Angela.

No major adjustments had to be made for Sally when she started to work at the hotel. An adviser from Remploy made suggestions about how computers could be adapted to make the screens easier for Sally to read. Changes were quickly made to the computer Sally uses, without any additional cost to the hotel.

Employee's story

Since leaving college after gaining her business studies qualifications, Sally has always been employed so after she was made redundant in 2007,she had no intention of staying unemployed. An employment adviser from Remploy told Sally about the vacancy at The Derbyshire Hotel, but she wasn’t sure what to expect as she’d never worked in a hotel before. “The first week was really buzzing” says Sally, “There was so much to learn that I thought I’d never remember it all.” However, she soon learnt to adapt to both her new environment and to her job.

As a switchboard operator and receptionist she has a range of responsibilities which include directing phone calls, organising leaflet displays, processing invoices and dealing with guest queries. Sally says: “The best part of the job is dealing with customers. I enjoy working with the public.”

Focus on ability

Sally has always been honest with prospective employers about her disability. At the same time, she has been confident about her ability to work productively. “In my job now, I use magnification software on my computer so that I can read text and I also ask people to send emails in specific fonts.” Sally also organises items on her desk in a particular order so that they are easy to find.

Sally believes that employers need to focus much more on what disabled people can do rather than what they can’t do. Her message to employers is clear: “Don’t take the ability out of disability. Think about what abilities a disabled person has.” In her case, Sally’s ‘Employee of the Month’ award and the accompanying prizes from the company, acknowledge and celebrate both her abilities and success as a highly valued employee.

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