A lot of people with dyspraxia go onto Further Education but most of them don’t find jobs connected to their degree. Unfortunately office jobs - whether doing clerical or call centre work can be as difficult for dyspraxics as working in a manual job. (What might be termed Blue Collar Dyspraxia is an under-examined field and we'd like to hear of any fellow dyspraxics' experiences of trying to follow in a family trade or who has been able to learn skills as an electrician, plumber or the like.)

Here are some signs of dyspraxia that may manifrest themselves in the workplace:Here are some observable characteristics we adult dyspraxics can exhibit a work, at home &, in social situations (again, not all may be immediately apparent): obsessional characteristics; co-ordination, balance & posture difficulties – affecting home maintenance, learning to drive; tendency to spilling drinks, bumping into things etc; lack of manual dexterity; losing files, untidy desk; receiving unexpectedly poor appraisals; difficulties in filtering out background noise in order to concentrate fully on work; inability to keep still in our seats;untidy & rumpled personal presentation; poor handwriting; low self-esteem; being bullied; unrealistic expectations; difficulty remembering instructions, directions etc; inability to learn from written instructions; avoidance & reluctance to perform tasks which require sustained mental effort; inability to complete tasks quickly & properly, just not able to get the hang of some things: whether work-related or leisure activities - from book-keeping, bar duties, cleaning to shuffling cards, playing pool;a tendency to be chaotic, forgetful & disorganised, despite our best intentions; difficulty in refocusing after interruptions; difficulty making decisions; inabilityto converse with colleagues by relating jokes, anecdotes or descriptions that require a degree of sequencing; appearing not to listen when spoken to directly; difficulties with retaining jobs.

Not everyone with dyspraxia has exactly the same strengths & weaknesses so while one dyspraxic may find working with computers daunting another may take to computer work like a fish to water, imbued with the relief that the ability to cut & paste & not having to write longhand can bring. However, despite variations, organisation is a common tendency amongst us, so here are some tips regarding seeking - & holding onto – work.

Before you start your day’s work it can be a good idea to plan your tasks & prioritise them. Ask your employer for plenty advanced warning of deadlines.

Organise your work into two main piles: urgent & non-urgent. Tasks and projects are easier when broken down into manageable chunks. Large projects are really a series of small tasks which can be finished in sequence and rewarded by a short break to renew concentration. Try to make sure your employer understands the reasons behind this modus operandi. Ideally they will understand that with the right support you can be a determined & effective worker.

When using computers, mouse speed can be reduced in order to make it easier to use.

Basic mind & body relaxation exercises can help you reduce your stress levels. Often information overload can lead dyspraxic employees to seek solace in peace, quiet and a good book on their break rather than socialise with colleagues, who may also share different interests to someone with dyspraxia. It's easy to become isolated - sometimes it's what you want, sometimes it's a wall you'd rather not have built. Assertiveness training may help you with more effective communication in the workplace.

Job Applications

Only apply for jobs you feel you can do –it may be your dyspraxic determination has sharpened your writing, photographic, broadcasting skills. Traditional “steady” jobs may be beyond you, & you may feel slightly inadequate about your lack of adaptability, especially if you come from a background where working with one’s hands has been a source of family pride & a breadwinning necessity, but today’s job market does have something to offer the dedicated, focused dyspraxic candidate. Caring for the elderly, for children, for animals as well as “hobby”-based professions such as photography & writing seem to suit some of us. If you are prepared to do voluntary work in the area you’re interested in, your dedication may pay off when it comes to applying for paid employment.

Prepare your typed CV

Seek assistance from the Disability Employment Adviser at your local Job Centre Plus. You can get free assessment under the Access To Work scheme, & funding for equipment & training. Workstep - or Supported Employment as it used to be termed - is a possibility for those with severe Dyspraxia who would find it hard to gain and maintain employment without assistance.

If possible, download the application form & type your answers.

If this is not possible, photocopy the application form & have a go at a rough draft, thereby ensuring that you send in a form that is as neat & well-presented as you can make it.

Interviews

If possible get a friend or colleague to give you a mock interview

Make a list of questions that it’s likely you’ll be asked

Prepare in advance a question you can ask at the interviewabout the company or organisation.

Because clothes that are not “broken in” can be especially uncomfortable for Dyspraxics, ensure well in advance that you will be comfortable as well as smart in your interview clothes.

Disclosure

It’s difficult to advise on whether you should tell your potential employer about your Dyspraxia on the application form or in an interview situation. Despite many employers’ stated commitment to be positive about disabilities, not everyone in a position of hiring new employees is as altruistic as they profess to be. Perhaps you reckon your dyspraxia won’t have a major impact on your potential new job. Even if you think it may affect the way you do the job, there is always the chance to “come out” to your line manager later, or to keep your condition private. A situation may simply arise where you can mention it quite casually, almost in passing: your inability to open or close venetian blinds, perhaps. It’s not an easy decision to make although if you feel it won’t sabotage your chances of landing a position, disclosure could be a good way of establishing your identity – not forgetting the strengths you’ve developed – from the start.

In the work environment it can often be difficult to cope with background noise and it is often preferable to work in subdued lighting. Work brings out the inability to filter noise, the inability to remember verbal instructions. Pens, papers and equipment are often mislaid. Not only can it be hard for us to find our way around, but our processing differences can lead to difficulties learning specialist language, acronyms and abbreviations, and they may find they get lost when trying to find their way to a new building or department. Starting a new job can be particularly daunting to those of us with dyspraxia.

Dyspraxics tend not to be "office animals", chit-chatting all day about last night's Reality TV or what we'd do if we won the lottery, while working steadily through reams of paperwork. We are by nature individuals. We have no choice in the matter.…The workplace is designed around the needs/features of the Neuro-Typical: e.g. open plan offices (without screens to reduce distractions), and an expectation of organisational/administrative skills and an ability to multi-task.

Background cackling in an office would tend to irritate a Dyspraxic more than a NeuroTypical person. The dyspraxic mind tends to “riff” on people’s remarks, examining the implications of what they’re saying, honing in on cliché, like a habitually zealous customs officer – waving very little through unexamined.

Conversely, precise details seem to evade us in meetings or when following instructions.

Shops can be nightmares to work in – presenting the complexities of till operation, counting out the right change, not banging into the stock & knocking stock over… but for the purposes of this site we’re mainly dealing with office practice. In future we’d love to expand our focus and hear from people with experiences of working in shops, on site, anywhere..

For the present, though, let’s get back to that striplit, open plan office, the radio blaring on in the background & impenetrable jargon being bandied about all around you. For a start, as Mary Colley’s Living With Dyspraxia notes: “The untidiest desk in the office will be yours”. Also, the intricacies of office politics may be beyond you & you’ll feel outrage at what you see as hypocrisy, pettiness & injustice. Of course, not every office is like this but, like classrooms, many share similar characteristics.

Initially, the prospect of work in an office may seem a relief to a young adult dyspraxic after the rigours of school: no P.E., no more bullying, the prospect of a settled future.

Unfortunately, the workplace can be a minefield for the Neuro-Diverse! And the bullying doesn’t always stop at school. Certain colleagues can detect a “difference” in you &, like a school bully, exploit it. You may find yourself “picked on” by supervisors who seem to let others get away with misdemeanours and open flouting of the rules.

Here's a telling quote from Living With Dyspraxia:

“Every organisation has its own unwritten rules & procedures. There are those who really have the power & there are those who are only nominally in charge. Try to make sure that you do not get on the wrong side of your office’s inner circle.”

In some offices, supervisors & managers may seem hard to respect & take seriously as they try to impress their superiors, power dress & pepper their sentences with jargon while still being keen to be “one of the lads”, displaying a juvenile attitude to supporting football & a tendency to resort to casual racism, sexism & homophobia which may upset & irritate you. Attributes, such as good grammar, which may seem important to you and which are strengths in some dyspraxics may not seem important to them. The juxtaposition of jargon-peppered vocabulary and careless grammar may prove especially irksome to you. You could end up feeling superior in certain ways to your superiors which in turn leads to more frustration as you imagine that if you only had their organisational skills you could do their job a lot better and more fairly than they do. Of course, you don’t have to be dyspraxic to recognise the role-playing & stereotypes that exist in today’s work environment (TV sitcom The Office did this brilliant to comic, often cringeworthy, effect) and you certainly don’t have to be dyspraxic to feel frustrated in a work situation. Colleagues who share your views may sympathise but say: “I keep my head down & just get on with it”, advising you to “Cover yourself "– i.e. "Don’t stand out". Unfortunately not standing out & “just getting on with it” aren’t at all easy for dyspraxics.

Over the years, dyspraxic office workers have found themselves with a constant need to rewrite letters & reports till they’re legible & presentable. Thankfully, computer packages have largely alleviated this problem, though filing by hand can still be problematical and result in heaps of papers surrounding you & a half-open filing cabinet and an urge to run away overtaking you.

If you’re dyspraxic, you may find that attempts at carrying out practical tasks tend to get you noticed in the wrong ways – double-sided photocopying, adjusting blinds,etc. can leave you feeling useless and embarrassed and you mail fail to understanding how & why various processes take place in the office. You may also have problems with:

Remembering instructions & carrying them out correctly in the right order; achieving deadlines; taking messages accurately & remembering to pass them on; writing letters & reports longhand without having to copy them out again; sitting through meetings & taking in what’s being said without your mind wandering. Practically everyone would say their mind wanders while they’re in a meeting but dyspraxics tend to be in a different league; staying in your seat & not “going for a wander” too often; relating to colleagues. The Dyspraxia Foundation publishes a leaflet called Dyspraxia in The Workplace For Employers.

It is certainly worth considering “coming out “ to your supervisor or line manager, giving them information on your strengths & weaknesses & clarify what dyspraxia means generally & for you specifically. It can work wonders to explain your strengths and how you can maximise these, although some supervisors may not understand why you flinch at the prospect of balloons festooning desks or why you would like to wear an MP3 player to create a personal aural space in which you can work while at the same time you object to a radio being on constantly in your or a neighbouring section.

Flexi-time can help if you are able to do paperwork when the office is quiet at either end of the working day. You may find, though, that the radio blares out even louder for the benefit of other early or late workers while you’re attempting to write your report or study the figures in front of you. Often for reasons outlined in this section, many dyspraxics find themselves unemployed/unable to attain the posts their skills and abilities would suggest they should be employed in

WORKPLACE

A lot of people with dyspraxia go onto Further Education but most of them don’t find jobs connected to their degree. Unfortunately office jobs - whether doing clerical or call centre work can be as difficult for dyspraxics as working in a manual job. (What might be termed Blue Collar Dyspraxia is an under-examined field and we'd like to hear of any fellow dyspraxics' experiences of trying to follow in a family trade or who has been able to learn skills as an electrician, plumber or the like.)

Here are some signs of dyspraxia that may manifrest themselves in the workplace:Here are some observable characteristics we adult dyspraxics can exhibit a work, at home &, in social situations (again, not all may be immediately apparent): obsessional characteristics; co-ordination, balance & posture difficulties – affecting home maintenance, learning to drive; tendency to spilling drinks, bumping into things etc; lack of manual dexterity; losing files, untidy desk; receiving unexpectedly poor appraisals; difficulties in filtering out background noise in order to concentrate fully on work; inability to keep still in our seats;untidy & rumpled personal presentation; poor handwriting; low self-esteem; being bullied; unrealistic expectations; difficulty remembering instructions, directions etc; inability to learn from written instructions; avoidance & reluctance to perform tasks which require sustained mental effort; inability to complete tasks quickly & properly, just not able to get the hang of some things: whether work-related or leisure activities - from book-keeping, bar duties, cleaning to shuffling cards, playing pool;a tendency to be chaotic, forgetful & disorganised, despite our best intentions; difficulty in refocusing after interruptions; difficulty making decisions; inabilityto converse with colleagues by relating jokes, anecdotes or descriptions that require a degree of sequencing; appearing not to listen when spoken to directly; difficulties with retaining jobs.

Not everyone with dyspraxia has exactly the same strengths & weaknesses so while one dyspraxic may find working with computers daunting another may take to computer work like a fish to water, imbued with the relief that the ability to cut & paste & not having to write longhand can bring. However, despite variations, organisation is a common tendency amongst us, so here are some tips regarding seeking - & holding onto – work.

Before you start your day’s work it can be a good idea to plan your tasks & prioritise them. Ask your employer for plenty advanced warning of deadlines.

Organise your work into two main piles: urgent & non-urgent. Tasks and projects are easier when broken down into manageable chunks. Large projects are really a series of small tasks which can be finished in sequence and rewarded by a short break to renew concentration. Try to make sure your employer understands the reasons behind this modus operandi. Ideally they will understand that with the right support you can be a determined & effective worker.

When using computers, mouse speed can be reduced in order to make it easier to use.

Basic mind & body relaxation exercises can help you reduce your stress levels. Often information overload can lead dyspraxic employees to seek solace in peace, quiet and a good book on their break rather than socialise with colleagues, who may also share different interests to someone with dyspraxia. It's easy to become isolated - sometimes it's what you want, sometimes it's a wall you'd rather not have built. Assertiveness training may help you with more effective communication in the workplace.

Job Applications

Only apply for jobs you feel you can do –it may be your dyspraxic determination has sharpened your writing, photographic, broadcasting skills. Traditional “steady” jobs may be beyond you, & you may feel slightly inadequate about your lack of adaptability, especially if you come from a background where working with one’s hands has been a source of family pride & a breadwinning necessity, but today’s job market does have something to offer the dedicated, focused dyspraxic candidate. Caring for the elderly, for children, for animals as well as “hobby”-based professions such as photography & writing seem to suit some of us. If you are prepared to do voluntary work in the area you’re interested in, your dedication may pay off when it comes to applying for paid employment.

Prepare your typed CV

Seek assistance from the Disability Employment Adviser at your local Job Centre Plus. You can get free assessment under the Access To Work scheme, & funding for equipment & training. Workstep - or Supported Employment as it used to be termed - is a possibility for those with severe Dyspraxia who would find it hard to gain and maintain employment without assistance.

If possible, download the application form & type your answers.

If this is not possible, photocopy the application form & have a go at a rough draft, thereby ensuring that you send in a form that is as neat & well-presented as you can make it.

Interviews

If possible get a friend or colleague to give you a mock interview

Make a list of questions that it’s likely you’ll be asked

Prepare in advance a question you can ask at the interviewabout the company or organisation.

Because clothes that are not “broken in” can be especially uncomfortable for Dyspraxics, ensure well in advance that you will be comfortable as well as smart in your interview clothes.

Disclosure

It’s difficult to advise on whether you should tell your potential employer about your Dyspraxia on the application form or in an interview situation. Despite many employers’ stated commitment to be positive about disabilities, not everyone in a position of hiring new employees is as altruistic as they profess to be. Perhaps you reckon your dyspraxia won’t have a major impact on your potential new job. Even if you think it may affect the way you do the job, there is always the chance to “come out” to your line manager later, or to keep your condition private. A situation may simply arise where you can mention it quite casually, almost in passing: your inability to open or close venetian blinds, perhaps. It’s not an easy decision to make although if you feel it won’t sabotage your chances of landing a position, disclosure could be a good way of establishing your identity – not forgetting the strengths you’ve developed – from the start.

In the work environment it can often be difficult to cope with background noise and it is often preferable to work in subdued lighting. Work brings out the inability to filter noise, the inability to remember verbal instructions. Pens, papers and equipment are often mislaid. Not only can it be hard for us to find our way around, but our processing differences can lead to difficulties learning specialist language, acronyms and abbreviations, and they may find they get lost when trying to find their way to a new building or department. Starting a new job can be particularly daunting to those of us with dyspraxia.

Dyspraxics tend not to be "office animals", chit-chatting all day about last night's Reality TV or what we'd do if we won the lottery, while working steadily through reams of paperwork. We are by nature individuals. We have no choice in the matter.…The workplace is designed around the needs/features of the Neuro-Typical: e.g. open plan offices (without screens to reduce distractions), and an expectation of organisational/administrative skills and an ability to multi-task.

Background cackling in an office would tend to irritate a Dyspraxic more than a NeuroTypical person. The dyspraxic mind tends to “riff” on people’s remarks, examining the implications of what they’re saying, honing in on cliché, like a habitually zealous customs officer – waving very little through unexamined.

Conversely, precise details seem to evade us in meetings or when following instructions.

Shops can be nightmares to work in – presenting the complexities of till operation, counting out the right change, not banging into the stock & knocking stock over… but for the purposes of this site we’re mainly dealing with office practice. In future we’d love to expand our focus and hear from people with experiences of working in shops, on site, anywhere..

For the present, though, let’s get back to that striplit, open plan office, the radio blaring on in the background & impenetrable jargon being bandied about all around you. For a start, as Mary Colley’s Living With Dyspraxia notes: “The untidiest desk in the office will be yours”. Also, the intricacies of office politics may be beyond you & you’ll feel outrage at what you see as hypocrisy, pettiness & injustice. Of course, not every office is like this but, like classrooms, many share similar characteristics.

Initially, the prospect of work in an office may seem a relief to a young adult dyspraxic after the rigours of school: no P.E., no more bullying, the prospect of a settled future.

Unfortunately, the workplace can be a minefield for the Neuro-Diverse! And the bullying doesn’t always stop at school. Certain colleagues can detect a “difference” in you &, like a school bully, exploit it. You may find yourself “picked on” by supervisors who seem to let others get away with misdemeanours and open flouting of the rules.

Here's a telling quote from Living With Dyspraxia:

“Every organisation has its own unwritten rules & procedures. There are those who really have the power & there are those who are only nominally in charge. Try to make sure that you do not get on the wrong side of your office’s inner circle.”

In some offices, supervisors & managers may seem hard to respect & take seriously as they try to impress their superiors, power dress & pepper their sentences with jargon while still being keen to be “one of the lads”, displaying a juvenile attitude to supporting football & a tendency to resort to casual racism, sexism & homophobia which may upset & irritate you. Attributes, such as good grammar, which may seem important to you and which are strengths in some dyspraxics may not seem important to them. The juxtaposition of jargon-peppered vocabulary and careless grammar may prove especially irksome to you. You could end up feeling superior in certain ways to your superiors which in turn leads to more frustration as you imagine that if you only had their organisational skills you could do their job a lot better and more fairly than they do. Of course, you don’t have to be dyspraxic to recognise the role-playing & stereotypes that exist in today’s work environment (TV sitcom The Office did this brilliant to comic, often cringeworthy, effect) and you certainly don’t have to be dyspraxic to feel frustrated in a work situation. Colleagues who share your views may sympathise but say: “I keep my head down & just get on with it”, advising you to “Cover yourself "– i.e. "Don’t stand out". Unfortunately not standing out & “just getting on with it” aren’t at all easy for dyspraxics.

Over the years, dyspraxic office workers have found themselves with a constant need to rewrite letters & reports till they’re legible & presentable. Thankfully, computer packages have largely alleviated this problem, though filing by hand can still be problematical and result in heaps of papers surrounding you & a half-open filing cabinet and an urge to run away overtaking you.

If you’re dyspraxic, you may find that attempts at carrying out practical tasks tend to get you noticed in the wrong ways – double-sided photocopying, adjusting blinds,etc. can leave you feeling useless and embarrassed and you mail fail to understanding how & why various processes take place in the office. You may also have problems with:

Remembering instructions & carrying them out correctly in the right order; achieving deadlines; taking messages accurately & remembering to pass them on; writing letters & reports longhand without having to copy them out again; sitting through meetings & taking in what’s being said without your mind wandering. Practically everyone would say their mind wanders while they’re in a meeting but dyspraxics tend to be in a different league; staying in your seat & not “going for a wander” too often; relating to colleagues. The Dyspraxia Foundation publishes a leaflet called Dyspraxia in The Workplace For Employers.

It is certainly worth considering “coming out “ to your supervisor or line manager, giving them information on your strengths & weaknesses & clarify what dyspraxia means generally & for you specifically. It can work wonders to explain your strengths and how you can maximise these, although some supervisors may not understand why you flinch at the prospect of balloons festooning desks or why you would like to wear an MP3 player to create a personal aural space in which you can work while at the same time you object to a radio being on constantly in your or a neighbouring section.

Flexi-time can help if you are able to do paperwork when the office is quiet at either end of the working day. You may find, though, that the radio blares out even louder for the benefit of other early or late workers while you’re attempting to write your report or study the figures in front of you. Often for reasons outlined in this section, many dyspraxics find themselves unemployed/unable to attain the posts their skills and abilities would suggest they should be employed in.

Call Centre Dyspraxia

Call centre work is often described as the last resort of employment in the modern job market. In addition to a high level of background noise in open plan call centre, it can be hard to decipher information given by customers who may possess a multitude of accents, especially against a background hubbub at both ends of the line. For a dyspraxics, it’s a challenge to retain info just given to you - National Insurance numbers, phone or account numbers, etc. Writing down helps but tends to slow down the frequently vital “Call Handling Time”. Also, continual rechecking with customers can irritate them. As we note elsewhere in this section, it’s often hard for dyspraxics to “stay put “ for long periods of time. This at odds with the policy of some call centre policies which insist employees remain online 90% of the time, timing tea, lunch and toilet breaks to the second. This monitoring extends to the work itself and employees can be in trouble if they spent too long on calls, trouble if they don’t spend long enough and, depending on the nature of the company they’re working for, be pressurised to sell, sell, sell whilst reading from a script and maintaining “compliance” and “delighting” the customer. Managers become more and more target focused. Stats appear every day analysing their previous day’s performance. Jargon such as “delighting the customer” seems to aggravate a dyspraxic mind more than a Neuro-Typical one.

Dyspraxics who don’t have dyslexia may find themselves far more literate than their bosses which, when having to issue or respond to queries about letters issued by your company or department in less-than-clear English, can be a further frustration.

Goalposts can be constantly moved and a call centre job become intolerable. At least when taking a call centre job you may have an idea of what you’re letting yourself in for. Nowadays it’s possible to apply for a standard clerical desk job that can mutate into yet another call centre posting in the space of a few months. As thousands of employees - regardless of their neurological wiring - can attest, it’s hard to switch off from a day working at a call centre. You can find yourself picking up the phone or even answering a door entry intercom with your call centre greeting.

The often excessive levels of stress typical of in a call centre environment are often exacerbated by feeling of being “shot by both sides”. In other words, management puts high demands on its employees and may be providing a service employees themselves feel is substandard which, despite having no say in, they have to take the flak for from abusive customers who are all the more aggravated after having waited for often considerable periods of time in a telephone queuing system. Some customers feel they have carte blanche to insult you and abuse you while you are taking personal insults because they are angry at a system you are representing but have no control over. You are the messenger and you will get “shot at”.

Sometimes you may throw your hands up in horror and wonder what in God's name you're doing in a place that's proven to be so unsuitable for you. Along with taking the recommended step of contacting your supervisor, here are a few additional pointers that might help you in the workplace:

When shown a new task, repeat the instructions back to the person demonstrating it you. Ask for summaries & key points rather than full report, Remember, too, trades unions have policies supporting disabled staff.

The Disability Discrimination Act

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 requires authorities to demonstrate that disabled customers can access their services without difficulty and that there are no significant differences in the ways that disabled and non-disabled employees are affected by internal policies and procedures.

Promotion and enforcement of the Act is the responsibility of the Disability Rights Commission, working with the public sector and developing practical guidance. If a public authority fails to comply with its specific duties under the new Act, the Commission can issue a compliance notice.

Since December 2006, all public sector authorities – from local councils to hospitals to Government Departments - have had a ‘General Duty’ to promote disability equality under the terms of the new Disability Discrimination Act.

Authorities now need to consider how they will eliminate harassment of disabled people, how they will promote positive attitudes and how they will encourage disabled people to participate in public life.

For the first time it is not be enough for public authorities merely to issue a statement of commitment for treating people fairly. The Act requires them to build disability equality into the way they run their businesses and, as such, it is likely to have a significant impact on the way many of them operate their services and their policies.

Some public authorities (including all Government Departments) will have a further, ‘Specific Duty’ which will have three key components:

1.Involving disabled people: with evidence to show how disabled people have been involved with action planning and how they have influenced the development of the scheme.

2. Measuring progress: with an assessment of impact of existing and proposed activities on disabled people and a means of measuring progress towards disability equality.

3. Assessing impact: with arrangements for reviewing progress and updating priorities and action plans.

LINKS

Disability Employment Advisers

DEAs help the disabled jobseeker overcome obstacles that can prevent them from gaining and maintaining employment and can help dyspraxics identify how their condition has affected their previous employment experiences and consider what services, such as work placement, might be appropriate to their situation. DEAs deploy counselling techniques to boost self-esteem and emotional confidence in the jobseeker, encouraging them to suggest their own solutions. They also play a role in educating employers in understanding disabilities and what simple steps can be taken to accomodate the requirements of the disabled jobseeker

Workstep This employment programme provides support to disabled people facing complex barriers to getting and keeping a job and also offers practical assistance to employers.

Remploy Supports employment through the Workstep scheme

New Deal For Disabled People

After16 provides information on employment and education options for young people with disabilities and learning difficultties

Association Of Disabled Professionals assists disabled people in finding and retaining work.

Employers' Forum On Disability

Employment Opportunities Edinburgh

Part of Employment Opportunities, the national charity dedicated to creating routes into employment for people with all disabilities and medical conditions.

Call Centre Jokes

I got this stories from my friend, I have no idea where he got it, but it was funny and I became understand now that being Call Centre is a tough job…

Heres the stories;

Actual call centre conversations !!!!!

Customer: ‘I’ve been ringing 0800 2100 for two days and can’t get through to enquiries, can you help?’.
Operator: ‘Where did you get that number from, sir?’.
Customer: ‘It was on the door to the Travel Centre’.
Operator: ‘Sir, they are our opening hours’.

———————————————-

Samsung Electronics

Caller: ‘Can you give me the telephone number for Jack?’
Operator: ‘I’m sorry, sir, I don’t understand who you are talking about’.
Caller: ‘On page 1, section 5, of the user guide it clearly states that I need to unplug the fax machine from the AC wall socket and telephone Jack before cleaning. Now, can you give me the number for Jack?’
Operator: ‘I think you mean the telephone point on the wall’.

———————————————————————-

RAC Motoring Services

Caller: ‘Does your European Breakdown Policy cover me when I am travelling in Australia ?’
Operator:&nbsap; ‘ Doesn’t the product name give you a clue?’

———————————————————————-

Caller (enquiring about legal requirements while travelling in France ):
‘If I register my car in France , do I have to change the steering wheel to the other side of the car?’

———————————————————————-
Directory Enquiries

Caller: ‘I’d like the number of the Argoed Fish Bar in Cardiff please’.
Operator: ‘I’m sorry, there’s no listing. Is the spelling correct?’
Caller: ‘Well, it used to be called the Bargoed Fish Bar but the ‘B’ fell off’.

———————————————————————-

Then there was the caller who asked for a knitwear company in Woven.
Operator: ‘Woven? Are you sure?’
Caller: ‘Yes. That’s what it says on the label; Woven in Scotland ‘.

———————————————————————-

On another occasion, a man making heavy breathing sounds from a phone box told a worried operator:
‘I haven’t got a pen, so I’m steaming up the window to write the number on’.

———————————————————————-
Tech Support: ‘I need you to right-click on the Open Desktop’.
Customer: ‘OK’.
Tech Support: ‘Did you get a pop-up menu?’.
Customer: ‘No’.
Tech Support: ‘OK. Right-Click again. Do you see a pop-up menu?’
Customer: ‘No’.
Tech Support: ‘OK, sir. Can you tell me what you have done up until this point?’.
Customer: ‘Sure. You told me to write ‘click’ and I wrote ‘click”.

———————————————————————-
Tech Support: ‘OK. In the bottom left hand side of the screen, can you see the ‘OK’ button displayed?’
Customer: ‘Wow. How can you see my screen from there?’
———————————————————————-

Caller: ‘I deleted a file from my PC last week and I have just realised that I need it. If I turn my system clock back two weeks will I have my file back again?’.

————————————————————————

There’s always one. This has got to be one of the funniest things in a long time. I think this guy should have been promoted, not fired. This is a true story from the Word Perfect Helpline, which was transcribed from a recording monitoring the customer care department. Needless to say the Help Desk employee was fired; however, he/she is currently suing the Word Perfect organization for ‘Termination without Cause’.

Actual dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee. (Now I know why they record these conversations!):
Operator: ‘Ridge Hall, computer assistance; may I help you?’
Caller: ‘Yes, well, I’m having trouble with WordPerfect.’
Operator: ‘What sort of trouble??’
Caller: ‘Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away.’
Operator: ‘Went away?’
Caller: ‘They disappeared.’
Operator: ‘Hmm So what does your screen look like now?’
Caller: ‘Nothing.’
Operator: ‘Nothing??’
Caller: ‘It’s blank; it won’t accept anything when I type.’
Operator: ‘Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out??’
Caller: ‘How do I tell?’
Operator: ‘Can you see the C: prompt on the screen??’
Caller: ‘What’s a sea-prompt?’
Operator: ‘Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?’
Caller: ‘There isn’t any cursor: I told you, it won’t accept anything I type.’
Operator: ‘Does your monitor have a power indicator??’
Caller: ‘What’s a monitor?’
Operator: ‘It’s the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it’s on??’
Caller: ‘I don’t know.’
Operator: ‘Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that??’
Caller: ‘Yes, I think so.’
Operator: ‘Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it’s plugged into the wall.
Caller: ‘Yes, it is.’
Operator: ‘When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one??’
Caller: ‘No.’
Operator: ‘Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable.’
Caller: ‘Okay, here it is.’
Operator: ‘Follow it for me, and tell me if it’s plugged securely into the back of your computer.’
Caller: ‘I can’t reach.’
Operator: ‘Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is??’
Caller: ‘No.’
Operator: ‘Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over??’
Caller: ‘Oh, it’s not because I don’t have the right angle - it’s because it’s dark.’
Operator: ‘Dark??’
Caller: ‘Yes - the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window.’
Operator: ‘Well, turn on the office light then.’
Caller: ‘I can’t.’
Operator: ‘No? Why not??’
Caller: ‘Because there’s a power failure.’
Operator: ‘A power……… A power failure? Aha, Okay, we’ve got it licked now.

Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in??’

Caller: ‘Well, yes, I keep them in the closet.’
Operator: ‘Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from.’
Caller: ‘Really? Is it that bad?’
Operator: ‘Yes, I’m afraid it is.’
Caller: ‘Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them??’
Operator: ‘Tell them you’re too f — ing stupid to own a computer!!!!!

Our Winning Edge Regional networked call centers: we off-load traffic from a crowed site while, at the same time, creating a robust resilience among our call centers in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taiwan and Kuala Lumpur IP-based platform: We meld inbound and outbound operational modes, enabling more efficient workforce deployment Multiple channels: Our multimedia Call Center inte-grates traditional telephony,inter-active voice-response systems, SMS, video, fax, email, Voice over Internet Protocol, and textbased chat, allowing you to capture business opportunities from almost any channel at any time Certified agents: Our pool of experienced, certified agents enable you to nourish customer relations while exploring new revenue channels to capture business opportunities from each customer contact Our　service　models　allow　you　to execute customer strategies flexibly. Whether　you　opt　to　outsource　, in-source　,　cosource　or　pursue facili-ties management　, we assure 24-hour business continuity and a return on your investment.

Customer-care Services Nurturing your greatest asset 　　Our　streamlined　,　multichannel services feature customer hotlines, after-sales　support,　technical help-desks and membership hotlines. We integrate methodology, technology and appli-cations　,　and　provide multi-lingual customer-service　represent-atives　， multi-location　networked　centers,quality-assurance　processes, work-force management tools, and a wide knowledge base. Benefits You Gain Include: 　A dramatic reduction of capital requirements 　and 　the costs of he customercontact　operation　you exper-ience efficiencies 　in　 both 　your investment and operating costs 　A reliable partner in　 business success 　you　get　industry　“best practices” and　 top internationally acknowledged　levels　of　customer sa-tisfaction 　A highly　 skilled　, 　customer-centric 　workforce 　and 　scalable facilities-you 　receive　 scalable　, reliable　, state-of-the-art infras-tructure and human resources 　Flexible solutions tailored to a customized environment 　Quality assurance (ISO 9001/2000 and Six Sigma) and continuous quality improvement 　Confidentiality and security

Marketing Services 　　 Harnessing the power of customer knowledge 　　 Our proven “4-R” telemarketing methodology enables us to meet and exceed your sales targets. Increase your program hit rate and your customer satisfaction with the Right 　　 Message, Right Customer, Right Time and Right Agent. 　　　A marketing-services team offers customerbase　segmentation　and target-ing,　multi-channel　campaign 　manage-ment　and　online　campaign　　track-ing and analysis. 　　 Performance is further boosted with our award-winning training program, enabling our agents to meet and exceed aggressive targets within a tight deadline.

mumbai call center

Barclaycard is shutting a call centre in Manchester with the loss of 630 jobs because it will be routing more customer queries to India.

The credit card arm of Barclays has decided to outsource more work to Mumbai and Delhi at a time when other financial services firms, notably Lloyds TSB, have decided to return customer call centres back to the UK.

Finance union Amicus said it was opposing the decision to shut the Manchester centre but said it was continuing to meet with the bank.

"At a time of increasing pressure on all staff in Barclaycard we believe it to be totally inappropriate for this large and highly profitable employer to be announcing closures and job losses," said Steve Pantak, an Amicus official.

While the Barclays group reported pre-tax profits of £7bn, the Barclaycard credit card arm had a more torrid time, reporting a 40% fall in profits to £382m because of a hefty provision to cover customers' unpaid debts.

Barclaycard did not give any information about how much it hoped to save as result of the closure but Antony Jenkins, the new chief executive of the credit card business, cited global factors as one of the reasons for moving business to India.

"Decisions like this are never easy and we will be doing everything we can to support those affected. Barclaycard's business is becoming more global and to stay successful we must change how we operate to reflect this," Mr Jenkins said.

Barclaycard receives up to 50,000 calls a day from its customers in the UK and until now these had largely been received in Manchester and Teesside although two out of 10 callers were already being routed to Indian call centres.

From July 16, when Manchester will shut, the calls that would have been taken there will be directed to Teesside and India, where Barclaycard is expecting to create another 200 jobs.

Barclaycard will continue to pay Manchester staff for another three months after the centre closes and is offering them help with finding new roles, possibly inside the wider Barclays group.

Amicus believes that the banking group has such a large presence in the north west of England that all the staff who are displaced should be able to find alternative work.

Other financial firms are pulling back their call centres in India. On Friday, Lloyds TSB told its staff that calls would no longer be directed to India but instead to its 10 call centres in the UK and, perhaps more significantly, directly to its branches. It shut an operation in Newcastle with the loss of some 900 jobs three years ago.

Unions claimed the decision was taken after customer complaints about the service in India although Lloyds TSB insisted it was because a new automated phone service was relieving pressure on call centres.

Barclaycard said it felt certain that the quality of service in India matched that from its UK call centres. "All our research shows that customers who go through Indian call centres are the same as in the UK," a Barclaycard spokesman said

Chennai Telephones launches call centre, to double mobile towers

Chennai Telephones launches call centre, to double mobile towers

Our Bureau

Mr K.B. Brahmadathan, Chief General Manager, Chennai Telephones, taking presspersons around the BSNL call centre, which opened in Chennai on Wednesday. - Shaju John .

Chennai , Dec 10

THE Chennai Telephones hopes to give private cellular operators a run for their money by doubling its mobile network base towers in six months to provide better mobile connectivity in the city.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd entity plans to have 244 tower stations, at an additional cost of Rs 44 crore, by June 2004. "No other competitor can match us in service," Mr K.B. Brahmadathan, Chief General Manager, Chennai Telephones, told newspersons here. The Chennai Telephones will soon launch the cheapest post-paid cellular connection in the city at an entry cost of Rs 140, he said.

Meanwhile, the Chennai Telephones today launched its call centre in the city at a cost of Rs 4 crore. The biggest call centre in the BSNL network is equipped with 45 operators and five supervisors. Chennai Telephones has outsourced manpower for the call centre from the Bangalore-based Syntegra. However, after a few months of training, Chennai Telephones employees would take over the centre, he said.

Tata Consultancy Services has done the turnkey project for the call centre. Tata Teleservices has provided the hardware while the city-based firm, Servion Global, the software, he said.

The call centre (a subscriber need to dial 1500 to access it) would provide information on products and tariff information for services of BSNL. It would also provide information on follow up status, including telephone connection and shift applications, fault complaint and bill complaint, he said.

R. RAGU

A call centre at Tidel Park.

BUSINESS Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the new buzzword in Information Technology (IT) circles. Typically, it involves the farming out of day-to-day operations of companies in the advanced countries to entities in developing countries to take advantage of lower wages. The development of IT facilities makes this possible. While BPOs could be in the form of call centres, medical and legal transcription facilities, airline ticketing and accounting operations, the basic idea is to lower costs for companies in the advanced countries. IT enables the transmission of data on an almost real-time basis so that data from any location can be processed at any other location in the world. The United States market has been particularly lucrative for Indian BPO companies because of the 12-hour time lag, which enables even day-to-day operations to be carried out seamlessly in India when the U.S. markets close for the night.

Companies located in Chennai have taken advantage of the interest in the BPO segment. Several companies have established bases in Chennai to cater to the needs of companies operating from overseas markets. Speaking at a seminar on BPO held in Chennai recently, Romi Malhotra, Chief Executive Officer and Managing director, Scope International Private Ltd., a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank, said that the city suffered because of "perception-related problems", something which he said was far-removed from reality. He advocated "proactive selling" by the State government in order to enable Chennai to emerge as a destination of choice for BPO activities. Scope employs 3,000 persons at its centre in Chennai; that number is set to increase to 5,000 soon.

Malhotra believes that the Tamil Nadu government needs to address several major issues if it is to achieve its objective of capturing 15 to 20 per cent of the BPO market by 2008. The market size itself was estimated to grow to about $20 to 25 billion, a market share that would generate large growth opportunities, both directly and indirectly. It is agreed in industry circles that there is a dearth of manpower. Academia, government and the industry needs to work together to overcome the shortage. There is also agreement among IT professionals that apart from looking at BPO as an opportunity for growth, the State government should benchmark practices here with the best in the world, and not with those in other Indian cities.

Several companies have made a beeline for Chennai to set up BPO facilities. The London-based Foresight group recently set up a BPO centre in Chennai involving an initial investment of $600,000, which is to increase to $2 million by the end of the financial year. Through its subsidiary, Supersight, Foresight has set up Supersight Ceequence Technologies Ltd. in Chennai, which operates a call centre. Ceequence plans to expand the facility to 1,500 seats with a turnover of $100 million by 2005. The call centres cater to the needs of two U.S.-based travel and leisure companies.

Realising the importance of the city as a base for BPO and IT-enabled Services (IteS), the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) launched the Chennai ITeS BPO forum in June 2003. The forum, apart from seeking to build the "Indian IT brand", will take up issues relating to IT, telecommunication, education and training sectors. Speaking at the launch, Nasscom president Kiran Karnik said that despite its great potential, Chennai had been "undersold" in the IT market. He said Nasscom launched IteS to market the city and the State. Karnik rued the fact that IteS facilities have been limited to call centres. Karnik, as well as several other seasoned observers of the IT scene, have observed repeatedly that worldwide the IteS sector is highly diversified. They have often pointed out that unless Indian companies upgrade themselves into value-added service providers they will be priced out by competition from other countries.

Although it is important not to exaggerate the potential of the ITeS sector, its proponents believe that the employment implications of its growth appear remarkable. According to Nasscom's annual industry survey, the IT software and services industry is projected to employ 6.50 lakh IT professionals by March 2004. Worldwide spending on ITeS and BPO was estimated at $712 billion in 2001, according to Romi Malhotra.

Realising the importance of Chennai as a BPO hub in India, the World Bank, which already has a back office operating from the city, recently announced that it was exploring the possibilities of expanding its office in the city from "basic processing" to "value-added work". The bank is to soon move to its own premises, spread over 60,000 sq ft, from the current rented premises of 27,000 sq ft. Addressing the media on the sidelines of the Seventh National e-Governance conference in Chennai recently, Fayezul Choudhury, Vice-President and Controller, World Bank, said the bank was satisfied with the performance of the 180-member BPO team in the city and was seriously considering the option of moving some sections of its bond valuation work to Chennai. He said: "This value-added work, which was performed once a month, can be handled by a small team."

He said that the bank, which had earlier explored BPO possibilities from a "can-we-do-it" mode, now looked at it from a "what-more-can-be-done" perspective. There has also been speculation that the bank may move its bond evaluation work from Washington to India. If that happens, it would be the first time it moved such work out of its headquarters in Washington. The size of the bank's commercial bonds portfolio is estimated at about $100 billion. The World Bank commenced its BPO in Chennai in August 2001 as a primary processing facility, including payroll processing work in August 2001 with a team of 80 persons. The team now has 180 persons.

String Information Services, based in Washington, also has operations in Chennai. The company has developed proprietary tools for data conversion, data harvesting and quality control. The company claims that it chose Chennai as its base in India because the consultancy major McKinsey had ranked the city as the number one destination for BPO operations in India. Apart from Scope and the World Bank, e-Serve International, belonging to Citibank also has operations in Chennai. Lal Gardner, a Director in the World Bank's Accounting Department in Washington, said: "We looked at various parameters including availability of relevant skills, robustness of IT infrastructure, real estate issues, the number and experience of similar entities established in the city before deciding on Chennai."

Industry sources say that though BPO is still an emerging industry, Indian companies have moved up the learning curve. Infrastructure, in terms of telecommunication facilities, has also improved significantly in the last few years. The industry is now aware of the finer aspects of the business. Sources say that they have learnt to benchmark their operations. The industry has also learnt about ways to scale up operations, and how to bring down telecommunication and labour costs. Different BPO companies adopt different models. Some offer end-to-end solutions and some multi-city, multi-country or point-to-point solutions.

Although there are apprehensions that BPO services like data processing and call-answering facilities may move to other countries that may offer cheaper rates for such business services, industry sources are confident that this will not happen so easily. They say that the barriers to exit are rather high, which will deter companies from moving to other locations. Instead, they claim that it is worth "betting on BPO" because it is the single biggest opportunity for India to become a service economy. They believe that BPO can generate employment for 1.2 to 2 million people in the next five years, generating $15 to 20 billion of revenues.

A top source in a BPO company in Chennai believes that the city is probably placed in fourth or fifth position in India. He said: "The national capital region is clearly number one, Mumbai is number two, followed by Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. Educated, low-cost manpower and a favourable work culture are the advantages of Chennai." The low attrition rate in Chennai - which is about 15 per cent, compared to over 50 per cent in most of the other major Indian cities - is said to be attractive for companies operating from the city.

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A story is about to develop and you’ll soon realise that a call centre agent in Calcutta and you and your city are the very first protagonists of the plot.

I magine you are buying a ticket at the box office for an individual show on a specific day, but are not led to the auditorium of the theatre. Instead, you receive a key for a room and a sketch of how to get there.

It might be a room in the theatre, an office, or an apartment somewhere close by. You open the door and find a phone ringing. You pick up the phone and a person with a strange accent strikes up a conversation with you. The person seems to know the room you are sitting in, even though he is about 10 000 km away. The voice belongs to a call centre agent from Calcutta, India. He and his colleagues usually sell credit cards and insurance on the phone to people on the other side of the globe or provide navigational help in cities that they have never been to themselves. But this time you are not supposed to buy anything.

Rimini Protokoll

Helgard Haug, Stefan Kaegi and Daniel Wetzel studied at the Institut für Angewandte Theaterwissenschaft in Giessen and work together as Rimini Protokoll. They are recognised as among the leaders and creators of the theatre movement known as “Reality Trend” (Theater der Zeit), which has exerted a powerful influence on the alternative theatre scene in Germany. Each project begins with a concrete situation in a specific place and is then developed through an intense exploratory process. They have attracted international attention with dramatic works that take place in the grey zone between reality and fiction. Since 2000 Rimini Protokoll has brought its “theatre of experts” to the stage and into city spaces, interpreted by non-professional actors who are called “experts” for that very reason.