I’m an Analyst for Serasa Experian’s O2C department.
I first met Patricia — a fellow Experian employee — over a video call, using sign language. She had been struggling with parts of her job and wanted to learn about a new training course I was setting up through Serasa Experian’s inclusion program.
You see, Patricia and I are both deaf, which can bring many challenges to our jobs. The new Excel training I’d created was aimed at helping people like us with disabilities.
Patricia and I met face-to-face on the first day of training. There were 18 other students joining her, all eager to learn the formulas and tricks that would help them in their daily activities. Most of them were hearing-impaired like Patricia and I, but some were visually-impaired as well. We all sat down together to talk through the challenges we had with Excel.
As I led this discussion, I used sign language for my deaf students and a “speak aloud” computer feature for those who were visually-impaired. Our goal was for everyone to learn something. We took the time to understand each participant’s unique issues with Excel and share potential solutions.
Patricia shared how each week she spends hours creating a department performance report for her manager. It took a long time because she could only put the numbers in one by one.
She didn’t know the formulas and functions that would speed up her process or how to depict the numbers on a chart or a graph, like her boss needed. As a group, we shared ideas of ways to make Patricia’s work more efficient.
My students left the class inspired and full of new ideas they couldn’t wait to put into practice and share with their colleagues. A few weeks after the class, Patricia told me she could do her job much faster and better, giving her time to learn more sophisticated formulas to enhance her presentations.
And the inspiring part was that because of the training, she had been promoted. It’s amazing to see the tangible impact my volunteer work through Experian is having for people with disabilities. I feel inspired to do more.
Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.
