Muscat, Oman

To mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and to ensure its services remain accessible to everyone in the Sultanate of Oman, Ooredoo has launched a call centre dedicated to serving customers with hearing disabilities. This first-of-its-kind service enables them to communicate using sign language through a video call. This new dedicated service was launched during an event held under the auspices of Her Highness Sayyida Dr Taghreed Turki Al Said.

The Ooredoo team providing customer service based on sign language are deaf or have hearing disabilities themselves. They were trained and hired by a team from Al Tawasul Institute of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Oman. Another stakeholder was SignBook, which has an application to assist people with hearing disabilities in accessing public and private sector services.

“This new and first-of-its-kind service will increase the accessibility of telecommunications for customers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and will provide support by bridging a communication gap. It will also improve the opportunities and equality of deaf colleagues in the workplace,” said Sulaiman Al Mughairi, Acting Chief People Officer at Ooredoo.

Ooredoo has always been an inclusive organisation that has hired individuals with disabilities in various departments and is proud of their accomplishments. The company recognises that professionals with disabilities can function just as well as people without disabilities if they are given a fair opportunity to succeed in the workplace. Therefore, the company invests in cutting-edge job accommodations for its team members with disabilities to reach their full potential.