LocationsDiversity in a team in terms of skills and interests always has a positive effect on the quality of workorThere are things that every person can and cannot do, the same can be said about people with disabilities.By recruiting people with disabilities, we have gained employees with diverse types of skills who can look at the challenges in a different way and committed to work at their job positions for a long time. Everyone benefits from the working environment, where people with different needs and skills work together, through this we look for oportunities to make our work places accessible and inclusive for everyone. People with similiar abilities may miss some important points, but together with people with disabilities we can learn about different needs, identify barriers and accomodate our work environments and services. Our experience shows that diversity in the team in terms of skills and interests always has a positive effect on the quality of work, particularly in the service sector. Unfortunately, when we think about people with disabilities our stereotypes make us think about their disabilities rather than their abilities. Only after you start working with people with disabilities, your approach towards disability changes. There are things that every person can and cannot do, the same can be said about people with disabilities. The main thing is to direct employees to the works relevant for their interests, skills and abilities. We shouldn’t be afraid of hiring people who can do things slightly differently than others. People with disabilities look at the work and challenges differently and this brings new views, new quality standards and new values into the workplaces. - Human Resources Department, Fairmont Hotel |
I totally forget about my disability at work, no one here approaches me differently because of my disability. This internship opportunity changed my life.
(Murad Babayev, 22 years old)
"I’m 22 years old, I’ve struggled a lot because of disability since my childhood. I used to spend my days indoors and totally isolated myself from others. I would never believe that one day I will forget about my disability and live a normal life” – Murad B.
Murad has joined an education project for people with disabilities implemented by the British Council and Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population, funded by BP in 2018. As part of the project, he was one of the five young people with disabilities hired for an internship program by the Fairmont Hotel Baku.
“I’ve worked as an intern in the Laundry of the Fairmont Hotel for two months. I’ve learned all the details of my work during this short period. They noticed my tidiness and diligence and at the end of the internship program I received a full-time job offer. I was selected a star of the month first and then a star of the year for my hard work.” – says Murad.
“Murad implements very important part of the work at our department. During the internship, and also later, as an employee, his responsiveness, high motivation and accuracy affected quality of the work in our team positively. Murad is also very much respected for his personality by all the team members.” – says Head of the department, Fairmont Hotel.
Sincerity, kindness and diligence are three important traits a person needs to work in the tourism and hospitality sector. As a person holding all these characters, Murad successfully benefited from the given opportunity and became one of the most loved employees of the Hotel in a very short time.
“Today, finding an internship or any job opportunity can be a real challenge for many people with disabilities. But even a small opportunity can be a life changing experience for a young person with disability as you can see it from my example. I feel very happy. Because I totally forget about my disability at work. No one approaches me differently here because of my disability. I have a dream job and I get to work with a great team. This internship opportunity changed my life” – concludes Mr. Babayev.
Follow us for more stories about companies-champions that support employment of persons with disabilities by recruiting and training them and adapting infrastructure to their needs.
***
This story was produced within the "Addressing the rights and well-being of women with disabilities and veterans of the Karabakh conflict" project initiated by the First Vice President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva. This project, which is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), aims to support the government's efforts to ensure the rights and well-being of vulnerable people
