About
The Hearing Accredited Workplace Programme aims to break down barriers and change attitudes towards hearing loss in the workplace to help ensure employees who are Deaf or hard of hearing are supported.
Programme Guide
Welcome to the first step of your Hearing Awareness Journey.
This guide will help you to better understand how the programme works and some key timelines you'll need to be aware of.
Let's get started.
Check out our introductory video and have a flick through the Programme Guide booklet below. You can also download a copy of this booklet for easy reference.
Introducing the Hearing Accredited Workplace Programme
1. Hearing Screening
2. Consent & Privacy
3. Workshops
What happens if a potential hearing loss is picked up?
If the screening result is: 'Refer.' We recommend a further hearing diagnosis. We also provide free vouchers for a full diagnostic with a participating clinic.
Health and Safety
Hand sanitizer and screen wipes should be available for staff to use when using the kiosks.
Reporting on the results
Our reports provide an overview of how many staff had hearing within the normal range and how many received a 'Refer' result. The reports will not provide identifiable details about the individuals who participated.
Each kiosk will have an alias created so we can pull non-identifiable data to create a report for your workplace. Staff can choose which email address to use, however, if they choose a work email address it will make reporting easier.
Regular hearing checks help everyone to stay on top of their hearing health and pick up any changes.
What's involved?
Your workplace will be provided with a suite of kiosks or tablets that everyone will be able to access to complete their self-service hearing check.
The hearing screening involves an online test provided by Triton Hearing. Each team member can use the online self-screen to see if their hearing sits within the normal range, or if a full diagnostic hearing assessment at a clinic is recommended.
How long does it take?
Each test takes about 5 minutes – but allow 10 mins when scheduling.
The hearing screening can be booked at the same time as your workshop day, but where possible we encourage you to have the kiosks or tablets in your organisation for at least a week to allow for all team members to complete the screening process. Scheduling of appointments is not required if you book the screening devices over a longer time.
4. Collateral
5. Your Hearing Accreditation Journey
6. Log in access
7. Contact Us
Hearing Awareness Journey
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Understand the impact of hearing loss and some of the common misconceptions.
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Discover the anatomy of hearing, the environmental risks and how to make hearing health a priority in your workplace.
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Learn practical steps you can implement today to accommodate Deaf and hard of hearing employees and customers.
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1-hour interactive team workshop delivered by NFDHH and partners.
Privacy Policy
The National Foundation for the Deaf Incorporated is committed to protecting and maintaining the privacy, accuracy and security of your personal information.
This privacy policy sets out details of how we collect, use, store and disclose your personal information.
We will always seek consent before the collection, use, storage and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this policy.
Our Privacy Policy can be located here
A suite of visual collateral is provided to assist your organisation on your hearing aware journey.
As a new member of the Hearing Accredited Workplace Programme you'll receive the following collateral in your starter kit:
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1 A3 poster Be Hearing Loss Aware
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1 A3 poster Is This Meeting Hearing Aware
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2 Hearing Loss Awareness tent cards to put onto a desk and boardroom table
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5 Communication strategy cards - 'Buddy Cards' - these can be useful tools for team members who have hearing loss.
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1 Take 30 for Hearing Loss team activity pack, this includes an A3 NZSL Fingerspelling poster.
Your journey will follow seven important steps to receive accreditation.
STEP 1: Introduction
To start you on your journey towards hearing accreditation, we will meet with you in person or online and perform a workplace assessment. You will also receive a login to the Hearing Hub, an online library of resources that your team can work through to learn how to support team members or customers who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
STEP 2: Workshops & Hearing Screening
As part of your annual accreditation process, your organisation will have the opportunity to take part in two workshops and a hearing screening week.
Select two workshops from the options below:
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Hearing Awareness Journey
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Deaf Awareness and an Introduction to New Zealand Sign Language
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Supporting Deaf and hard of hearing customers
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Accessibility for Deaf and hard of hearing employees
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Accessibility Solutions & Technology for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees
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Accessibility Solutions & Technology for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees(Part 1 & 2)
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Health and Safety - Protecting Employees with Hearing Loss
Hearing Screenings: Regular hearing screenings are important to assess how your team’s hearing health is going and help to pick up any potential hearing loss.
Screenings involve self-service kiosks that your team can access over the week. We recommend your organisation book their Hearing Screening week at the same time as you book a workshop.
STEP 3: Partial Accreditation
Partial accreditation will be awarded at the completion of step two. Your organisation will receive a logo that can be added to your website, signifying your hearing awareness journey.
In recognition of your commitment to becoming hearing aware, your organisation’s upcoming vacancies will also be featured on NFDHH’s job
board, which is viewed regularly by our community.
STEP 4: Action
Together we will help you to put some of the key areas that have been identified within your organisation for improvement into action.
STEP 5: Hearing Awareness Assessment
Complete a multi-choice quiz to check your hearing awareness knowledge. This will be based on the topics we have covered together in step 2 and step 4.
STEP 6: Declaration
A commitment is made by your organisation to be a Hearing Accredited Workplace.
STEP 7: Full Accreditation
You are now fully accredited! You will receive the Hearing Accreditation logo, a certificate, recognition on our social channels and website. NFDHH will also work with you to create a case study that highlights the solutions your workplace has put into action to better accommodate Deaf and hard of hearing employees and customers.
STAYING ACCREDITED
Once your organisation is fully Hearing Accredited, you’ll move into the Hearing Accredited Maintenance Plan which will ensure your organisation continues its commitment to being a Hearing Aware workplace and includes two workshops and free hearing screening annually.
As soon as NFDHH have processed your membership, you will receive an email with the login and password details.
For ease of use, this login and password can be used by all team members in the organisation to access the Hearing Hub throughout the programme membership.
If you or the team have any issues logging in, please contact our Programme Manager, Linda Holmes: linda.holmes@nfdhh.org.nz or our office on enquiries@nfdhh.org.nz
Simply login by using the login/sign up box in the top right corner of the Hearing Hub page.
Would you like to talk to someone? We’re here to help.
Phone: 09 307 2922 or 0800 867 446
You can also contact our Programme Manager, Linda Holmes.
Email address: linda.holmes@nfdhh.org.nz
Tailored Awareness Workshops
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Are you interested in a customised Awareness Workshop, exclusively designed for your organisation?
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When you book a Tailored Awareness Workshop, we collaborate with your organisation to craft a one-hour session that focuses on the unique requirements of your business. Empower employees and customers who are Deaf and hard of hearing by prioritising accessibility in your organisation.
FAQs
Your questions answered here! We've compiled a list of the most commonly asked questions we receive about the Hearing Accredited Workplace Programme and we've answered them for your convenience.
Got a question? Check out our FAQs below.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about the Hearing Accredited Workplace Programme, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Simply email our Programme Manager Linda Holmes at: linda.holmes@nfdhh.org.nz
Book an awareness workshop today!
Customised New Zealand Sign Language Workshop
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Learn up to 15 new signs or phrases that are specifically customised for your industry.
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Let us know the vocabulary you’d like to learn in advance, and we will transform this into a bespoke NZSL lesson for your team.
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1-hour workshop taught by experts in New Zealand Sign Language.
Deaf Awareness and an Introduction to New Zealand Sign Language
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Deaf culture is the set of social beliefs, behaviors, history and values that are shared by communities that are influenced by deafness and which use sign language as their primary means of communication.
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This is your team’s opportunity to learn about Deaf culture and the basics of New Zealand Sign Language.
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1-hour workshop learning from experts in New Zealand Sign Language.
Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Customers
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Discover some of the common barriers faced by your Deaf and hard of hearing customers.
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Explore practical tools that will help customers with hearing loss to navigate your business.
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Learn some basic New Zealand Sign Language, such as how to fingerspell, introduce yourself in sign and some useful greetings/everyday phrases.
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1-hour interactive team workshop delivered by NFDHH.
Introduction to Accessibility for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees
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Over 330,000 working age New Zealanders are Deaf or hard of hearing and this number is expected to double over the next 30 years.
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This workshop is a fantastic opportunity for your organisation to become more inclusive of Deaf and hard of hearing employees.
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It is a chance for the whole team to learn about hearing loss aware communication in typical workplace scenarios as well as some basics of New Zealand Sign Language, such as how to fingerspell, introduce yourself in sign and some useful greetings and everyday phrases.
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1-hour interactive team workshop delivered by NFDHH.