Philips Medical Systems: Making Things Better
By Sarita Rani, in Bangalore

The company goes to great lengths to accommodate its physically challenged employees and in return, earns a lot of goodwill.

When Philips was constructing its two new buildings at Bangalore, the company asked all employees for a wish list. They ranged from the hilarious to the brilliant. Niranjan Nerlige, quality manager, software division, Philips Medical Systems, (see main story) sent in a long list, hoping at least some of his suggestions would be accepted. To his surprise, all of them were. The long list addressed one basic need: he and his wheelchair needed access to the building and everywhere within the building.

The company did more than fulfill his wish list. “They thought of everything,” says Nerlige. “The way from the parking lot to the lift is completely flat. In one place inside the building there was a six-inch difference in floor levels. They made a slope over that. They made sure all doors, all over the building open so that I can get in easily. What this company did was truly amazing.” His immediate boss, S Bhaskaran, director, software competency center, Philips, personally measured Nerlige’s wheelchair and ensured that all doors would allow him entry. When he found that one door was a little small, he had it broken and rebuilt. “Even now, everyday when I reach the office, there is a man waiting to help me out of the car.”

C Mahalingam, head, HR, Philips, has now authorized a refitting of Nerlige’s car so that he can drive to work himself and when the quality manager recently left for an official overseas visit, the company sponsored his wife’s ticket so she could go with him.

Nor is Nerlige an exception. R Srinath applied to the company for a job two years ago, mentioning clearly in his resume that he was virtually deaf. They called him for an interview, checked with their in-house doctor on whether the problem would interfere with his work and gave him a job. Srinath is now a test engineer in the company.

Philips is among the few companies that has started putting processes into place to see that they do not inadvertently reject qualified candidates on the basis of their disability. Says Mahalingam, “We’ve told our headhunters: Please don’t disqualify candidates because they are disabled in any way. If they have the basic professional qualifications, send them to us, we will decide for ourselves.”

More importantly, the company has gone proactive. According to Mahalingam, “Starting soon, all our recruitment ads will clearly and prominently mention that qualified, physically-challenged people are encouraged to apply.” These are unusual, if simple things to do. But they have a high dividend: Commitment from employees and a lot of goodwill from people who hear of these policies.

Source: DATAQUEST
Dated: April 30, 2001