The Importance of Line Managers in Supporting Diversity

At the beginning of 2023 we launched our new report, which shared insight from employers and recommendations from us about how employers can become more inclusive for staff members who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus. ?

In our third of a series of deep dives on the report with Claire Lavery, Associate Director for Employment we look at the challenges line managers face in supporting staff with hearing loss.?

Line managers are pivotal to delivering cultural aims

Line managers play a pivotal role in connecting staff on the ground to the strategic and cultural aims of an organisation. Best laid plans by Chief Executives and their senior teams can flounder if line managers are not engaged and empowered to deliver these plans through their teams.

This also applies to strategic aims around inclusion and living out cultural values and behaviours to support people who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus at work. Staff, particularly in large organisations, are often very far removed from their senior leaders, and their interpretation of strategy and culture, and how they experience their job, will depend on the behaviours of their direct line manager.??

Managing diversity

Line managers have a lot on their plate – charged with achieving KPIs, managing budgets, resolving operational problems, and motivating and managing diverse teams of people.??

Senior leaders at our Hearing Loss at Work roundtable events consistently spoke about a sense of being overwhelmed amongst line managers in being able to navigate increasingly complex diversity and inclusion issues in the workplace.?

Saying the ‘wrong thing’?

A common concern of operational managers is that they might ‘say the wrong thing’ and cause offence.?Managers will sometimes avoid a subject entirely because of this apprehension around using the ‘wrong’ language.

Over a quarter (27%) of respondents in our 2023 employer report said they did not feel knowledgeable about hearing loss and a third were not confident that they could communicate well with someone with hearing loss.?This figure rose to 76% of managers who were not confident about communicating with a BSL user.?

Our advice is simple – just ask!?

Simplicity is key?

To reduce the sense of overwhelm, and increase confidence among busy line managers, senior leaders have told us that simple, practical information is key. Tools that they can refer to easily and translate quickly into their daily management practice. We are working on developing these tools for managers and our first practical guide is available here.

For line managers who have a member of staff with hearing loss in their team, we can offer a bespoke workplace assessment to give you recommendations on adjustments you can make for that individual.?

If you are a line manager and you would like more support to effectively manage any members of staff with hearing loss, download the full report from our website where you can also get in touch with our team.