Jacqueline Floyd; my hearing impairment journey

We want everyone working at Carnival UK to feel valued and that they belong. We also want everyone to Respect and Protect what makes their colleagues unique – we’re immensely proud of our diverse workforce. In support of Deaf Awareness Week, we’re raising awareness, suggesting simple ways to ensure inclusive communication, and shining a spotlight on colleague experiences. 

Born with 40% hearing loss (which wasn’t discovered until she started university) Jacqueline Floyd joined our ships’ company in 2013, before moving to Carnival House in 2016. Here she shares her story:

Jacqueline Floyd; my hearing impairment journey…

I joined Carnival UK in 2013 in the role of onboard HR Manager before moving shoreside in 2016 to join the Resourcing team. In 2018 I was promoted to my current role of People Operations Director, Guest Experience, which sits in the People Services department.

I work with a brilliant team that partner our brands and onboard teams to ensure we source, recruit, schedule and onboard all of our crew onto our ships. Outside of work, whilst at sea, I met my partner Adrian and I’m now a Mum to Skyler, 5, and Theo, 2, who give me lots to do in my spare time.

I was born with 40% hearing loss in both ears, and this unfortunately wasn’t discovered until I started University. I’d always been aware that things were a little quiet and that I drove everyone mad turning the TV up, but my world completely changed when I was given my first pair of hearing aids. I could hear birds tweeting and the crickets in the garden, things that seem so little but for me were incredible.

Having a hearing impairment has been a journey. At first, although it was great I could hear with my new hearing aids, I was really embarrassed. I spent the first three years growing my hair to cover my ears, and would always make sure I wore it down so people didn’t see I was deaf. I associated hearing loss with being older than I was and it really impacted my confidence for a while.

I had a second confidence knock when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2016, and it took me a little while to get over this. However over time I realised that a disability doesn’t have to hold you back, and with the right support and tools you can do anything you want, if you put your mind to it.

If you’re going through something similar, I encourage you to talk about it and ask your line manager for support, as well as using the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) service as this has been a brilliant resource for me. You can also confidentially talk to Occupational Health.

It’s been challenging at times through my career, not every business I’ve worked for has been as supportive as Carnival UK has been. There have been meetings I’ve attended where I haven’t had a clue what was said, to times I’ve just felt like the odd one out, but as time progressed I learnt to Speak Up and make people aware if I felt it was a non-inclusive environment – this does make a difference, and people do listen.

The Carnival UK teams on board were great, and every effort was made to ensure that I was supported with my disability. Equally when moving shoreside, I’ve had a huge amount of support. The facilities team have gone above and beyond to ensure I have all the required equipment I need to do my job, and our Occupational Health team have really helped my line managers to understand my disability and how best to support me to be the best I can be. I’ve also learnt by talking about my disability with my team and my peers it has really helped me feel more comfortable about it.

Five years ago, I never thought I could progress to a leadership role, but Carnival UK has really given me the support, tools and encouragement to be able to do this. You should never let a disability hold you back in achieving your goals.

One of the highlights of being deaf though…..when I want a bit of peace and quiet from the kids squabbling, it’s actually quite nice to remove my hearing aids and not hear everything for a while!

Remember these three simple steps to make a difference…

1. Face the person you’re talking to and, when not wearing a mask, don’t cover your mouth – many people lip read as well as, or instead of, using a hearing aid
2. Support verbal meetings with written information – beforehand, ask attendees if they have any special requirements and send meeting pre-reads. During the meeting use sub-titles (available on Pro Zoom accounts*) and capture information in writing – use the Zoom whiteboard or chat functions.
3. Talk at a reasonable pace and avoid background noise

*Raise a Service Request if you need access to a Pro Zoom account. 

If you have a hearing impairment and would like additional support or would like colleague/team communication to be more inclusive, please contact your line manager. Alternatively, you can contact Occupational Health confidentially.