WorldWide Drilling Resource

How a Deaf Hire Opened Our Eyes by Emily Sottile, Vice President of Human Resources, Connelly & Associates from Drill Bits Magazine of the National Drilling Association, Spring 2018 Drilling isn’t like most contracting trades. That’s what a geotechnical driller will tell you. It’s a specialized industry that comes with many learning experiences that are specific to the profession. When hiring drilling assistants, I’m looking for someone who wants to work outside year-round, lift heavy things, get dirty, and spend 3-4 hours a day in Washington, D.C. traffic. I’m also looking for someone who can communicate well. A drilling assistant needs to know what’s going on with the rig and be able to understand the driller’s cues and directions. Essentially, they need to have proficient communication skills. When Brodey Curtis walked into my office for his interview, he had a great smile on his face. He was clearly very happy to be there and eager to get the process going. As soon as I said hello, he signed to me and I realized he was deaf. Knowing almost zero American Sign Language, I pointed to my lips and asked “do you read lips?” He gave me a look of hesitance and shook his head, motioning his hand as if to say “not really”. I led him to our conference room and gave him an application and a pen. I quickly ran to my desk and punched into Google: HOW TO INTERVIEW A DEAF PERSON. While Brodey filled out the application, I typed up all the questions I ask in an interview, and printed the job description. We carried out the interview via typing into our phones and scribbling on legal pads. He was completely comfortable and kept his joyful, confident composure throughout the interview. After he left, I started consulting my peers. I liked Brodey and I wanted to hire him. I spoke to my partners, my project managers, my friends. I called my dad who had been in the industry for 45 years. I stumped everyone. No one I talked to had ever known of a deaf person being hired to work behind a drill rig. (Though they all knew someone who practically went deaf from working behind a drill rig!) Everyone I talked to had the same concern: safety. What if he can’t hear someone yelling at him to get out of the way? What if he can’t hear something about to fall on him? I couldn’t help but think these are concerns for all of our employees. Drill rigs are loud and it is possible that even someone with the ability to hear wouldn’t hear a hazard due to the noise. I knew communication would be difficult, but I also know language barriers exist in many different ways. There is always an example of a situation where someone didn’t hear you. I was confident in Brodey’s character, his work experience, and his refer- ences. I had no reason not to offer him the job. I offered him the position and he accepted with excitement. He wanted to give two weeks’ notice to his current employer, which only confirmed to me that he was an ethical person. This gave us time to work on our accommodations. We knew we would need an interpreter, but what else? We made our verbal orientation into a PowerPoint pres- entation. We took the time to find and contract with an interpreting service. These were both investments our company had to make outside of the normal orientation expenses, but as a hiring professional there are certain times when you just know an applicant is worth the extra mile. I assigned Brodey to one of our senior drillers, who accepted the role with grace. After the Hire : by Curtis Wolfe, Senior Driller, Connelly & Associates When I was first told that I was going to have a new helper that was just starting out at Connelly and that he was deaf, I was a little skeptical about how it would work. We spend the majority of our time working next to a loud rig where it is important to listen to what the rig is telling you. A well-trained helper knows when there is a problem based on the sounds coming from the rig and when you take sound out of the equation, it can be challenging. But I remained open-minded and figured it was worth a try. I began thinking about how I would communicate with him, and more importantly, what I would do if an issue arose. On the day Brodey started, I soon realized that although I was teaching him the job, he was actually teaching me how to com- municate in a whole new way. I did not know any sign language prior to working with Brodey, so the first few days I used signs I made up and he would type his questions or responses on his phone. As the days went on, Brodey began teaching me the proper signs for the things I was trying to communicate and I learned that without hearing, his other senses were heightened. He is very aware of his sur- roundings, vibrations, and lights. Although I was skeptical at first, it was obvious the first day that Brodey was very eager to learn and that he does not con- sider himself disabled, he just communi- cates differently. I have trained numerous helpers while employed with Connelly, none of whom before Brodey were deaf. Even though he cannot hear me, his lis- tening and communication skills are some of the best. I feel honored to be able to work with him. 19 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® AUGUST 2018 C&G