Report and photos on the 2022-2023 Handi Day

Facilitating insertion in the workplace

The day began with a round table on the subject of technological tools used to facilitate life at work for people in situations of invalidity and to raise awareness of handicap.

Led by Hager Jemel – Director of the Diversity and Inclusion Chair - the conference enabled four professionals, all specialists in handicap in the workplace, to present the equipment used in their own organisations. These included digital accessibility and voice recognition modules for people with visual impairments at Onepoint and Bouygues, or the work done by the Signe de Sens not-for-profit association to facilitate interaction with people with hearing impairments, by equipping companies with the “ELIX living dictionary of sign language”.

Technology is also at the heart of numerous initiatives designed to encourage recognition of disability and to make managers and staff aware of the possible accommodations or adjustments that can be made. In pursuit of this objective, Bouygues Télécom and Orange make use of videos that enable employees with disabilities to share their experience with their colleagues. And in order to overcome prejudices about handicap within companies and to better understand the needs associated with certain situations, Onepoint is a keen user of virtual reality. As Hager Jemel underlines, such awareness-raising is needed “to help managers understand that people with disabilities are no harder to manage than others. In reality, each individual may have specific needs that require technological or organisational accommodations or adjustments.”

Engaging collectively for a new paradigm

During the afternoon session, EDHEC students had the chance to visit the stands of the different companies and EDHEC student associations present on campus for the purposes of demonstrating their engagements and measures in favour of handicap.  

"At Ardian we provide personalised support to all people who declare their disability, including administrative support and adjustments to their work stations. We also try to strengthen our relations with schools and universities in order to increase the diversity of the profiles we recruit. EDHEC’s approach to handicap was a key factor for us in agreeing this partnership."  Maxime Letissier, Senior HR Manager, Ardian 

Whether through the serious game created by Vinci, the extracts from films broadcast by the Prix de Court student association in collaboration with Richemont, the presentation of a digital interactive game created by Société Générale or the educational quiz devised by the Rocher Group, all participants on campus had the chance to exchange with EDHEC students on the issues of handicap visibility and inclusion within companies.

"Société Générale chose to work with EDHEC as it’s a School that develops skills and values among its students that fit with those we seek for our company. Handicap is an important subject for us: we are attached to a diversity of profiles and recognise this diversity as a source of wealth for the company. Looking beyond this idea, we believe it’s important to succeed with inclusion. In other words, how can we all work together? How can we ensure, notwithstanding differences, that each individual can have their place within an organisation and contribute their value to it?" Caroline Cravoisier, Head of Projects - Recruitment and Campus Relations - Handicap Mission · Société Générale