We are thrilled to be working with HSBC UK in a two-year collaboration. Since October 2024, we have been raising awareness of hearing loss, and looking at how best to support HSBC colleagues and the people and communities they serve.
Together, we aim to help make HSBC UK a bank that is fully inclusive to the 1 in 3 of us who are deaf, or who have hearing loss or tinnitus.
Key successes so far
Establishing the ‘Hear Together’ Support Group
The group launched in January 2025, and 75 HSBC colleagues are already members, with the number growing! Hear Together, which is part of HSBC’s Physical Health Employee Resource Group (ERG), brings together employees who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus – as well as hearing people who are passionate about the topic – to provide an open platform that champions inclusivity and deaf culture.
Training and raising awareness
We provided advice on the implementation of HSBC’s ‘Understanding Hearing Loss’ eLearning course – a bespoke online course with simulations which replicate the HSBC office and branch environments. The course is aimed at raising employee deaf awareness levels and equipping managers with guidance on how best to support colleagues with hearing loss. It has been completed by over 4,000 UK HSBC colleagues so far.
Promoting our hearing check
HSBC’s ‘Understanding Hearing Loss’ eLearning course incorporates our free Hearing Check tool, which is an effective tool in measuring how well people can hear speech when there’s background noise. To date, more than 1,610 HSBC employees have completed the check, opening up conversations around hearing loss and related topics.
Improving accessibility at HSBC UK
We will continue supporting HSBC UK on its journey to become a fully inclusive bank for our communities. Next steps include:
- Expanding HSBC’s existing deaf aware training portfolio. HSBC are keen to embed BSL knowledge and line manager training into their training offering.
- Reviewing HSBC’s infrastructure. RNID experts aim to review HSBC’s framework of policies and procedures and suggest practical improvements to ensure that they are deaf aware.
- Introducing employee engagement initiatives. In the near future, we hope to see HSBC UK colleagues taking part in volunteering and fundraising for RNID.
In year two, our collaboration will have more of an external focus. We will work together to ensure that services, such as those delivered in bank branches and via Banking Hubs, are both welcoming and accessible for customers who are part of the deaf community.
HSBC UK’s experience
Alistair Griffin, HSBC UK, said:
“Since the start of our collaboration with RNID in October 2024, several HSBC colleagues have shared their stories with us about hearing loss and how best we can support them, and in turn make the HSBC work environment more inclusive. RNID is providing expertise in this area and enabling us to take steps towards being a truly inclusive business and opening a world of opportunity for our colleagues, our customers and the wider communities we serve.”
A bank colleague of HSBC said:
“In October last year, someone in my team shared the RNID Hearing Check. I was surprised when the results said I may have hearing loss and decided it obviously wasn’t a very reliable test, so I ignored it. Over the next month or so I realised that I was turning the TV up, asking people to repeat themselves and was struggling to hear if someone was talking to me across the desk. I began to wonder if the hearing test might be right, so I booked a free hearing test.
This test also suggested I had some mild to moderate hearing loss in my right ear and I was referred for a hospital audiology test. The hospital hearing test again confirmed I have hearing loss. They recommended a hearing aid which I had fitted two weeks later. My hearing aid is tiny and Bluetooth. I can listen to music on it and even answer my phone. All in all, it took about six weeks from the GP referring me to getting the hearing aid fitted which I think is amazing. I’m happy to share my story so that other people don’t struggle like I did and didn’t even realise I was struggling.”
A bank colleague of HSBC said:
One of the videos in our eLearning course features a deaf customer speaking to an employee in a bank branch. The employee is not always looking at the customer while they speak, making it hard for the customer to lip-read, while noise levels change as branch doors open and close.
I watched the videos in the eLearning and, honestly, cried each time the branch door opened and the customer’s hearing was affected. When the person they were talking to was facing in the opposite direction, the impact on the customer with hearing loss touched me. I felt for the first time I understood the importance of hearing.”