Every year, a disability information and awareness-raising campaign is organised, aimed at Stormshield employees. This substantive approach is designed to promote diversity and de-dramatise the issue of disability within the company. Alain Yanacopoulo, a Developer who is part of the SMC team in Lyon, gives us a first-hand account.

 

Alain, could you introduce yourself and tell us about your disability?

My visual disability developed as I came to the end of my school years. At the time, it was fairly minor and didn’t prevent me from passing my baccalaureate, studying physics at university and completing a master’s degree in computer science. As part of this master’s degree, I did a traineeship at the Lyon branch of the company Méthode et Solution Informatique (MSI), which led to a job. In 2008, the company was taken over by Arkoon, which has now become Stormshield.

My disability gradually got worse. I started to become less independent during MSI’s last few years and the situation continued to get slightly worse in stages during the following years.

 

What do you expect from your employer?

If a company employs me, I expect it to dedicate the necessary resources, especially since it is supported in this task by grants and the assistance of organisations such as Agefiph and associations for the disabled. In my case, the association Fidev helps visually impaired people in their daily lives and work lives.

The most important thing, however, is that the employer is really involved in regularly monitoring the person’s disability. I know that this is a delicate issue, because companies and colleagues do not always know how to behave towards people with disabilities. They need to help facilitate integration and improve daily life within the company.

 

When you arrived at Stormshield, did you discuss your disability directly with your manager and/or the HR department?

When my company was taken over by Arkoon, I was directly contacted by the HR manager at the time. She had been made aware of my disability by MSI. Her first action was to suggest that I work from home at a time when this option was only offered in very specific cases. She also put me in touch with the Occupational Physician for the Vaise district, who got very involved.

Thanks to HR and the Occupational Physician, several measures have been introduced to provide the transport and equipment that I need access to. For example, I use voice synthesis software to be able to carry out my development work and a screen magnifier.

How do you feel today at Stormshield?

I must admit that, whenever necessary, my manager, HR and my colleagues have always been there when I’ve needed help.

More recently, at the end of my last project, I joined the R&D team for the SMC product. When I joined I could see that the whole team was very committed, starting with my manager, Jérôme Guilloux. This applies both to work tasks and those relating more to daily life. Generally speaking, all the staff at Stormshield have always done as much as they can to help me, for example by making sure that I don’t have to travel unnecessarily, or accompanying me on essential trips, or carrying out tasks, even minor ones, that I couldn’t do because of my disability.

Stormshield knows, after talking to other people with disabilities, that it cannot just do the strict legal minimum, as too many companies still do. Some companies would even rather pay a fine than hire disabled people…

Stormshield’s approach of making all employees aware of disability and encouraging the hiring of disabled people helps to de-dramatise the issue. It does not stop the work from getting done. It is this last point that puts off some companies who wonder how to manage relations between disabled and non-disabled people.

To conclude, I would like to say a few words to those with disabilities and tell them not to be afraid. They should also not hesitate to contact companies to apply for jobs. If the company you contact acts as it should, you will quickly see many barriers fall. Companies also now have access to a whole host of schemes and associations to help integrate these employees, so why not make the most of this?