Information Line (Freephone)
Telephone 0808 808 0123
Textphone 0808 808 9000
informationline@rnid.org.uk
Telephone 0808 808 0123
Textphone 0808 808 9000
informationline@rnid.org.uk
RNID: For deaf and hard of hearing people.
Louder than Words quality standards
The Louder than Words charter is made up of 10 quality standards, nine covering customer care and one focused on employee care. You should be able to provide the following to deaf and hard of hearing customers and employees:
1. Staff should be trained to communicate effectively with customers
- Staff should, for example, be able to communicate effectively with deaf or hard of hearing people in everyday situations as well as emergencies.
2. A clear, visible and easy-to-read deaf aware policy
- All of your customer standards should be inclusive of deaf and hard of hearing people, including recruitment opportunities.
3. Information about your products should be readily available and fully accessible
- This will be different for each organisation, but there are some obvious examples. Your product literature should be written in plain English. Any contact details should list textphone or alternative forms of contact, such as email or fax. If you offer videos they should be subtitled. And your websites should meet accessibility requirements.
4. Your premises should have appropriate, working equipment
- Any equipment at your premises must be correctly installed, working, and regularly updated and tested. This includes textphones, flashing fire alarms, loops, visual displays and other equipment for deaf and hard of hearing customers and employees. Visual alternatives to any auditory announcements, such as at stations and on trains, must be provided.
5. A good listening environment
- In all circumstances you should provide a good listening environment, which is well signed and well lit for lipreading. You should aim to reduce background noise where possible.
6. Clear health and safety procedures
- You should provide clear health and safety procedures to protect deaf and hard of hearing customers and staff, and alert them to any dangers, including clear visual and easy to read evacuation plans.
7. All requests for communication support should be met whenever possible
8. Your organisation should be registered with RNID TypeTalk
- RNID Typetalk is our telephone relay service which is funded by BT. This lets deaf and hard of hearing people communicate with you via the telephone network if they wish. Read more about RNID Typetalk.
9. Consultation about the organisation’s deaf awareness
- You should liaise with deaf and hard of hearing users, employees and applicants, and discuss the quality and extent of your organisation's deaf awareness to see if you can improve further. You should also ensure that any changes you have already made are still in place.