Joining Forces with JAWS
JAWS is the key to this endeavor, states Jack Sands, CEO of Vforce.
Anyone who is proficient with JAWS is ideally suited to be a
successful part of the
team we are assembling.
The endeavor, Jack explains, is twofold: to build a successful
nationwide business, and to provide as many employment opportunities
as possible for people
who are blind.
Vforce has contracted with AAA motor clubs across the United States
to handle membership renewals. They have created a virtual call
center where team members
work from home and are connected via the Internet to the Vforce sales
and customer tracking applications. There are many benefits for both
the company
and the employees when they work from home, says Jack. This is
especially true for our blind team members who can avoid
transportation concerns and costs.
When we started out, we knew wed need to build an innovative
combination of systems and technologies that would enable us to
outperform the competition,
says Jack. We created new customer relationship models based on our
highly-customized sales and tracking applications.
Once we felt comfortable with our proprietary technologies, I hired
an outside consultant to test it. I did not realize at the time that
Bob Mitchell,
who has a Ph.D. in Business Administration, was blind. Bob conducted
all his tests of our processes and systems using JAWS, and he came
away very impressed.
I told Jack that his systems and applications performed beautifully
with JAWS, says Bob. They were, in fact, perfectly matched. Because
of that, the front-line
positions the company needed to fill would be dream jobs for JAWS
users. I knew I wanted to be a part of it, and I was sure other blind
people would want
to be as well.
I have always been interested in hiring people with physical
disabilities and challenges, says Jack. Once Bob explained how JAWS
users could excel with
our applications, I was that much more committed to expanding our
employment opportunities for the blind. We have found blind computer
users to be among
the most efficient, productive, and, therefore, most successful of
our employees.
Today, approximately 15 percent of our staff is blind, and we are
actively looking to grow our numbers, says Jack. People who can use
JAWS have an opportunity
to be really successful with us - a real win-win for everyone. He
then adds, When hiring the blind, we only consider JAWS users, not
the users of other
screen readers. The learning curve for other screen reader users is
just too steep. For JAWS users, its seamless.
Sometimes I wish our sighted team members would use JAWS. With its
advanced navigation features, data retrieval is so much easier and
quicker. Weve noticed
that JAWS users have a decided advantage in these jobs.
I really appreciate that this technology is available, adds Jack.
When I researched JAWS, I learned that it was initially developed so
that the blind could
compete with sighted people for employment opportunities. Im thrilled
that our company - thanks to JAWS - can provide employment for the
blind. Our visually
impaired employees have a high degree of job satisfaction, and I
think thats due to JAWS being so compatible with our applications.
JAWS is truly remarkable
technology.
Vforce is collaborating with the South Carolina Commission for the
Blind to facilitate the training of its blind representatives. We are
eager to add more
visually impaired people to our team, says Jack. People interested in
learning more about us and our expanding employment opportunities
should call 877-880-2025.
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