CALL YACHOL

 

CALL YACHOL

CALL YACHOL is a call center in Israel. It was launched by Gil Winch who had been a therapist in training. However he became frustrated with psychology. He felt it was not enough to help one client at a time. He wished to solve problems on a larger scale. He discovered that worldwide, people with disabilities were struggling to find employment. People with impairments in their hearing, vision, movement, memory, learning and communication shared a common experience. Whether they had a physical disability or a psychological disorder, they knew from a lifetime of stigma and rejection that they were likely to be underestimated or overlooked.

Gil wanted to showcase the ability of people with disabilities. He established CALL YACHOL, which is Hebrew for ‘able to do anything,’ the call center staffed entirely by people with disabilities.

For selection of candidates for hiring, Gil overhauled the interview process. In his system, the interviewers are hosts, not interrogators. They treat you like a guest in their home. It relaxes you. It frees you from anxiety, awkwardness and stress. In the bargain they are able to see you light up on what you love. Instead of bombarding you with intimidating riddles and unfamiliar problems, they challenge you, providing the opportunity to exhibit your skills in familiar or conducive situations. They encourage you to showcase your abilities, leading you through real time work samples. And if you fail, they give you a second chance to succeed.

At the end of the interview, they ask you to rate your interview experience. They ask you what they can do differently to get to know you better.

The process enables the highlighting of each candidate’s skills. Here skills are gauged by what people can do, not what they say or what they have done. It doesn’t try to trip people up. It gives them the chance to put their best foot forward.

Industry insiders were skeptical that Gil’s hiring model would work. They didn’t expect that people with disabilities would thrive in a fast paced, high pressure environment. But they did.

In one case he had a manager who was legally blind supervising an employee with hearing loss. Though it didn’t sound like a recipe for success, Gil was confident it would work. Having seen their strengths up close, he knew the distance the team was capable of travelling. They didn’t just meet expectations. They shattered them.

Harvey is another example of the virtuosity of Gil’s model.

Harvey who was on the autism spectrum, was struggling to concentrate when he showed up for his second interview. The interviewer called for a break and gave him an hour to reset. He aced the redo and got the job. But it was a difficult assignment. It was a cold-calling job, where rudeness and rejection were the norm. People never last in this kind of a job. But Harvey was a paragon of grit and resilience. He’s now been a star for eight years, consistently reaching his monthly goals and receiving an award in front of whole team as the employee of the quarter.

It’s explicit that an interview model like Call Yachol’s is not just a compelling way to open the door to underdogs. It’s a way to recognize the potential in everyone. It brings each candidate’s skills to the forefront.

It is evident, if the normal is selection by elimination, brilliance has little scope to go places.

Hidden Potential

Adam Grant