Hiring Deaf Workers Is a Win-Win for This Company

Working with a nonprofit that places workers with disabilities ended up being the perfect solution for a New York City cleaning company.

David Steiner and Jared Roxby were having trouble finding reliable workers for the NYC maid cleaning service they launched 16 months ago when they found an unexpected solution. At the time, their company Dirty2Purdy was a bootstrap operation, run out of the trunk of Roxby’s car. Cleaners they would find on Craigslist would meet them at subway stops to pick up supplies and receive instructions. But many of the workers were wary of getting involved with a start-up. The company's biggest issue was holding on to reliable employees.

Then Steiner met a friend of a friend at a party who was a Child of a Deaf Adult (also known as CODA), whose first language was sign language, even though he wasn't hearing impaired himself. The man was working for a nonprofit organization that places deaf people in jobs that they can do, despite being hearing impaired. He suggested that hiring deaf workers could be the solution to their problem.

"We were simply looking for people who could do the job we needed them to do," says Roxby.

Roxby says the first four or five reliable employees were all hired through Federal Employment Guidance Services Health and Human Services System (F·E·G·S). Among other services, F·E·G·S helps find stable employment opportunities for people 16 and older with development disabilities or other mental or physical conditions. Roxby says the decision has been a win-win for both the company and their employees, and one they plan to stick with.

"It is something overlooked in a situation like this to have another aspect of the business that makes you feel good about what you’re doing," says Roxby.

Today, about 40 percent of Dirty2Purdy's staff of 17 are deaf or hearing impaired, including the crew manager. All the cleaners work on a part time basis, averaging about 30-35 hours a week making $10 an hour, as opposed to most cleaning companies, which pay minimum wage. Most deaf people also qualify for government assistance in the form of Medicaid, Social Security and/or city and state funded housing, so their income is supplemented. What's more, both Steiner and Roxby have picked up a little sign language themselves in order to communicate with their workers.

Of course, there have been bumps along the way. Roxby says he and Steiner make a point of not advertising the fact that they employ hearing impaired workers, because it's not something they want to exploit. However, once a cleaning is booked, they understand that it's important to inform clients that their cleaner is hearing impaired. On one occasion, they forgot. The client complained that she was been ignored when she tried to talk to the cleaner. Once clients learn that many of the cleaners are hearing impaired, however, they're overwhelmingly supportive.

"It’s really rewarding in a whole other way to be able to stand back and say, these people are living their lives as a result of a company that we built," says Roxby, who adds that in today's economic climate, being able to say that they've created 17 jobs that didn't exist before helps them hold their heads a little higher.

Roxby says in the year and a half since they launched their business, it's grown pretty steadily, with a seasonal slowdown in the summer. They now have about 50-60 regular clients and they're gearing up to hire more workers and open another location in New York City.

Photo by rubberglovelover via Flickr.