Renfrewshire Council

Alan Hannah (left) and Tommy Wright Thanks to Tommy, for the first time in his working life Alan now feels happy, confident and able to flourish in his role, no longer limited by the disability which previously held him back.

Alan, a concierge at Glennifer Court, in Paisley, said, "It's no exaggeration to say that Tommy has changed my life. I feel it's thanks to him that I am finally working in a job I love with the backing of a line-manager who truly believes in me.

"I'm autistic and I struggle with a-typical migraines that cause severe physical symptoms, similar to a seizure, like loss of vision. My symptoms mean I am limited in the type of environments where I can work and in the past, I've struggled to fit in and work to the best of my ability.

"But now, things are totally different. When I joined the team, Tommy was honest with me about the fact that he didn't know much about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and he spent a lot of time learning, asking questions and getting to know me.

"He's helped me flourish in this role by giving me tasks that I am best suited to and building a plan to help me take care of myself, and do my best every day.

"He never labelled me or made assumptions about me because I'm autistic, which was incredibly refreshing. His honest and open approach has helped me uncover my potential and I come to work every day, confident that I will do a great job."

For caretaking and concierge co-ordinator Tommy, learning about ASD and taking time to understand Alan's individual needs seemed the most natural thing to do.

Tommy said, "I chose not to focus on the things that Alan couldn't do and instead worked with him to discover where he could really shine in his role.

"I spent time getting to know him and that enabled me to develop a set of tasks that give him the direction and structure he needs to do his job well. I also worked with him to create a tailored plan to help him cope any time he's struggling or if something was to go wrong. I think just knowing he has that plan has really eased his mind and he can focus now, without worrying about what could go wrong.

"He's brilliant with the tenants and lives our values himself every day by being helpful and looking out for them. Some tenants have had similar struggles and because of the way Alan relates to them, they feel more secure and are always saying how much they enjoy his company.

"I was moved when I got the nomination for living our values and I'm so pleased to hear that he's happy at work and that my approach as a line-manager is part of the reason for that."

Thank you to Tommy and Alan for taking the time to share their story and show us what living our values means to them.

Nominate a colleague for living our values

Have you noticed a colleague or team who really get what it means to be fair, helpful, collaborative and value learning? Why not let them know they're doing a great job by nominating them for living our values?

To nominate: simply complete this short form with some great examples of what they do (Survey123 website).

For more information on our values and behaviours, head over to the Living Our Values webpage (Renfrewshire.gov.uk).

Published Monday 24 June 2024