While hearing testing may seem like a routine activity, for some employees it can be stressful. Those uncomfortable in the close quarters of a refrigerator-sized sound booth may be unwilling to participate in annual testing. This will have an impact on your ability to maintain a compliant program.

For those who use a service provider to manage the testing for their Hearing Conservation Program, mobile clinics can offer a convenient way to perform testing. But sharing the mobile clinic space with a handful of colleagues doesn’t usually result in an optimal experience.

Modern, portable test equipment like SHOEBOX Audiometry, can help to improve employee productivity and their engagement in the HCP, leading to a better experience for everyone.

Productivity

Balancing a compliant program with employee productivity can be challenging. Being pulled away from one’s regular duties for a hearing test may seem to some a waste of time. A common sentiment is “I still need to get my work done. I just don’t have time for this right now”.

It’s true that conventional approaches to testing, whether at a local clinic or in the mobile van of a service provider, can be time consuming for the employee. Portable audiometric testing devices like SHOEBOX bring testing closer to the employee. Any reasonably quiet room at their place of employment can be used to administer testing. This is both more convenient, and less time consuming. Portable audiometry helps to minimize interruptions in an employee’s work day.

Employee Engagement

SHOEBOX hearing testing can be automated and self-administered, meaning the employee plays a more active role in the administration of the test. The very nature of how the test is performed results in a higher level of engagement. Plus, the employee is allowed to be in a much more comfortable setting, usually a room by themself, or at most, with one other test administrator.

SHOEBOX Audiometry provides a unique benefit in workplaces where employees communicate in a language other than English. The gamified interface is largely language-agnostic. That said, SHOEBOX provides an impressive number of translations for employee-facing testing screens. More languages are added regularly via software updates. Additionally, the SHOEBOX Hearing Conservation Questionnaire is available in both English and Spanish.

Conclusion

While SHOEBOX opens the door to improved flexibility and lower costs, it’s the better employee experience that makes it the testing equipment of choice for many forward-thinking organizations. Having a higher percentage of employees engaged in hearing testing, and hearing conservation activities, results in a more effective overall Hearing Conservation Program – which is a win-win situation for all involved.

This guide is intended to be a useful tool on your journey to in-house mobile hearing testing or adding iPad-based testing to your services business. We’ll be releasing the final chapter next week! However, if you would like to download the complete guide now, complete the form below.

Feel free to share this with colleagues, peers, or others who would benefit from learning more on how to optimize your Hearing Conservation Program with innovative employee-focused testing and follow-up.