Neurodiversity as a competitive talent advantage and the next paradigm shift in I&D

As organizations have become more progressive, Inclusion and Diversity(I&D) have become the top priority across organizational spaces. Business leaders around the globe are currently cornered by challenges to be more agile, resilient, and congruent both at the individual and organizational levels to survive in an accelerating digital and transformative environment. Although organizations are making strides in fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion, it’s not just about gender and race. While the focus has been on empowering employees from all walks of life, workplace programs are mainly gravitated towards gender diversity, with other groups receiving less focus. One area where there is still a lot of work to be done is in the inclusion of neurodivergent employees as the concept of neurodiversity is starting to take shape in many organizations.

What is neurodiversity?

In the 1990s, an Australian sociologist called Judy Singer, coined the term neurodiversity to encourage equal opportunity for “neurological minorities”. The word neurodiversity refers to the diversity of all people and it’s often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and other neurological or developmental conditions such as learning disabilities or ADHD among others.

Neurodiversity represents the idea that different people encounter and connect with people and the world in many different ways. The construct is to convey there is no one “right” way of thinking, behaving, and learning. The difference only makes them unique and not defects.

What is the business opportunity?

Business leaders today know the value I&D adds to the organization. It is estimated that 1 in 7 people are neurologically different from most of the population. As neurodiverse people are wired differently from “neurotypical” people, having neurodiverse employees will bring organizations new perspectives to a company’s efforts to create or recognize the value. Nevertheless, the neurodiverse population remains a largely untapped talent pool with attrition rates being high across organizations.

The abilities and traits that neurodivergent possess are highly valuable in the increasingly tech-based world of work. However, there is also a very real benefit gained from building teams in which people quite simply think differently. Building teams of individuals with different ways of thinking and approaching problems is one of the main goals of building a more inclusive and diverse workforce. Neurodivergent workers bring pattern recognition and skills that are crucial to enterprises. For example, job roles that require accuracy and attention to detail, the ability to recognize patterns, in-depth knowledge or skills in specific areas, concentration and deep focus, visual skills and recollection of details, keen observational skills, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking are some of the unique talents neurominorities possess.

How to attract neurodiverse candidates?

Organizations need to rethink and let go of their rigid, one size fits all hiring practices to tap into the largely untapped neurodiverse talent pool. If organizations want to build teams that are stable where the generality and thinking aren’t the same, they can tap into neurodiverse people who are unique and excellent in various areas such as quality improvement, and accelerating innovative capabilities, among others. This talent group adds value to companies. But why has this population been ignored? The underlying cause resides in how organizations hire. To tap into this talent pool organizations must first start with:

• Making your hiring pools more inclusive: The simple fact is that, hiring managers are not looking for this type of talent. Neurodiverse people are not always in the same professional networks and organizations interested in hiring this talent pool can start by building hiring programs with schools, universities, and non-profits that work with this population.
• Change how you write job descriptions: Many folks on the autism spectrum tend to be literal compared to a neurotypical candidate. So, candidates reading a job description with unrealistic communication won’t even apply for a job, even if they are highly qualified because of the way the job description is written.
• Sensitization training to all your hiring managers to rethink the interview process: One key factor limiting hiring from this untapped talent pool is that hiring managers are not trained to interview someone on the autism spectrum, who might not function well in a traditional sit-down interview. Organizations can consider a series of assessments or participation in group or individual projects to gauge skills and potential fit.
  That’s why many organizations like IBM, SAP, EY, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Dell, and Ford are recognizing the value neurodiversity brings to an organization by revising their hiring and I&D programs to attract and retain neurodiverse talent.

How to accommodate neurodiverse talent in the workplace?

Neurodiversity often comes with sensory differences such as lights and sounds that many of us find natural may be overwhelming and distracting. So, they may need workplace accommodations to cultivate their abilities and alleviate any latent challenges. Most accommodations, like mellow lighting, noise-canceling headphones, flexible hours, delivery oriented than attendance, and a quieter area for the employee’s desk, are all cost-effective and foster a sense of safety for neurodivergent employees.

It is often said that neurodivergent employees struggle with communication and they don’t express themselves to their managers and co-workers. Therefore, as part of the employee program, creating a safe space that can foster steady ongoing communication and training can help set an example and encourage other colleagues to do the same by scheduling regular meetings with neurodivergent employees to express themselves.

• Other colleagues can have regular one-on-ones with managers or HR teams to understand and learn how neurodivergent team members function and how to be accommodating and inclusive.
• Regular communication of employee support network and similar resources being made available anytime to help and assist with any workplace issues.
• As managers and HR officers, offering individual support like mentoring, coaching, or other forms of support regularly can open a safe line of communication for neurodivergent candidates.
• As a practice, knowing how your employees are doing within the workspace through surveys can help course correct if needed.

As Inclusion and Diversity have become the need of the hour, many business leaders are focusing on making their organizations more inclusive and diverse regardless of race, gender, and disabilities. While doing so, including neurodiversity in their strategies and I&D programs is imperative.

Including neurodivergent employees is not just a smart strategy but valuable for businesses as it increases productivity, fosters employee loyalty and retention, positive awareness, and more innovation. Although, creating a neurodiverse workforce will require organizations to backtrack and remove biased assumptions and learn how to communicate in a new way. The bottom line is that we all lose when human potential is squandered and making that extra effort with Inclusion and Diversity is worth it in the long run.