Workers with neurological conditions such as autism (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia and dyslexia often have heightened abilities in memory, maths and visual understanding. Yet they often struggle to make it through traditional interviews. Business leaders are now beginning to see neurodiversity as a competitive advantage in the workforce for particular roles.
What are the benefits of hiring neurodivergent talent?
A growing number of companies, including Microsoft, Ford and HP, have redesigned their recruitment process to gain access to a neurodiverse talent pool. The results so far have included increases in: productivity, quality of work, innovative capabilities, and employee engagement.
Many other companies have started to make their recruitment process more open to neurodivergent workers, such as IBM, Dell, Caterpillar, Deloitte and JP Morgan Chase.
An additional benefit to recruiting neurodivergent employees, is that managers become more aware of harnessing the unique skills sets of all their workers, including those that are neurotypical.
Initial data from neurodivergent employee programs has suggested that these workers are very loyal and have low rates of turnover.
Why have most companies not tapped into recruiting neurodivergent workers?
Many neurodivergent workers don’t have the characteristics that are traditionally thought of as making a good employee, so they get systematically screened out during the recruitment process.
These characteristics include emotional intelligence, strong communication skills, being a team player and the ability to network. However, managers are now realising that a one size fits all approach has been overlooking this high-quality pool of talent.
Perhaps the greatest reason that a lot of neurodivergent workers have struggled to find employment is that they don’t do well in interviews, which are used across the board for hiring. For example, workers on the autism spectrum often don’t make good eye contact or sometimes head off on conversational tangents. They can also be too honest about their weaknesses during the hiring process or have a lack of confidence in interviews due to previous bad experiences.
What can companies do to recruit neurodivergent talent?
- Make accommodations for a more flexible working environment, such as headphones to prevent auditory overstimulation
- Use non-interview-based assessment processes and extend the assessment process
- Offer work trials or internships – it can often take weeks for managers to uncover the extensive skill set of neurodiverse workers
- Work with charitable organisations who are experienced in working with people who have disabilities, many can provide soft-skills training and life skills courses
- Offer a buddy system – colleagues in the same team can aid with workload management
- Train your workforce and management in what to expect from neurodivergent colleagues, such as particular eccentricities they may have
- Provide ongoing assessment that takes into account the unique characteristics of neurodivergent workers
Are you a manager that can now see neurodiversity as a competitive advantage in the workforce for particular roles?
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