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The conversation around diversity and inclusion has picked up significantly in the past few years, pushing some companies to rethink their hiring policies. But what about differences in the brain? Enter neurodiversity: people with autism, dyspraxia, dyslexia, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) or ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).
While the stigma around these disorders is still rampant in the workplace, some companies are now recognising that hiring people with neurological differences could give them a competitive edge. In October 2017, SAP, Microsoft, EY, JPMorgan Chase, Ford Motor and DXC Technology formed the Autism at Work Employer Roundtable to raise awareness around autism and help other firms with their hiring processes. Since then, the initiative has grown to 15 companies.
People on the autism spectrum who are high-functioning are known to often have extraordinary cognitive abilities linked to memory, concentration and analysis. “A lot of individuals on the spectrum tend to outperform in domains that are strongly rule-based, such as mathematics or engineering,” says Marie Schaer, head of the autism outpatient clinic in Geneva, Switzerland. “That might explain why we find more people on the spectrum in tech-related jobs: they're simply good at it.”
SAP, headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, launched its Autism at Work Program in 2013. The initiative is now operational in 13 countries and employs more than 160 autistic individuals.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Microsoft is known for its inclusive hiring practice and uses a cohort model to assess candidates on the autism spectrum. Neil Barnett, the director of inclusive hiring and accessibility at Microsoft, says the company has run about 16 cohorts to date. The five-day interview process focuses on the candidate’s technical and professional skills. When asked how the company sources these talents, Barnett says that you can’t just “go to LinkedIn and type it in. A lot is through word-of-mouth and getting our story out.”
Despite all these efforts to raise awareness around neurodiverse hiring, the global unemployment rate for people on the autism spectrum remains at around 80 per cent. Meanwhile, the European Commission has recently stated that the EU could face a shortage of up to 900,000 skilled IT workers by next year.
The hiring process is one of the first stumbling blocks in getting more neurodiverse people on board, says Catherine Leggett, the employment pathways coordinator at the National Autistic Society in the UK. “We work with companies on making the interview process more adaptive to autistic candidates,” she says. “Setting up a job trial rather than a face-to-face interview, for example. A lot of people on the autism spectrum aren’t comfortable with non-verbal communication, like eye contact, body language and social cues, which can lead to unconscious bias on the employer’s part.” Leggett herself struggled to find a job where she felt comfortable as she was only diagnosed with autism at age 42.
Once the hiring process is complete, employers need to adapt to the needs of neurodiverse individuals, be it by creating pods to block out noise or providing a more flexible schedule. This also applies to communication. “Individuals who are on the spectrum might have difficulties understanding implicit rules, which can stem from figurative language, second-degree or nuanced expressions,” said Schaer. “Employers therefore need to make the implicit explicit to avoid any confusion.”
Some firms have made it their mission to hire people on the autism spectrum and match them with the right company. The Danish firm Specialisterne has worked with SAP, IBM, PWC, Microsoft, EY and others to recruit and manage individuals who are on the autism spectrum.
“Businesses are laser-focused on social skills when it comes to employees,” says its founder, Thorkil Sonne. “Instead of training autistic people to behave like non-autistic people, we are working on changing the labour market to make it more inclusive and adaptive for the benefit of all.”
In 2008, Sonne created the Specialisterne Foundation, which has been working with the United Nations (UN) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) to secure one million jobs for neurodiverse people by 2030. So far, Specialisterne says it has generated about 10,000 jobs for individuals who are on the autism spectrum through its various chapters and followers implementing similar programs.
One such “follower” is Auticon, founded in 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The firm says it exclusively hires people on the autism spectrum, training them to become IT consultants for firms such as KPMG and Allianz Group. Financial backers include Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, which is also a client. Auticon says it currently employs more than 200 professionals who are on the autism spectrum across the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland and the US.
When Steve Jobs coined the slogan “Think Different” in the late 90s, he may have been onto something. Neurodiverse people provide different perspectives, which can be immensely beneficial to companies trying to innovate.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
