Retaining Autistic Talent in your Workplace

By coming from a place of acceptance, understanding and responsibility, a workplace can help autistic talent to thrive and unlock the amazing potential that your autistic employees and managers can bring to your organisation.

In this post I’ve compiled a resource page for employers in Ireland to assist you to create and sustain an autism-friendly workplace.

A ‘neurodiversity-friendly workplace’ is one that is designed to accommodate and support the diverse ways individuals think, learn and interact.

It is a workplace that recognises and respects neurological differences as much as any other human variation such as gender, race or sexual orientation.

Most importantly, as employers you must remember that reasonable accommodations are a question of law not convenience.

Creating an inclusive workplace begins with a cultural change

For many, it can understandably be challenging to be identified as ‘differently abled’.

According to research published in 2020 by the DCU Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion, it’s not unusual for autistic people to choose to keep their neurodivergence hidden in the workplace.

While neurodivergent individuals have many strengths, they also face many challenges and bias in the working environment. 

It is the responsibility of employers and people managers to stay well-informed on the types of accommodations available - environment, technology, team communication, management approach and legal responsibilities - regardless of the number of known autistic people in a workplace.

The term neurodiversity refers to the infinite range of differences in individual human brain function and behavioural traits. 

This means that workplace policies don’t adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but instead create flexible work cultures where neurodivergent employees can work with their brain, instead of against it.

Flexible work cultures treat each person as an individual who is listened to and supported as they try to create the right conditions for them to achieve their potential.

cultural change requires leadership and planning. image source: unsplash

Autism-Informed Management

Autism is just as likely to be present in your workplace leadership as in its staff.

Realistically, with current figures between 1 in 59 and 1 in 30 people being autistic, any large organisation is already going to have autistic leaders, managers and staff.

It’s clear therefore that it benefits all to develop autism-friendly and informed attitudes in leadership.

Don’t worry however because you are not alone and there is a wealth of Irish-based knowledge and expertise to support you in leading an autism-friendly workplace.

Barry Walsh from Focusondiversity.ie is doing essential work in amplifying diverse voices in Ireland and offers thorough templates for Neurodiversity Awareness Training, covering:

• Personal insights into neurodiversity.

• Exploring “reasonable accommodations” terminology.

• Diving into various neurodiverse conditions.

• Presenting the business advantages of hiring neurodiverse individuals.

• Addressing the challenges of job hunting with a neurodivergent condition.

Cork-based AUsome Training has suggested that neurodiversity training in the following topics can help to retain autistic talent:

• Creating and managing cultural changes

• Advertising job opportunities

• Designing an autistic informed interview process

• Interpersonal communication

• Departmental communication

• Organisational communication

• Evaluating the physical environment

• Evaluating the social environment

Employers for Change was established in 2021 as a programme of the Open Doors Initiative with the aim of empowering employers with the advice, information and training needed to hire inclusively and to recruit, employ and retain staff with disabilities as well as employees who acquire a disability.  Employers for Change provides free one-to-one advice through their dedicated helpline, guidance documents through their website and online and in-person training

The Inclusivity Employment Toolkit was designed to support employers who want to implement programmes (such as placements or training) to promote inclusivity in their organisations or networks, or who are seeking to increase recruitment from marginalised groups into their workforce.

This can include guidelines for bringing someone into the workplace, how to draw up a job description so that it is appropriate, remove unconscious bias in the interview process and integrate new employees into the office environment.

Time for a fresh look at technology? image source: unsplash

Technology and Physical Environment

Organisations of all sizes in Ireland are increasingly becoming more and more aware of their obligation to make their workplaces and digital offerings more accessible to all.

Under current diagnostic criteria, autism is classed as a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability, a classification that facilitates access for employers to schemes and expertise that can assist them in developing neurodiverse-friendly workspaces.

Not only is this the right thing to do, but through government workplace adaptation grants there are often subsidies available to employers which can drastically decrease the costs associated with implementing accessibility features either in the workplace or digitally. 

Some of the grants available on the Work and Access programme allow employers to improve their physical environment to adapt it to the needs of people with additional needs.

The government-funded Access to Work scheme can also fund disability awareness training, which can be adapted to the situation required.

AHEAD are an excellent resource on reasonable accommodations for businesses to ensure that the corporate world is as inclusive as possible, including advice on assistive technology.

Through their training, mentoring and graduate programmes, AHEAD also aim to support students and graduates with disabilities moving into work and to support employers who are interested in expanding their talent pool

Enable Ireland offer online accredited training on assistive technology that any interested person including an employer can access to better understand how technology is there to assist us.

Enable Ireland also offers an adapted NDA module on “Disability Equality Training‘, designed to help employers to provide quality public services to people with disabilities, including training for management on development of policies or procedures and training for service staff on engaging with a person with disabilities. Many of the courses on assistive technology on Enable Ireland’s website are free for self enrolment. 

Helperbird is an Irish reading, writing and accessibility assistant company created in 2015 with a mission of making the digital world more accessible for everyone who uses it. Originally developed as a dyslexia aid, Helperbird believes in the importance of choice and aims to offer a range of browser extension tools that cater to users’ unique needs including Text to Speech, Reword/ Simplify and Reading Mode to create a distraction-free reading environment.

Helperbird is a versatile assistive technology tool for all types of learners, not just those with information processing differences Other similar tools include TextHelp and Beeline Reader, which is designed with the speedy reader in mind.

When was the last time you took a look at resources available to you to improve the inclusivity of your workplace?

Developing an Open-Minded Workplace Culture

Regularly-held peer support and resource sharing opportunities are likely to result in brilliant ideas emerging on ways that your workplace can foster a neurodiversity-friendly culture.

Employee resource groups can be encouraged to identify actionable items / longer term priorities and policies where clarification is needed. The group can decide how to create a communication pipeline to management on these items.

All employee resource groups can ask its members to consider how much the workplace is missing out on by focusing on the prescribed lists of deficits rather than developing an appreciation for different ways we have of thinking, perceiving, interpreting and creating.

But it should not be left to employees to champion change in the workplace. Peer support groups may decide to create a safe sharing space where disclosure stays within the room, and that decision needs to be respected and upheld by management.

A team is only as good as its coach. Regular individual check-ins with staff members are vital for team leaders who want to establish strong communication channels, clarify expectations and check in on individual workloads, satisfaction and levels of stress.

equity involves making adjustments for fairness based on individual needs. image source: unplash

Change Management: Equity and Inclusion in Practice

Equity means acknowledging each person's differences and giving them resources based on their individual needs so everyone can reach an equal outcome, even when they come from different starting points.

Inclusion means making all people and groups feel welcome, supported and appreciated by creating positive spaces and eliminating negative words and beliefs.

Putting these values at the core of your company ethos and policy can be time-consuming work, so it can help to find your own tribe of like-minded employers.

The Open Doors Initiative is focused on bringing inclusivity to the workplace and fostering those who may find it harder to get work experience and retain a position of their choosing. 

Many other supports are available through the Open Doors Initiative website including structured mentorship programmes, lists of supporting community organisations and lists of current vacancies at companies who practice inclusive recruitment.  

Disability Federation of Ireland is a federation of member organisations working with people with disabilities to implement the UN CRPD and ensure the equal participation in society of people with disabilities.

DFI list member organisations by county on their website. Their aspiration is that their strategy will contribute to government supports to employers, real life experience dos and don’ts, things to consider in a work environment and legislation and policy inclusion laws.

By joining with other like-minded employers, you can be part of a sea-change movement that seeks to recruit and retain valuable autistic talent in the workplace.

Sources and Resources 

AHEAD

A&L Goodbody | Spotlight on Reasonable Accommodation

AsIAm | What is Autism

AuSome | Neurodiversity Training

Beeline Reader

DCU Centre for Excellence in D&I | How to Guide Self Disclosure in the Workplace

Disability Federation of Ireland

Employers for Change | Inclusivity Toolkits for Employers

Employers for Change | Workplace Adaptation Grants

Enable Ireland Assistive Technology

Equity vs Equality: What’s the Difference | GWU Online Public Health

Everway formerly TextHelp

Focus on Diversity | Amplifying Diverse Voices in Ireland

HelperBird

Open Doors Initiative

Work and Access | Gov.ie

. Promote a positive view of neurodiversity. image source: unsplash

Attracting Autistic Talent to your Workplace

The Importance of Autistic Talent In the Workplace

Employers are increasingly recognising that neurodiversity is an asset.  Many valuable traits can be identified in people who focus time and energy on building their strengths, abilities and specialisations. For example, companies often specifically recruit autistic candidates for occupations that involve systemising tasks such as design and data analysis, programming and engineering roles.

For employers, a neuroaffirmative attitude also carries wider implications for recruitment and longevity in future markets.   Newer entrants to the workforce in 2024 take a different approach to job seeking than previous generations. 

Younger generations – and increasingly all employees – tend to want a lot more from their job than a good salary.  They  want to work for organisations that consistently reflect their values and will even walk away from a job if they feel the organisation isn’t a great match.

2018 research by Accenture on disability inclusion would suggest that diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) is perhaps the key value for younger workforce retention.  The same report also concludes that companies leading in disability inclusion are consistently outperforming their peers.

So how does a business go about building an inclusive, autistic friendly workplace environment -  and how do they get the message out there once they have done it?

The Business Case for Neurodiversity

The business case for embracing diversity in the workplace is widely accepted and neurodiversity - diversity in terms of intellectual ability - is no different.

Where organisations make accommodations for neurodiversity, they reap the rewards of higher productivity, more creativity and better retention rates.

For businesses who want to generate long-term sustainability and of course increased profit margins, it therefore makes good business sense to adopt best practices relating to neurodiversity inclusion. 

Younger generations will research a company’s DEI data  and reputation before applying for a job; they will look closely at the people across the table from them in an interview; and, once in a job, they will continuously assess how comfortable and recognised they feel in the organisation... and then adjust their plans accordingly. 

An Employer’s Incentive Should Not Be Their Own Profitability Alone

The real business case should be that establishing a culture of empathy and inclusion helps to create a workplace that reflects – and respects – a person as a whole person.  This includes respecting how they perceive themselves, their world and their workplace.  An inclusive and diverse workforce is beneficial to the organisation, employees and the wider community.

At a practical level this means having structures and systems in place that can accommodate someone when they communicate a specific need for the workplace and by keeping an open mind that an accommodating workplace generates profit, longevity and a business that people want to work for.

Importantly, Irish employers should also be conscious of their legal obligations as outlined in the Equality Act 2010  to make reasonable adjustments that remove, reduce or prevent the substantial disadvantage that a disabled person (both employees and job applicants) experiences because of their condition at work. 

Employees who seek these accommodations with reasonable cause are not asking you for a favour, they are asserting their legal rights.

How to Build a Neurodiversity Workplace Policy – not just words but actions

Neurodiversity at work: everyone has a unique brain, and therefore different skills, abiities and challenges

The simplest way to build an inclusive neurodivergent workplace is by developing policies that create an environment where neurodivergent talent can thrive.

The term neurodiversity refers to the infinite range of differences in individual human brain function and behavioural traits.  It is the concept that neurological differences are to be recognised and respected as much as any other human variation such as gender, race or sexual orientation.

It is important therefore that an employer understands and upholds the belief that is no ‘standard’ for the human brain.

This means that workplace policies don’t adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but instead create work cultures where neurodivergent employees can work with their brain, instead of against it.

It is important for employers to recognise that it can be extremely vulnerable for an individual to disclose that they are autistic.  The best way employers can attract and retain neurodivergent talent is by creating neurodiversity friendly cultures and supporting people on a day to day basis, such as by making reasonable adjustments and pro-actively sharing examples of what has helped others across an organisation. 

By making these policies and stories publicly available, such as on a website, an organisation can attract neurodivergent talent.

And by promoting these values and standards within an organisation in practical action-oriented ways, an organisation can increase their chances of retaining this talent.  The best attitude is to embrace this as an opportunity rather than an obligation.

 Where to Start – Recruiting Talent

Many barriers facing neurodivergent candidates start with the hiring process.  These barriers are actually very dependent on circumstances and can be avoided.

Employers have a responsibility to universally design the workplace in a way that supports individual differences to ensure people are not ‘disabled’ by the world around them.  Creating an inclusive hiring process is the starting point of all this.

Hiring managers tend to develop processes with neurotypical people in mind rather than designing a process where all candidates have equitable access. As a result,  neurodivergent candidates often describe the hiring process environment as ‘disabling’ in itself.

In the simplest sense, the only way to be truly inclusive in an interview process is to offer choices.  Interview options need to be flexible so that people can select the option which will allow them to show themselves in the best light. Provide questions in advance give all neurotypes the opportunity to prepare. Offer questions that relate to concrete skills and abilities as well as more abstract competency-type questions allows people.

Also, do your research. Don’t use the term neurodiverse on your literature where the correct term is neurodivergent. As with all forms of diversity, an individual cannot be diverse. And if you aren’t sure of the distinction, take steps to educate yourself.

Finally, communicate your openness to hiring neurodivergent candidates by prominently including a symbol associated with autistic pride on your website or recruitment ad, such as the rainbow spectrum.

Most closely tied to the autistic community, the rainbow infinity spectrum has often been used to visually represent the vast range of individual autistic traits, abilities and challenges.

Cork-based organisation AuSome Training provide lists of Do’s and Don’ts on their website to help employers and recruiters to educate themselves on what an autism-informed recruitment process could look like. 

AUsome Training checklists include the following:

5 KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN ADVERTISING:

1. Highlight the inclusive and welcoming environment for autistic people.

2. Highlight your organisational values around diversity and inclusion.

3. Use the Neurodiversity Symbol to show prospective talent that you are neuro-inclusive.

4. Avoid generic job descriptions such as “must be a good communicator, team player” etc . Of course Autistic people can be excellent communicators and team players but previous experiences and the lack of understanding around our communication may have lead us to believe this description does not fit us.

5. Use the language of Acceptance.

5 KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN INTERVIEWING AUTISTIC TALENT:

1. Autistic Communication is different in delivery and purpose

2. Offer options around communication methods

3. Remember eye contact is not part of Autistic Communication

4. Consider having an Autistic interviewer or “translator” present.

5. Consider interview techniques for AAC users

Have a publicly available neurodiversity policy

Adopting inclusive practices will assist organisations in creating a hiring ecosystem that is focused on unlocking hidden talents, not hidden disabilities.

An inclusive hiring policy easily made available on the company website is beneficial for all parties involved; it allows employers to attract and retain the widest range of candidates, and it allows potential employees to feel valued for their individual skills and talents. This approach contributes to an overall culture of acceptance where employees feel valued as individuals and it encourages a wider pool of candidates to take a chance and apply for a role.

Understanding how to create an inclusive recruitment process is fundamental, but so too is appreciating the value of difference and individuality.   

Sources

Accenture | Companies that Lead in Disability Inclusion Outperform Peers Financially, Reveals New Research from Accenture

Accenture | The Disability Inclusion Imperative 2018

AUsome Training | Putting the ‘Neuro’ into your Diversity and Inclusion Training

DisabilityIN | The Disability Inclusion Imperative

Elite Business Magazine | Four Ways to Attract and Retain Neurodivergent Talent

Focus on Diversity | Irish Organisations that can Enhance a Company’s Workplace or Digital Accessibility

Forbes | Seven Ongoing Measures to Effectively Hire and Retain Neurodiverse Talent

IBEC | Creating an Inclusive Workforce for the Neurodiverse

Inclusio | What Today’s Workforce Really Wants

Neurodiversity Ireland | What is Neurodiversity

Technology Partners | How to Attract and Retain Neurodiverse Talent