Bill Gates, Tom Cruise, Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, Steve Jobs, Abishek Bachan, Michael Phelps, Justin Timberlake, Sir Richard Branson, Cher, Keira Knightley. Recognize these names? I am sure you do, for all the value they have added in their area of specialization. 

Now, can you think of what they all have in common?

They are all neurodivergent.

In fact, 15% to 20% of the global population is considered to be neurodivergent. 

I myself got exposed to the term ‘neurodiversity’ as recent as this January, during a conversation with my manager. Then, later, I had the opportunity to delve into a very riveting session by Joel Godi, the founder of NeuroGifted®, at my company offsite. I remember sitting through the session in awe as Joel took us through what it meant to be neurodivergent. And I still remember the look on everyone faces when he mentioned that around 1 in every 5 people are neurodivergent! That’s right. In fact, most times they are not even aware of it. Neurodivergence and its reality is closer to home than we imagine, impacting our lives in a much more profound way than we know or recognize.

What is Neurodiversity?

For those of you who have never heard the term “neurodiversity” before or have heard it but were not sure what it really means, let’s take a quick look at what it means.

Neurodiversity refers to the infinite variations of the human brain and cognition ability in each individual, in areas such as sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions. Our brains are unique like our fingerprints and therefore, each one of us differs in how we experience and respond to the world around us - how we perceive, receive, process, store, retrieve and transmit information.

In terms of brain variations, people can be broadly classified into 2 categories. NEUROTYPICALs, the largest group, represents about 80% of the general population, and NEURODIVERGENTs, the minority group, representing the rest, which is about 20%.

The ‘neurotypicals’ are often called GENERALISTS, i.e., those who can perform a variety or number of tasks in a more or less similar way, in contrast to ‘neurodivergents’ who are called SPECIALISTS, i.e., those who can perform limited tasks extraordinarily well. 

What does it encompass?

NEURODIVERGENT is an umbrella term encompassing people with one or more inherent cognitive variations such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD), autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and Asperger's Syndrome, Dysgraphia, Tourette’s, Hyperlexia, and more. 

What does it mean for organizations looking at hiring neurodivergents?

The primary focus areas for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives have been ethnicity, gender, age, colour, race, sexual orientation, and physical disability. While Neurodiversity does come under this area, previously most Neurodiversity initiatives have been predominantly Autism@work programs. It is only in recent year that the focus has shifted from autism to include other neurodivergent population like ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and others. One very vital development in the way organization view neurodiversity is worthy of mention – historically, most neurodiversity programs came under the umbrella of the CSR initiative of organizations almost giving it a charity-like appeal, however, now, companies have awakened to the importance and the business value of hiring a more diverse pool of talent. 

Organizations operate in an environment of constant change and volatility; therefore, it is imperative to hire the right talent capable of thinking out of the box, in order to create that competitive edge in the market. 

The good news is that hiring a neurodivergent workforce could be an integral part of the solution to these situations. This is an untapped pool of raw talent who can help turn the tide on the current talent shortage that had been the bane of many industries and organizations.

Another valuable benefit of a neurodiverse population is that it fosters diversity of thought, different approaches to work, creativity and problem solving, leading to innovative solutions which give organizations that competitive advantage they are looking for. 

A well-known Forbes article from 2014, ‘ADHD: The entrepreneur’s superpower’, cited ADHDer traits as including the ability to focus for extended periods, multitasking and being calm under pressure: all valuable skills for employees within organisations. The capacity of dyslexic and dyspraxic people to ‘think outside the box’ – today an important ask for most individuals in a team – is also highly valuable. Autistic people often bring in strengths such as analytical thinking, focus, and attention to detail. In the words of one autistic employee at SAP’s Autism at Work programme, data analyst Raphael Vivas, ‘people on the spectrum come with a diverse set of skills and interest and have a lot of prowess in a whole range of fields.’

Leveraging the potential of neurodivergent talent

Having understood the business value of hiring a neurodiverse population, many organizations like Microsoft, JPMorgan, EY, Google, SAP, DXC Technology, Ford and Amazon are all running neurodiversity-at-work initiatives, or are developing one. 

There have been numerous business cases showcasing the value of hiring neurodivergents into the organization. Let’s take a look at a few cases:

JPMorgan, for example, reports that ‘after three to six months working in the Mortgage Banking Technology division, autistic employees were doing the work of people who took three years to ramp up – and were even 50 percent more productive’.

At DXC Technology, whose pioneering ‘Dandelion’ programme in Australia has become a model for others to follow, managers’ report about neurodivergent hires, ‘They’ve actually helped sharpen up some of the thought processes amongst the teams.’ 

Rajesh Anandan, CEO of software testing company ULTRA Testing, which employs a significant number of autistic people, says he has put his testers up against other firms and their skills have been proven to be superior – ULTRA, a start-up, has tripled revenues in the past two years and is already operating profitably.

What is it going to take for organization to ramp up their neuroinclusive initiatives?

For far too long now, there has been a set and acceptable way of doing things which has been coined the “normal way”. This came to be as it aligns with the way of life of the majority population i.e neurotypicals. In short, the systems of the world, including education, social mannerisms, culture, workplaces, communication, are designed mostly with this population in mind. 

With the advent of the business case for neuroinclusion, organizations are forced to acknowledge that they need neuroinclusion initiatives to succeed and are actively seeking to create inclusive workplaces that accommodate diverse needs and harness the unique skills neurodivergent individuals possess.

In line with an article in ‘Deloitte Insights’, for organizations to successfully adopt a Neurodiverse Hiring Strategy it is imperative to look at the following areas:

• Redesign your hiring processes: Challenge the current process which had been developed to evaluate neurotypicals and not neurodivergents.
• Create a conducive work environment: Not all neurodivergents are the same, therefore a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. Every neurodivergent person may have a different need and by acknowledging this difference and identifying the need, organizations will be able to extend the support they require to be able to work effectively and maximize their contribution. 
• Provide a tailored career journey: Identifying roles that best leverage their individual skills and strengths is crucial, while ensuring steps are taken to mitigate/manage their areas of challenge.

Here are Joel Godi’s top tips on how organizations and leaders can be more neuroinclusive.

• Begin with awareness building
• Create psychological safety
• Look within the organization for neurodiverse talent
• Build a community and create a sense of belonging
• Equip managers and teams to work with a neurodiverse population
• Audit processes and systems (previous designed only for neurotypicals) 
• Create a neurodivergent friendly environment

While creating a path down this road may be hard for many organizations, however, the payoff for this will be considerable and well worth the effort both in terms of business value and fostering an inclusive culture. Together, let’s us all take a step forward and extend our hand toward building a neuroinclusive culture and workforce based on understanding, acceptance and support.

If you would like to talk to us about creating a neurodiversity-focused DEI strategy that works for your organization needs and readiness, we can help. Email me at sarah@c2cod.com