How Neuro-Inclusive is your Talent Strategy?
Neuro-inclusivity is about recognising that neurodiversity encompasses our world. Rather than devaluing people with particular conditions, a neuro-inclusive setting celebrates variability in ways of thinking and appreciates how valuable it can be.
What is Neurodiversity?
“neurodiverse” and “neurodivergent” were introduced in the 1990s by autistic sociologist Judy Singer as an alternative to deficit-based language, such as “disorder.”
Singer highlighted notable strengths of many individuals in the autistic population that include abilities to focus, recognise patterns, and remember factual information. A “neurodivergent” person refers to a person on the autism spectrum or, more generally, to someone whose brain processes information in a way that is not typical of most individuals.
Although “neurodiversity” is usually used to describe a group of neurodivergent individuals, it also refers to all of humankind because everyone has a unique way of processing information.
How does this support your Talent Strategy?
Over the past few years, we have seen a paradigm shift in job-hunting behaviours, a shrinking workforce combined with economic uncertainty means organisations need to adapt their long-term workforce tactics and incorporate a group of particularly gifted individuals into their plans.
According to a report by Harvard Health, over 20% of the global workforce is Neurodivergent.
Unfortunately, the stigma and lack of support at work means that neurodiverse people face high levels of unemployment and under-employment. Across the community, unemployment is estimated to be up to 40% – this rises to 85% for autistic adults.
However, neurodivergence brings real benefits to businesses. Employers surveyed by Neurodiversity in Business said that neurodiverse workers are hyper-focused (80%), think innovatively (75%) and are very creative (78%).
J P Morgan found that autistic employees worked 48% faster and were almost 100% more productive than their non-autistic colleagues.
Neurodiversity is the fuel needed to power the new Skills-Economy, a concept that an individual’s skills and aptitudes are recognised as valuable currency over and above a formal education in the same field.
The Skills-Economy? The COVID-19 Pandemic accelerated the journey from some knowledge to a skills economy. During a time when talent was reassessing what matters most in terms of life and work, personal development and online learning platforms augmented the way knowledge is acquired and skills are developed. Organisations recognise that certain functions can be delivered by someone with recently acquired knowledge.
Example. A developer role filled by a candidate who taught themselves code during the pandemic and can pass a screening test instead of a harder to source candidate with formal education?
The key for any business seeking a Neuro-Inclusive, skills-based workforce plan is assessing the current workforce, upskilling, reskilling, and rethinking job descriptions to understand which roles genuinely require a formal education or can be performed by an individual with a high level of focus and an aptitude for those core activities.
Incorporating a Neuro-Diverse Talent Pool is a way for businesses to be truly inclusive, widen their access to desirable skills and engage a section of the community that are regularly overlooked.