Why some companies are actively recruiting an ‘untapped market’ of neurodiverse workers

Having been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) in childhood, Lauren Martin grew up knowing that her neurodiversity made her different, and it was especially difficult once she began her working life. (Characteristics of ADD, also known as inattentive attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, can include being easily distracted, having difficulty following directions or focusing on a task.)
The Winnipeg resident says that for years she faced challenges in the workplace, particularly when navigating the nuances of communication with co-workers and bosses.
“I remember getting into trouble for e-mails all the time,” Ms. Martin says of early jobs. She says she might interpret a single e-mail five different ways and may need to ask several times for clarification. “I’m often misunderstood as being curt or having a tone, but that’s often because I’m in my own head.”
When Ms. Martin began in her current career, as a costumer for film and an instructor in a postsecondary theatre program, she never even considered letting her employers know about her challenges.
“I didn’t know back then I was supposed to say anything about it,” she says.
Individuals who think differently due to neurological or developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD or learning disabilities may be reluctant to disclose because they fear how it will impact their career opportunities. But as employers begin to recognize that neurodiverse individuals have unique talents, some are launching specialized recruitment programs and creating workplaces that are more accommodating to workers who are not neurotypical.
Sonja Volpe, CEO of BNP Paribas Canada, says they began creating a program for attracting neurodiverse staff when they heard of a similar initiative by Ernst & Young Canada, which launched its first Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence in Toronto.
Ms. Volpe says while diversity and inclusion is part of the financial services company’s overall core strategy, the organization hadn’t focused specifically on neurodiversity until recently. But the company realized the time is right.
Almost one-quarter of working-age adults had a disability in 2022, which has increased by 4 percentage points since 2017, and studies have shown that between 15-20 per cent of the global population is neurodivergent, which creates a large, untapped work force, says Ms. Volpe.
“Those are big numbers. They have the skills, but that [segment of the population] is underutilized,” she says.
BNP Paribas Canada reached out to EY to help them form a strategy to both attract, and retain, neurodiverse workers, implementing a number of changes in 2022. Job descriptions now feature clear and concise language, and neurodiverse applicants are given opportunities to do presentations or smaller projects to show what they bring to the table.
After they are hired, workers are onboarded to a “buddy program” which matches the neurodiverse person with a worker who is a peer coach, says Ms. Volpe, and can act as a “sounding board” for the new worker.
“It typically lasts for the first three months or so. It’s really key for new people in the organization,” she says.
The new recruitment program has provided several opportunities, says Ms. Volpe. “One, [it helps] diversify our talent pool. Two, it allows us to send a message internally that we are open and inclusive, and thirdly, it addresses biases and assumptions around diversity, but specifically around neurodiversity.”
Tammy Morris, leader for EY’s six Neurodiversity Centres of Excellence in Canada, says the company first established these centres as a talent initiative to attract more workers from an untapped market. “The unemployment rate for neurodiverse folks is much higher than people with other disabilities,” she says. (A recent Canadian Survey on Disability found that only 33 per cent of those ages 20 to 64 with autism spectrum disorder were employed).
EY worked with research and academic partners to ensure the hiring methodology was “evidence-based in best practice.” Once they had established expertise in the space (with EY now boasting a neurodiverse community of over 2,500 professionals worldwide), Ms. Morris says EY clients began reaching out to see how they could adapt EY’s practices.
“A lot of organizations are hesitant,” she says. “Nobody wants to do the wrong thing, and we appreciate that.”
Ms. Morris notes that neurodiverse women in particular can have more struggles. “They tend to have a later diagnosis,” she says. Some women do not disclose neurodivergence until they have moved up in the company. “We know these are complex challenges.”
One company’s journey to be more inclusive for neurodiverse workers
Anne Kresta, president and executive director of Level it Up (LIU), a Manitoba-based organization promoting the benefits of hiring skilled job seekers with autism into STEM careers, works with both employers and job seekers to create matches. She agrees that neurodivergent women, especially those from diverse backgrounds, can experience hardships at work.
“Women on the spectrum are particularly good at masking their lived experiences, and [that’s] to their detriment, because the energy required to mask your identity is exhausting,” she says. If workplaces are not accommodating, it increases the likelihood they will experience “autistic burnout,” Ms. Kresta says, where female workers either go on stress leave or quit.
But accommodating neurodiversity can be fairly straightforward, she adds. Employers should ensure everyone in the workplace is familiar with the company’s neurodiversity policies, and an employee resource group for neurodiverse individuals and allies can also provide support.
Ms. Kresta says employers can also take action by providing rooms with lower lighting, noise cancelling headphones, flexible work hours and providing verbal (rather than text) communication, as some people work better that way. “Offering these things is good for everybody,” she adds.
Ms. Martin agrees, saying when she is working on a film, she often needs “five minutes in a dark space to re-regulate and be quiet for a bit,” because lights and noises can be overwhelming.
Employers need to realize that neurodiverse workers bring much to the table, says Ms. Kresta.
“We call it the autism advantage,” she says. That can mean everything from skills in creative problem solving to strengths in logical thinking to deep subject matter expertise. By being more welcoming and accommodating, companies can gain a competitive advantage while enabling neurodiverse people to excel in their careers.
EY is most proud of its retention rate for neurodiverse employees, which is 95 per cent after five years, says Ms. Morris.
As for Ms. Martin, she says that she has learned to advocate for herself over the years, and that for the most part, her co-workers have been accommodating. If she’s working with a new film crew, she’ll be honest in a way she didn’t think she could in her early career.
“I’ll say, ‘Hey, I have ADD. These are the things I struggle with, these are the things I need, these are my fortes,’ and we go forward from there.”
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