The future of DEI: 4 new models for embracing neurodiverse employees for a stronger workforce

A global pandemic and civil unrest have accelerated meaningful workplace changes over the last few years. We were given the opportunity to redefine where we work, how we work, and who is represented at work. Our “future of work” conversations expanded to address burnout, mental health, racial diversity and equity. Organizations got the chance to hit the reset button – and many did, settling into a new normal as 2022 closed.

Especially meaningful to me were the efforts to include neurodiverse hiring in companies’ DEI initiatives. Leaders like Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Google Cloud, Wells Fargo, Dell, and Deloitte actively sought to hire and accommodate people with autism and other neurodiverse conditions, including dyslexia, ADHD, and Tourette syndrome.

We’ve made great strides in breaking down biases and barriers in the hiring process – but we’re not done. Conversations about the future of work in 2023 must now turn to full inclusion.

There’s never been a better time for organizations to consider this next phase in their DEI strategy: creating a work environment that benefits everyone and in a way that no individual is siloed or called out as different or stigmatized. It’s about making reasonable accommodations and tools available to your entire workforce by redesigning the workplace where everyone can reach their full potential.

A neurodiverse workforce adds boundless value to organizations

Let’s back up for a quick primer on why a diverse workforce is tantamount to a successful workforce.

Between 15%-20% of the world’s population has some form of neurodiversity so if your DEI efforts don’t already include neurodiverse employees, you’re losing out on a robust and talented population.

Research shows that conditions such as autism and dyslexia can come with advanced skills in memory, pattern recognition, and anomaly detection. Those on the autism spectrum often present higher-than-average IQ scores. Individuals with ADHD can have exceptional entrepreneurial acumen and problem-solving abilities.

Real-life examples: JPMorgan Chase reported that employees who participate in its neurodiversity initiatives are 90% to 140% more productive than neurotypical employees.

Additionally, some of the largest U.S. neurodiversity hiring programs (JPMorgan Chase, SAP, Microsoft and EY) have retention rates of more than 90%, which is higher than industry averages.

Overall, companies with inclusive cultures are six times more likely to be innovative and agile, according to a 2018 Deloitte report. Diversity enriches your brand, your product, and your culture.

Awareness isn’t enough

The lack of opportunity and/or the existence of hiring bias against neurodiverse individuals has been problematic. The unemployment rate for neurodiverse adults is as much as 30%-40%, which is three times the rate for people with a disability, and eight times the rate for people without a disability, according to the University of Connecticut’s Center for Neurodiversity and Employment Innovation.

Fortunately, many employers have made strides in inclusive hiring in recent years. One of the largest organizations leading by example is our client Microsoft, which built the Microsoft Neurodiversity Hiring Program in 2015 to attract talented neurodiverse candidates. Applicants engage in an accommodated and extended interview process that focuses on workability, interview preparation, and skills assessment.

My friends at Microsoft are always looking for ways they can learn from their inclusive hiring programs and adopt a universal design for their hiring, to better support neurodiverse candidates making the whole interview process as inclusive and individually supportive as possible.

Along these lines, business leaders who want to initiate an impactful DEI reset in 2023 can make four simple, high-impact organizational changes to their current models. The reset begins with prioritizing neurodiverse hiring and ends with employees across the organization having more tools, feedback, communication and understanding to optimize team and individual performance.

4 high-impact ways to redesign the workplace for inclusivity

1. Old model: Take a blanket approach to team-building. New model: Tap into complementary strengths and weaknesses.

With this new approach, you identify team members’ individual strengths and assign them together on tasks accordingly. You would assume that results in a powerhouse team, but a Harvard Business Review study found that teams solve problems faster when they’re more cognitively diverse. A diverse team’s strengths lie in its members’ versatility in approaching each task. I love this recommendation from the HBR study: “When you face a new, uncertain, complex situation, and everyone agrees on what to do, find someone who disagrees and cherish them.”

2. Old model: Provide accommodations and tools to employees on a need-by-need basis. New model: Implement universal design to accommodate everyone.

Providing tailored reasonable accommodations and tools for different employees isn’t new, and it’s actually the law. What is new is the idea of a universal design: making many of the same tools available to your broader workforce. By doing so, you are acknowledging that a wide range of workers might benefit from the same systems. You also are demonstrating support and inclusion without being intrusive and drawing attention to any single person.

The Job Accommodation Network lists potential accommodations that can be incorporated into your universal design, including:

• Distraction-free workspaces
• Option to telecommute
• Noise-canceling headphones to reduce sensory overload
• Mental health days and PTO
• For hiring: Providing reference materials, worksheets and interview questions in advance

3. Old model:DEI is something we have to do. New model: DEI is something we want to do to sharpen our competitive edge.

Inclusive strategies can lead to significant outcomes. As I mentioned in #1, building teams of similar employees can create an “echo chamber” effect. Without different perspectives and skills represented, a team’s problem-solving potential diminishes. Therefore, there is greater potential for success when you bring together diverse people with qualities that complement rather than match others. But this goes beyond just team success. When a culture of DEI is in place it can benefit a company’s bottom line through easier hiring, higher employee engagement and retention rates, and enhanced revenue streams.

4. Old model: Standard neurodiversity training for the entire organization. New model: Manager and team training focused on connection and communication.

Nothing silos a group of employees faster than company-wide training that focuses specifically on that group. Although you could say “their heart is in the right place,” these trainers are putting a searing spotlight on the people who are meant to be understood and helped. Instead, what if you redesign these training sessions with a focus on how to connect and communicate with all types of people on an individual level? Learning how to communicate best would be a huge step forward to meeting all employees’ career growth and development needs for success.

Read more: 3 DEI hiring lessons (from a transgender CEO)

The bottom line

Neurodiversity has been part of the workforce for years. Now it’s time to truly embrace it. Taking these steps will not only optimize the potential of neurodiverse employees but the potential of all employees who can benefit from an overhaul of the workplace.

Daniel Etra is co-founder and CEO of RethinkFirst, a cloud-based platform designed to support individuals with developmental disabilities and their caregivers through clinical best practice treatment tools, training, and support based on data-driven and evidence-based science.