Differences are not deficits: adopting a strategy for neurodiversity hiring

“People with disabilities are the largest global minority,” she said. “In Canada, we have about 650,000 (neurodivergent) jobseekers in the working age range.”

Neurodiversity is a broad umbrella term that includes more than 400 conditions. Some of the more prevalent ones include dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and dyspraxia, said Morris.

Start with the job posting

One thing that can scare off a neurodivergent candidate is the wording in the job posting, according to Tara Beaton, workplace inclusion consultant and educator at Kitchener, Ont.-based TaraBeaton.com.

“People who are neurodivergent are more likely to rule themselves out if they don’t have all of what is presented as being the desirable or required traits,” she said.

A good place to start is stripping out any of the “nice-to-have” skills, she said, and really winnow down what is truly required for the person to succeed. For example, asking for a “networking guru” can scare away candidates and should only be included if that’s the core function of the job.

“Idiomatic expressions can be interpreted literally by a lot of neurodivergent candidates,” she said. “If they’re not sure there’s a fit, they will self-select themselves out of the process. Be literal, use plain language, and keep it short.”

It’s also a good idea to state, explicitly in the posting, that the company welcomes accommodations in the application and interview process, said Beaton. And to remind candidates of that repeatedly during conversations.

Conducting the interview

Morris said some employers are afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing when it comes to interviewing candidates who have a disability. Her advice is to simply have an honest conversation.

“Asking questions is okay. Asking the terminology that people prefer is okay,” she said.

EY has evolved its interview process so that it works better for everyone, not just neurodivergent candidates, she said.

“We do very simple things, like provide questions in advance. That helps the neurodivergent person who may have to process those questions and may help relieve some anxiety knowing what they’re coming into,” said Morris. “It may also help a newcomer to Canada, or a new grad, as to what to expect in these types of settings.”

Beaton said some traditional HR tactics, like having a panel of people interview the candidate, can also be difficult for some neurodivergent people.

“It’s not the way to get an accurate reflection of their capability for the job, because it can introduce so many barriers,” she said.

Telephone interviews should be avoided, she said, because a lot of neurodivergent candidates don’t necessarily perform well on the phone — and that can take them out of the running immediately.

Employers need to abandon a one-size-fits-all approach to recruitment to ensure these candidates aren’t missed in the search, said Beaton.

“There has to be other ways in the recruitment process and selection of addressing concerns about validity and assessing how a person is going to do in the job,” she said. “A good hire is someone who can perform the job, not necessarily somebody who performs well in interviews.”

Already on the payroll

Most employers probably already have neurodivergent workers on their teams, said Morris, especially if they have at least 20 staff.

“Depending on what study you look at, between 60 per cent and 90 per cent of people with non-visible disabilities choose not to share with their employer,” she said. That is changing, though, as younger workers are disclosing more frequently and are more open to sharing personal information.

EY has steered the conversation away from the word “disclosure” — because it can have negative connotations, said Morris. “It feels like regulatory reporting. It feels sometimes invasive, and it feels like you have a secret, right?” she said.

Instead, the company took a stance, through its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), campaign, that it’s “proud of our differences,” said Morris.

“It’s helpful to have people who speak different languages and have different lived experience and who understand our customers better that way,” she said.

Hidden talents

Morris shared the story of a neurodivergent data scientist at EY who, within his first two years, won the company’s global data challenge — knocking off 1,500 other competitors.

“It was interesting because he joined the firm and he wasn’t even working with our data team, and he won the global challenge,” she said.

It underscores the risks, and the missed opportunities, that come with traditional interviewing tactics that don’t allow some of these superstar employees to find work in their fields, she said.

“We have people that were working as dishwashers for 20 years and now they’re senior developers for us,” said Morris. “We had an actuary who was working as a garbageman when we hired them, and gig workers, and Uber drivers — the list goes on and on.”

Beaton herself was diagnosed as being neurodivergent later in life, receiving an ADHD diagnosis at the age of 49. She is a firm believer that “differences are not deficits.”

“They are not negatives, they’re just differences. There is no wrong way to think, there’s no wrong way to behave when it’s a result of how the brain functions,” she said. “And differences are not bad, right?”

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