This morning I logged into a webinar led by ACAS and funded by the Department of Work and Pensions aimed at getting more people with neurodivergence into work.

I heard stats around the percentage of people unable to get work and working below their abilities because of how hard they find it to complete application paperwork and perform in interviews.

Some of my take-away points were mainly around the need to remove barriers to people with autism, ADHD, AuDHD, dyslexia etc and many of them are simple but overlooked routinely.

Examples included:

• Removing the need to send letters along with updated CVs
• Sending interviews questions to shortlisted candidates ahead of interviews
• Asking questions clearly and to the point about what the recruiter wants and examples of what the candidate has done before that demonstrates suitability
• Avoid making judgements about individuals based on body language.or behaviours in the interview
• Hold interviews in different ways according to the needs of the company/candidate which could mean virtually. When in person, make the room as inviting as possible and quiet and calm
• Consider other (better) ways of making decisions on a candidate then interviews by having e.g. job trials or practical assessment
• In short, simplify the process of hiring as much as possible to encourage rather than put people off from applying. Work to understand the needs of the candidates to give them the best chance of showing how they may fit the role you require

There is more on the ACAS site here and I was impressed particularly with Andy Ryan from Irregular Training if you want to look them up.

Neuroinclusion in the workplace begins with the recruitment process and in how you support your team. We all know that typical recruitment processes are a bit of theatre with embellishing application forms/letters/CVs with jargon and impressive corporate speak that complicates matters unnecessarily. To that end, check out these guys, if you’ve worked in an office role you’ll be very familiar with what they cover and they are very funny and in doing so show how hard it is to exist in those environments if you are neurodivergent.