recruitment
The Neurodiversity Movement
REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR OUTDATED INTERVIEW PROCESS TO CAPTURE A HIGHLY
SKILLED AND UNDEREMPLOYED GROUP OF PEOPLE
Neurodiversity is a paradigm shift, enabling parents,
schools and, more recently, companies to transition
out from an archaic “one size fits all” method of teach-ing
and testing. The neurodiversity movement is based
on decades of neuroscientific research, proving that brain func-tioning
is diverse; people learn, retain and recall information in
different ways from one another. This being fact, it only makes
sense to expect people of all ages to reach a desired outcome us-ing
methods that coincide with the way they learn instruction
and demonstrate information. Diversifying teaching methods en-gages
all learners, allowing for more than just the students who
excel in verbal instruction or paper and pencil testing, to learn the
necessary material. The same is true of adults. Neurodiversity is
helping managers to become aware of existing workplace barriers
that prohibit productivity and accessibility from people who are
neurodivergent – those with ADHD, autism and various learning
differences. The sooner these barriers are eliminated, the sooner
that company will take on talent they may not have known existed.
Companies like SAP and Microsoft have spent a lot of money
hiring specific teams and creating focused programs to attract and
retain neurodivergent learners. Why? Because as Baby Boomers
age out of the workforce in record numbers and millennials con-tinue
to prioritize companies that create societal change rather
than maintaining capitalism, neurodivergent thinkers are a work-force
multiplier – adding attributes to a team that dramatically
increases its effectiveness.
Neurodivergent thinkers are a highly skilled but highly under-employed
group of people who make up more than 10 per cent
of the North American population alone. Their often unique tal-ents
and problem-solving capabilities merely require the fostering
of an inclusive work environment – one in which the managerial
approach is environment-focused, rather than person-focused. In
vitstudio / Shutterstock.com
By Cris Brady
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ JANUARY 2018 ❚ 31
/HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA
