Being inclusive does not always have to cost money

Last month I had the pleasure of hosting a fascinating roundtable discussion on neurodiversity in the workplace. The conversation left me with some valuable insights that all businesses should consider if they want to build a truly inclusive workplace and retain the best talent.

Neurodiversity is on the rise – findings from our most recent research show that four in ten businesses have seen an increase in the number of neurodivergent employees during the last 12 months.* Not only are businesses seeing a rise in the number of employees who are neurodivergent, but they are also recognising the value these individuals bring to the workforce.

One of the points raised during the discussion from the neurodivergent participants was that they viewed their neurodiversity as a superpower – a claim that our findings certainly support. This is also recognised by employers as more than a quarter of HR leaders believe that increasing the number of neurodivergent employees has increased productivity and 31% say that these employees have made their businesses more profitable.

Despite higher numbers of neurodivergent people in the workplace correlating to businesses success, a worrying disconnect currently exists. Half (49%) of neurodivergent employees believe that they are poorly supported by their employer – a fact that is simply not good enough and is hurting both employee and employer.

The world of work has evolved in so many positive ways in the last couple of years. The rise of flexible working, portfolio careers and personalised employee benefits have opened the door to a range of new possibilities for employees across the globe.

Although it’s encouraging to learn, for example, that a third (33%) of UK businesses have invested in being more neuroinclusive in the last year, reaching up to 40% in the nation’s capital, clearly employees are not feeling the full benefits of these efforts.

Half (48%) of employees believe that their company could be doing more to better support them, rising to two thirds (64%) of neurodivergent employees. What’s more, the majority (55%) of neurodivergent employees don’t feel that their employer listens, understands or supports their needs.

With more generations of employees working alongside each other in the workplace than ever before there is much greater diversity within organisations.** Looking beyond neurodiversity, it’s clear that one size no longer fits all when it comes to workplace support. Employers must ensure that the changes they are making to their workplace, or upgrading their benefits offerings, to be truly felt by individual employees.

Investing in such initiatives to improve support is undoubtedly important – for example, recent statistics from Deloitte show that for every £1 spent on workforce mental health and wellbeing, employers will see a £4.70 increase in productivity.***  However, it’s equally important to remember that often some of the most impactful solutions can be the most inexpensive.

Sometimes simply responding with a smile, human warmth and curiosity to reasonable adjustment requests, such as allowing employees to join virtual meetings with their cameras off, can be hugely supportive for neurodivergent employees, and can often have the most impact.

Another great example of this is posting questions to a job interview ahead of the meeting itself, as seen with John Lewis earlier in the year. Although this was seen as innovative, it should be the minimum standard required to ensure equity in the hiring process. Allowing employees to provide written responses to questions, or if they are already an employee at the company, contributing to a meeting via the chat as opposed to verbally can make all the difference, and is equally free of charge.

The good news is, it’s likely that there is a wealth of support already available, and often, employees are just simply unaware that it exists. This is supported by the fact that just 37% of HR leaders believe that neurodivergent people in their workplace are aware of all the benefits available to them – highlighting that sometimes it’s not the support that’s lacking, but more so the way it’s communicated.

Keeping lines of discussion open between employer and employee is crucial to understanding what support it is that individual employee’s needs. Using data insights, which is what Zest’s platform does, means employers can send targeted communications to their employees to ensure that the right benefits reach the right employee at the right time.

Although it’s encouraging to see neurodivergent talent growing across the workforce, more needs to be done to effectively support neurodivergent people in the workplace. I truly believe this can be achieved through small simple steps, such as human empathy to reasonable adjustments, and better communication which can be easily enabled with the right technology.

Getting a benefits package right contributes to a more compelling employee proposition and offers improved value for money to employees and employers alike. Not only will it primarily improve support all employees, making them happier, more productive and more engaged, in turn this leads to enhanced value for money, a better ROI for businesses, and can help to attract and retain some of the best talent in today’s workplace.