Why hire autistic staff?

A 2019 report revealed that 68% of UK employers struggle to find the right workers. Meanwhile, rough estimates show that 16% of autistic adults are currently in full time, paid employment. Although this number is a vast underestimate at best, it is still clear that the majority of autistic people are not a part of the workforce. There is a clear gap here but companies are increasingly recognising that committing to working towards a more diverse and inclusive workplace is critical to success. Tapping into the talent pool of neurodivergent people is one of the ways to start. By increasing diversity and inclusion, a company will not only attract valuable employees, but also expand its customer base and enhance the company’s reputation. Employing autistic people will add value to and benefit your workplace whilst improving your management skills.

“Autistic members of staff are a brilliant thing to have, when enabled”

Ann Memmott - Autism Mythbusting

Autistic employees are often associated with a variety of characteristic skills such as being honest, reliable, punctual and highly productive. Aside from those noticeable benefits, several others are frequently identified by employers and managers with autistic people on their teams:

• Autistic people often show high levels of loyalty
  • Autistic people recognise the struggle of finding meaningful activity/employment and will therefore tend to stay with one company for much longer. This can help increase overall morale in the company and motivate all employees to value their jobs
• Autistic people may look at things differently
  • In doing so they often have excellent attention to detail and memory which help them be accurate and notice errors that may have otherwise been overlooked
• Logical thinking patterns and creative thinking skills help autistic people find innovative ways of solving problems
  • Autistic people will often accept alternative solutions and work out how to solve a problem in ways others may never have thought of. The willingness to experiment and adapt can motivate other employers as well and strengthen teamwork across the company.

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Potential barriers

Unfortunately, there are still potential barriers in hiring and managing autistic people. There can be various reasons for this but the most common are:

• A lack of understanding of the scope of the valuable talent available
• A lack of understanding of potential benefits
• Misconceptions about the potential costs of employing neurodivergent people

While it is true that it might require a different approach to employ autistic people and that reasonable adjustments might be necessary, these misconceptions are excluding potential employees who are the best fit for a particular position. Knowing and understanding the benefits of employing autistic people will help break down those common barriers.

What are the benefits to my organisation of employing autistic staff?

With greater loyalty, motivation and dependability comes other benefits as well. An inclusive leadership ensures different cultures and social backgrounds are represented in the workplace. Employing autistic people will not only help your company become truly inclusive but also have potential cost-saving benefits as well.

Organisations with autistic employees say they have:

• Improved overall company image
• Improved their competitive company image which has helped expand their customer base to all who prioritise inclusive services
• Enhanced company reputation and stronger patronage with brand loyal customers
• Improved safety records
• Helped make sure every employee is likely to feel heard and respected for their opinions and work

In companies with well-established disability community outreach programmes in place, employee turnover is up to 30% lower than the companies without. In addition, these companies are two times more likely to outperform their peers in terms of total shareholder returns. Although people with disabilities may require some sort of job accommodation or reasonable adjustment e.g., specialised equipment, facility modifications, adjustments to work schedules or job duties, most adjustments are either free or inexpensive to implement and will be offset by lower staff turnover and improved productivity.

Bibliography:

https://hbr.org/2017/05/neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage

https://annsautism.blogspot.com/2018/04/autism-mythbusting-employment.html

https://theconversation.com/why-employing-autistic-people-makes-good-business-sense-39948

https://incluzy.com/benefits-employing-individuals-autism/

https://www.accenture.com/t20181029T185446Z__w__/us-en/_acnmedia/PDF-89/Accenture-Disability-Inclusion-Research-Report.pdf

https://www.globaldisabilityrightsnow.org/tools/universal-design-access-justice

 

 

 

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