How to create inclusive cultures for neurodivergent employees

Around 15 per cent of the population identify as neurodivergent, yet many don’t feel safe enough to disclose their neurodivergence to their employer. An expert offers practical tips to help employers consider neuro-inclusion at every stage of the employee lifecycle.

If we were to add up the amount of neurodivergent people in the world, it would amount to almost the size of India’s population, says Aron Mercer, founding team member at Xceptional, a social enterprise that creates meaningful careers for neurodivergent individuals. This means that within most organisations, there is likely a portion of employees who identify as neurodivergent, even if they’ve not disclosed this information.

In AHRI’s latest podcast episode, host Beth Hall CPHR, General Manager of HR Standards and Capability at AHRI, speaks with Mercer about how to create safe, neuro-inclusive cultures.

In this episode, you will learn:

How to combat the fear of getting it wrong with supporting neurodivergent employees.
Practical ways that HR practitioners can factor neuro-inclusion into the employee lifecycle.
How to avoid tokenistic initiatives and instead have a meaningful, positive impact on employees’ experience at work.

Skip to the section that interests you most:

3:53 minutes: Mercer explains what neurodiversity means.
9:20 minutes: How to shift the conversation towards a strength-based approach.
11:58 minutes: How HR can create psychological safety so employees feel empowered to disclose their neurodiversity.
18:18 minutes: Will AI recruitment technology increase biases for neurodivergent talent.
23:33 minutes: How to address performance expectations.
36:59 minutes: How can HR offer support to parents of neurodivergent children.
44:32 minutes: Aron responds to a scenario about a neurodivergent employee who has received a poor performance review but feels they weren’t set up to succeed.

Read the episode’s transcript here.

Extra resources

For more conversations to inspire HR, listen to the other episodes of Let’s Take This Offline here.

If you’d like further information and resources to help put Mercer’s insights into action, check out the links below:

📄 Resources

Download free resources, such as a language and onboarding guide, from Xceptional’s website.

⭐ Member exclusive resources

AHRI members can log into their member dashboard and find useful neurodiversity resources via AHRI:ASSIST.
AHRI members also have access to an exclusive bonus episode where Aron and Beth discuss the importance of considering intersectionality when supporting neurodivergent employees. Log into your AHRI member dashboard to access.
Join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to discuss this topic with your fellow members and HR peers.

📚 Further reading

Subscribe to AHRI’s podcast so you never miss an episode. You can follow the podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or Apple Podcasts. AHRI members receive exclusive bonus content via the LinkedIn AHRI Lounge.

Around 15 per cent of the population identify as neurodivergent, yet many don’t feel safe enough to disclose their neurodivergence to their employer. An expert offers practical tips to help employers consider neuro-inclusion at every stage of the employee lifecycle.

In AHRI’s latest podcast episode, host Beth Hall CPHR, General Manager of HR Standards and Capability at AHRI, speaks with Mercer about how to create safe, neuro-inclusive cultures.

In this episode, you will learn:

How to combat the fear of getting it wrong with supporting neurodivergent employees.

Practical ways that HR practitioners can factor neuro-inclusion into the employee lifecycle.

How to avoid tokenistic initiatives and instead have a meaningful, positive impact on employees’ experience at work.

Skip to the section that interests you most:

3:53 minutes: Mercer explains what neurodiversity means.

9:20 minutes: How to shift the conversation towards a strength-based approach.

11:58 minutes: How HR can create psychological safety so employees feel empowered to disclose their neurodiversity.

18:18 minutes: Will AI recruitment technology increase biases for neurodivergent talent.

23:33 minutes: How to address performance expectations.

36:59 minutes: How can HR offer support to parents of neurodivergent children.

44:32 minutes: Aron responds to a scenario about a neurodivergent employee who has received a poor performance review but feels they weren’t set up to succeed.

Extra resources

For more conversations to inspire HR, listen to the other episodes of Let’s Take This Offline here.

If you’d like further information and resources to help put Mercer’s insights into action, check out the links below:

📄 Resources

Download free resources, such as a language and onboarding guide, from Xceptional’s website.

⭐ Member exclusive resources

AHRI members can log into their member dashboard and find useful neurodiversity resources via AHRI:ASSIST.

AHRI members also have access to an exclusive bonus episode where Aron and Beth discuss the importance of considering intersectionality when supporting neurodivergent employees. Log into your AHRI member dashboard to access.

Join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to discuss this topic with your fellow members and HR peers.

📚 Further reading