The long and the short of neurodivergence
What is the future of marketing? Some might say it’s data, AI, lead gen. Others might say it’s brand strategy, commercial savviness, creativity. We want to argue that, while these are all important, there’s a much deeper skill we all need. It’s simple, yet profound. It’s perspective.
You gain perspective by listening to customers, colleagues, advisors or partners, but it matters to know who we listen to. Especially when those people, broadly speaking, might think like you. We’re not talking about similar views on politics, entertainment or society. Go deeper. People whose brain wiring broadly works like your wiring does. Having received DEI training, there is one question we consistently go back to: “whose views are we leaving out?”.
One possible answer: the neurodivergent.
According to TGI data, 21.3% of the UK’s population is neurodivergent, so their brains process information in vastly different ways. And while no one is really neurotypical (it’s all based on averages), we should be more intentional about understanding the benefits of neurodivergent staff within marketing teams. The problem? TGI also shows only 10.7% of folks who work in the communication industries in the UK are neurodivergent, even though their perspectives are needed if we want to get to more distinct – and indeed more divergent – work.
We talk about the long and the short effects of investing in brand building and sales activation. Let’s remind ourselves of the long and short of investing in neurodivergent staff. Because it too can be interpreted as helping build a(n employer) brand, while delivering business results.
Neurodivergent programmes as employer brand building
The 2023 Net Positive Employee Barometer shows the opportunity cost of not taking inclusion seriously: 50% of employees would consider resigning if a company’s values don’t align with their own, and 1/3 of employees say they’ve already resigned for this reason. This goes beyond neurodivergent initiatives, but it encompasses them – or, in principle, it should.
A recent piece by People Management explains more benefits of catering to neurodivergent needs. 63% of businesses that have taken some action to create a neuro-inclusive organisation see a positive impact on employee wellbeing. 55% see a positive impact in company culture. 53% have better people management. 45% reported a positive impact on creativity and innovation.
Understanding and catering to neurodivergent needs correlates with healthier workplaces, and the beauty of it is that this tends to benefit everyone else too. So it’s not just about creating inclusivity, as it is about creating a more net positive environment for everyone you employ. Design for the edges, benefit the middle. Gain perspective by catering to divergent perspectives.
The ROI of neurodivergent DEI
It’s generally more expensive (money and time-wise) to hire people than to keep them around. Well, guess what, based on data from EY, SAP, JPMorgan Chase, and Microsoft, neurodivergent employees have on average lower turnover rates. In those companies specifically, which run four of the largest U.S. autism hiring programs, the reported retention rate is more than 90%.
This goes beyond keeping people around. There’s proof of getting the best (not just the most) out of them while they are around. Neurodivergent employees, by thinking in fundamentally different ways, can accelerate business productivity and innovation.
JPMorgan Chase found that professionals in its Autism at Work initiative made fewer errors and were 90% to 140% more productive than neurotypical employees. SAP reported one of their neurodivergent employees developed a technical fix that saved the company $40 million. EY’s investment in ‘Neurodiverse Centres of Excellence’ has had a $650m+ROI since 2016. And Accenture found that companies leading in disability employment and inclusion had on average, over a four-year period, 28% higher revenue, double net income and 30% higher profit margins.
Neuro-inclusivity is about more than making people feel good. It’s plain good business.
What you can do next
Beyond promises, pledges or posts on social media, here’s a five-step practical plan you can start implementing so you can get the best out of neurodivergent teams:
Adaptive workplaces. Offer flexible working hours and days. Create quiet zones in the office. No call zones for when outside the office. Ensure access to assistive technologies like auto-caption tools or AI note-taking apps. Consider if written text is the best form to communicate with someone with dyslexia.
Custom communications. Ask your team how they like to be briefed. Encourage reverse appraisals. Create safe spaces for people to evaluate your performance as an employer. Give your people 1:1 time with you to raise issues and get help on blockers. Don’t think of these as moments where you will be judged, but instead how you can be better.
Manage upwards. Make the business case, using evidence like the above, to explain to your peers and leaders why this matters for the long run. Collect examples of where your neurodivergent staff made a difference. Normalise neurodivergence by reinforcing positives (what goes well) vs just highlighting negatives (where we’re doing poorly).
Free resources. Have them documented, and make sure everyone is aware of them. For example, Access to Work is a government-provided scheme that costs nothing to employers. A lot of people don’t know about it, or don’t use it. It can help employees and employers create more effective, accessible, divergent and richer working environments.
Manual Of Me. Encourage company-wide creation of ‘manuals of me’, an idea popularised by Matthew Knight. Some people may prefer detailed instructions, others may prefer open problems they can work out by themselves. Some deal well with sit-down meetings in a noisy place, others a chance to walk and talk. Adjust your approach, so people can adapt their own working style, but also discover their own boundaries along the way.
Originally posted on WARC.
