How has Neurodiversity advanced at IBM Australia this year?

By Belinda Sheehan, Paul Collins & Lizzie Tongway | Editor: Joshua Maddison

Foreword: This article, initially written for an internal blog within IBM, runs through some of the experiences of eight new neurodiverse IBMers who joined in July and are now navigating what is perhaps the first stage of their career journeys.

We started in July… in the midst of the pandemic.

It has now been more than three months since the new IBMers recruited through the Neurodiversity@IBM hiring strategy commenced their roles in July this year. Eight new hires have been brought on to IBM A/NZ through this hiring process, established in partnership with Specialisterne; most of the new IBMers are already based at the ND@IBM hub in Ballarat, Victoria, although some other new hires – if possible – have come in from other parts of the country.

Getting into IBM and keeping connected with peers, while staying remote

The severe disruption caused by the recent and ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales and Victoria – which commenced just before the new hires commenced their careers at IBM – means that the team is not all together in the Ballarat offices and have commenced their roles on a work-from-home basis. Staying connected while working remotely is very important, both from a professional as well as a mental health perspective, and as such the team still connects through daily standups on Webex to maintain connections and share experiences in their new roles.

The task of onboarding the new IBMers has for the most part, fallen upon Belinda Sheehan, the Neurodiversity@IBM Program Manager for the Australia and New Zealand regions, with assistance from Kathy Bills-Thompson (who has since retired from her role at IBM and moved onto other adventures).

Above: Belinda Sheehan, the ND@IBM Program Manager for the A/NZ region, has been crucial to the program’s success in Australia

Feedback from the new IBMers in regards to Belinda’s ability to onboard and organise the new hires has been very positive. One IBMer has stated that “the task of onboarding such a disparate group would have been complex and difficult but, as a new hire myself, I can say Belinda and Kathy did a fantastic job of keeping the group together and informed. Many neurodivergent people are prone to anxiety and our group is not an exception. However, the relocation and uncertainty of a new job was offset by being together in a supportive group.”

Getting a neurodiversity aligned mentor was key

Each of the new IBMers have been assigned a mentor in their new roles to aid with career coaching and learning the ropes at Big Blue. Feedback from the mentors about their mentees has been also positive; one mentor, Sharon Tunley, spoke very brightly about her mentee Tim Smyth:

"Tim Smyth has been a pleasure to mentor.?We got on straight away for many reasons, primarily where we both have a shared interest and work with Salesforce software – mine internally where we have just deployed Salesforce globally in the last 12 months; him with his work with external clients, so a perfect fit.?He has shared with me how impressed he was with the Neurodiversity Onboarding program to-date, and how it has made it a comfortable process to joining IBM.?Tim is really enthusiastic about the job he has ahead, feels comfortable in the team and manager he works with, and has shared that he has lots of learning to do and has done in many different areas to ensure that he is comfortable in the work he has ahead.?I feel gracious for the opportunity to help support and mentor Tim in his IBM journey.?And from what Tim shared with me about the Neurodiversity onboarding process, I think it could be a program that would benefit anyone, regardless."

He has shared with me how impressed he was with the Neurodiversity Onboarding program to-date, and how it has made it a comfortable process to joining IBM. I feel gracious for the opportunity to help support and mentor Tim in his IBM journey.?And from what Tim shared with me about the Neurodiversity onboarding process, I think it could be a program that would benefit anyone, regardless."

Getting on with the job

Integration into new roles has varied in pace, this pace varying depending on client requirements or disruption caused by COVID-19. When not involved in client work, the new hires have spent much of their time upskilling through training and reaching their internal learning goals and earning badges; collectively the new hires have racked up over 900 hours of learning and over 40 badges that can be useful in showcasing the abilities they have gained in their new role so far! Upskilling is integral to IBM’s corporate culture mantra; it recently announced earlier in October that it will aim to provide 30 million people – across the globe and in varying age groups – with the skills needed for “new collar jobs” in the tech sector that will spring up by 2030.[i] The tech industry is a rapidly changing field, and to thrive in a tech role, having a good growth mindset and agile learning ability has become a necessity in the 21st century’s new career pathways that perhaps didn’t exist years ago.

About the Authors/Editors:

Belinda Sheehan is the Neurodiversity Program Manger for IBM A/NZ and has managed the successful hiring of two groups of neurodivergents into IBM. She works with the global Neurodiversity@IBM team to increase awareness, acceptance and advancement of neurodiversity within IBM and externally. Belinda is passionate about neurodiversity and her goal is to make the changes required to make the world more inclusive, having personal connections with many family members, friends and colleagues who are neurodivergent. Belinda has been with IBM for over 20 years and is a Senior Managing Consultant, having spent the majority of her career managing teams who develop and support applications across many industries including the government, communications and utilities sectors.

Joshua Maddison is a Solution Developer within IBM’s Global Cloud Acceleration Team (GCAT) and a participant in the company’s Neurodiversity community, having joined IBM in January 2020. He is an aspiring young developer who finds curiosity and joy in all aspects of life and enjoys getting dirty (figuratively) with technology and learning how things work – particularly in the Cloud sector. As an actually autistic person, he is also passionate about advocating for neurodiversity and sharing his experiences in that area.

[i] https://newsroom.ibm.com/2021-10-13-IBM-Commits-to-Skill-30-Million-People-Globally-by-2030