Make a Difference, Recruit FOR Difference.

Would you Recruit 1% of your Global Workforce with Candidates on the Autistic Spectrum?

I’m not really one for New Year Resolutions. I think it was ever since I realised roughly 20 years ago that recruitment is a round the clock job, and that any free time I do have I would rather spend with my kids than trying to learn to speak Swahili, lose half a stone or do more DIY (it’s not just a really good excuse, promise!) However, in 2016 there is one thing I’m determined to do more of, and that’s to set aside writing time to take a sidestep away from my recruiters soapbox and give the stage over to employers who are really making a difference when it comes to reviewing and remodelling their hiring processes.

Sometime we’re all so wrapped up in what’s going wrong, who’s doing things badly or even, ‘what’s next’ that we fail to see the fantastic examples of MDs, CEOs and HR Managers who are taking on the challenge to increase diversity in the workplace.

This week, my ‘chapeau’ (for all it’s worth) goes to Stefanie Lawitzke of enterprise application software provider SAP. In 2013 Stefanie took on a new diversity and inclusiveness recruitment challenge that many companies would run a country mile from. So what was it exactly? Well SAP dedicated themselves to working toward having 1% of its global workforce employees with particular specialist requirements — people on the autistic spectrum.

Disclaimer: I’m by no means well-informed enough to suggest I know exactly how businesses will go about creating a workplace well-suited to those on the autistic spectrum. But, I’m a fan of diversity in all its forms; from a past post where I discussed the idea of challenging diversity bias through the practical application of Name-blind CVs, and another post when I spoke about how I was particularly inspired after time spent with children from a local secondary school. I’ve read and heard so many articles, reports and stories straight from the employers mouth that prove a diverse workplace is a more productive and creative one.

After all, Autism is an example of neurological diversity, and by its very essence, humanity is a neurologically diverse species – people have a different neurological make up, different ‘brain wiring’. In a report ‘Autism at Work’ for the TUC, author Janine Booth noted that a population, be that a workforce, people of a particular country or an age group is ‘neurodiverse’.

Lawitzke of SAP is a friend of diversity, so it’s little wonder I’m a fan of hers. In 2011 she was given the challenge to increase the number of women in leadership roles among SAP’s global workforce. The numbers speak for themselves: back in 2011, just 17% of the group’s leaders were women, while today that figure stands at more than 23%. The group has a target of 25% by 2017.

Speaking to Recruiter Magazine, Lawitzke explained that the this new 1% global recruitment drive followed the successful initial roll-out of a programme to hire people on the autistic spectrum in SAP’s Indian operation in Bangalore, the country’s equivalent of the US’s Silicon Valley, in 2011.

SAP’s managing director in India then hit upon the idea of recruiting people with an autistic diagnosis within its software testing centres.

Like all new schemes, the SAP hiring process for this challenge needed rethinking to work for those on the spectrum. I love that the group starts by collaborating with a country’s local networks for autistic people (as people on the spectrum are not likely to visit company career pages) and then candidates are emailed a questionnaire to ascertain their skill sets. Working with specialist recruiter Specialisterne, SAP then invites candidates to take part in a ‘Lego hangout’ where they build Lego constructions. Candidates who demonstrate the appropriate innovation and creativity are offered a job and invited back to be ‘on-boarded’ over a four-week period. Just brilliant.

The National Autistic Society says, “Many people with autism have intense special interests, often from a fairly young age. These can change over time or be lifelong, and can be anything from art or music, to trains or computers. Some people with autism may eventually be able to work or study in related areas.”

Lawitzke agrees, commenting that, “We are convinced that those people with a specific skill set bring value to our company — that’s the business case. 

“Because they have a different view of our programmes, they have a different view of how to do things. With this mind set and this skill set we ensure that we are still innovative and creative in future, and so we can run our business successfully in upcoming years.”

All great businesspeople know that finding a measure for success is important, and I admire SAP’s approach to their new employees’ impact:

“For now, the return on the group’s investment of the programme is being measured by success stories across SAP’s business. There’s no effective way currently to adequately measure ROI in hiring autistic workers” but Lawitzke is committed to finding one, “When you are talking about KPIs, you can’t measure it right now. We hired someone in the US in one of our locations there and this person created a completely new, easy to use app. So this is value-add enough.”

So my first post of 2016 is, I believe, an uplifting and hopefully inspiring one. We can (and should) all do more to work on diversity, in whatever guise it appears.

I’d love your feedback on this programme or others that you’re involved in. What does your company do to increase diversity? Have you found encouraging diversity has led to a ‘better’ workplace?

Look forward to hearing your views.

Mark.

A psychology graduate, road cyclist and hands-on father of two, Mark Gardiner founded headhunting firm Charles Warwick to dispel all negative preconceptions about his profession, with transparency, service and value lying at the heart of both his business and his professional ethos. Connect with Mark Gardiner on LinkedIn and get involved in the lively HR, recruitment and business debates!