Neurodivergence-inclusive everyday actions for improved customer-relationships and collaboration

Neurodivergence is often “invisible” in the workplace. According to research from the consultancy and auditing firm Deloitte, between?10% and 20%?of the global population is neurodivergent; thus, it is safe to assume our clients and colleagues might also be neurodivergent.

In a previous article I briefly explained some neurodiversity concepts and what neurodivergent individuals experience in the workplace with the aim of building awareness and inspiring to be considerate of inclusive ways of working.

The aim in this article is to offer a list of specific everyday actions to inspire the adoption of inclusive practices, processes, communication, tools and technology that offer a better experience to all regardless of neurodiversity. Inclusive and equitable behaviours are those that can be used with all individuals, regardless of any differences between them.

Everyone has unique and valuable contributions.

If we are missing what someone has to offer because we are unaware of the diverse ways of how they contribute, and are not inclusive of them, we all lose significant value. So, the best course of action is to default to ways of working that are inclusive of diversity. It is a small lift for a big gain.

How may we benefit from everyone's contributions, irrespective of their neurodiverse source?

I compiled this list with my colleagues at 欧特克 having in mind, in particular, colleagues in customer-facing roles (Sales, Customer Success) and their extended teams (Revenue Operations, Legal, Finance, Marketing). My hope is that many of you already do many of these actions by default. Which one do you find the most impactful? Which one do you consider implementing? Which other inclusive action do you value which is not on this list already?

Meetings?

Before?

• Ask the question, "Does this really need to be a meeting, or could it be done async as a?video or text message?"?

• Share an agenda and any relevant expectations of participants. This could be categorizing the meeting as a workshop, discussion, briefing, decision making moment, etc.?

• Explain the objective of the meeting in the following format, “We are meeting about _______ because________.”?

• Send pre-work materials within a reasonable time frame considering the need of those who use assistive technology.

At the start?

• Recording: If comfortable for everyone, record for those who are absent.? This also allows you to receive transcripts automatically for follow up documentation.?

• Participation: encourage alternative ways to interact such as live reactions, short chat messages, hand gestures, or video sharing.

• Contribution: normalize typing as a valid way to contribute in addition to speaking, take shared meeting notes which include action items.?

During?

• Introduce breaks on longer sessions. The Pomodoro technique promotes 25 minutes of focused time followed by a 5-minute break for example. You can also provide a stretch break or bio break.??

• Create space for contribution: Encourage only having one person talk at a time, using the raise hand feature or an agreed upon signal, and intentional pauses for thinking time.??

• Ensure transcription is being taken or at least there is a dedicated note taker. Have closed captioning turned on and mute incoming participants.

After?

• Recap the outcome of the discussion and any next steps clearly denoting who is responsible for each.

• Provide meeting transcript and video recording in a timely manner and store it in a place where the files can be accessed in the future.

Communication and collaboration?

• Share your “Guide to working with me” or "User Manual" as referred to by Atlassian in this template.?The “Guide to Working with Me” is a personal user manual that helps others understand how to work best with you. It can help you explore your own working preferences and needs and communicate them with others.

• Ask each client or team member, “What’s the best way to communicate and follow-up with you?” Sometimes people who are neurodivergent prefer written communication such as instant messaging or emails over a phone call or face-to-face conversation.?

• Practice active listening and then repeat back what you hear by?summarising, reformulating ideas, and providing alternative language where there is confusion. A helpful template may be, “Am I hearing you correctly when you say, ...”?

• Use concise and clear style. While common, it is best in a workplace environment to avoid sarcasm, euphemisms, and implied messages; provide concise verbal and written instructions.?

• Avoid urgency wherever possible. This means giving advance notice if plans are changing and providing a reason for the change; allowing enough time to deliver on a request.?

• Agree on norms ahead of time. Inform people about workplace/social etiquette; don't assume someone is deliberately breaking the rules or being rude.?

• If you make assumptions, be aware of them and verify them. Be kind, be patient.

Protect your and others’ time?- Processing?information and focusing

• Encourage avoidance of distractions and multi-tasking.

• Set "Do Not Disturb" on work messaging apps. Agree on explicit time frames for expected response times across individuals and teams.?

• Normalize "no meeting days" or “focus blocks” during the week.?

• Schedule shorter meetings whenever possible and begin or end 5-10 minutes before/after the hour to incorporate bio breaks on busy days.

Surveys

• Provide context to why a question is being asked to avoid different interpretations as much as possible.

• Make the survey anonymous by providing alternative ways for people to provide insight , such as boxes at unmonitored locations in offices.?

• Instead of a numbered scale of options, which can be ambiguous, use options such as “always – often – sometimes – rarely – never”. It can be helpful to define these at the beginning of the survey as well, such as, “Sometimes means 2 out of 5 working days” or “More than twice a day but less than five times a day”.??

Technology?

• Operating system: For a list of operating accessibility features on Windows, click here. You can see a similar list for Mac here.?Some of these tools are helpful to everyone. For example,?you can learn how to format your text for readability.?

• Meeting?software (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet): Go to settings and enable captions?(aka closed captions, live captions, subtitles) for participants. I particularly found this functionality very helpful with making me aware of my pace of talking and slow down. I tend to speed up as a defence mechanism when speaking in public and the captions could not catch up with me. So it helped me slow down and hear myself, choose my words and tone of voice deliberately.

• Documentation: Use the “Check Accessibility” feature in Office under the Tools menu to get tips for optimizing your documents. For accessible documentation, we like this resource for general documentation, which includes best practices for accessible format and use of Office Suite, and this one for email accessibility practices.

Have additional actions that you've seen or done? Please share in the comments.

Acknowledgements

This content was part of a one-of-a-kind internal event organised at Autodesk Spain recently in collaboration with my colleagues Veronika Volchek Krasnikova and Marianne Seemann, and it was edited by Ashley Hershey. At Autodesk we are encouraged to form committees and employee-resource groups based on common backgrounds or dimensions of human diversity that align with our Autodesk Diversity and Belonging Strategy to hire and retain a diverse workforce. Marianne represented the MIND Network (Mental Inclusion, Neurodivergence, and Disability), while me and Veronika represented the Growth and Development Committee in Spain.

Resources and references

• Exploring Birkman | BirkmaND: Introduction to Neurodiversity (learnupon.com)?

• Accessibility Resources & Training | Microsoft Accessibility?

• It’s time for action on inclusivity - Inclusion and Equity for Workers with Disabilities Video Tutorial | LinkedIn Learning, formerly Lynda.com?

• Inclusive workplace basics - Supporting Accessibility in a Hybrid Workplace Video Tutorial | LinkedIn Learning, formerly Lynda.com