AstraZeneca - Embracing neurodiversity for a stronger organisation

 

Rebekah Martin, Vice President, Reward, Inclusion & Talent Acquisition, AstraZeneca,  talks about how the pharmaceutical company’s campaigns, programmes and initiatives are helping neurodiverse employees reach their potential.

 

Inclusivity for neurodiverse people in the workplace is important, a necessity rather than something that is simply nice to do. It is estimated that one in seven people in the UK have some sort of neurodiversity and a study from Harvard Business suggested that teams with neurodivergent professionals can be 30% more productive than those without – if we ignore the needs of neurodiverse colleagues, we are doing our people and our organisations an enormous disservice.

My own background in employment law led me to a career in HR. Today, my role as a facilitator of inclusion for neurodiverse employees is very rewarding. Neurodiversity inclusion should be seen as a great opportunity to make a positive difference for everyone who works in an organisation. But there are too many stories of qualified neurodiverse candidates struggling to even land interviews, even in this era of labour shortages across many industries, so it is important to talk about how to help neurodivergent people to get hired and thrive in the workforce.

 

The power of neurodiversity in an organisation

AstraZeneca is a company that is focused on what science can do. Fundamentally, this means we need to be able to innovate at our very best, so we can develop the next generation of medicines for patients who need it across the world. We need to be able to solve problems and create. No single individual can do that alone. Everything we do at AstraZeneca is about the power of a team – and a team is more powerful if it is made up of diverse thinkers.

In our teams, we benefit every day from people who think differently and challenge the status quo in an environment where everyone is listened to, so good ideas can be built upon. Our neurodiverse employees are an essential part of this process at AstraZeneca. They have incredible skills and talent, so we have created an environment where everyone can succeed.

One of the most profound things that has been said about neurodiversity is that we are all neurodiverse in some way, but we're not all marginalised by it. This is really important, along with recognising that there will always be individuals who have not yet been diagnosed and people who feel the need to hide their neurodiversity. We need to do more to anticipate the challenges that people will face and to make people feel comfortable talking about their needs.

 

Understanding neurodiversity

A good starting point is to have a clear understanding of the many kinds of neurodiversity. It is about brains that process, receive or interpret information in a different way. It includes dyslexia, ADHD, autism and dyscalculia, for example. Such conditions can present challenges, but it is important to recognise that a wide range of gifts are associated with neurodiversity.

As well as understanding that neurodiversity is a broad term, it is important to remember intersectionality. No individual should be defined by a label because everybody has their own set of experiences. We all look at life through our own windows on the world – we have to appreciate that and accept how experiences help form people and make us all amazing, valuable individuals.

The role of HR is really important in fostering an inclusive culture for neurodivergent people, so everyone feels they don’t just belong in an organisation, but can make meaningful contributions. HR has a huge part to play in creating psychologically safe environments.

For the undiagnosed or the misdiagnosed, it is important that HR can lead the way in anticipating the needs of someone who might be struggling, but has not been able to pinpoint exactly why or what is needed to improve their experience at work. More people are being diagnosed with neurodivergent conditions as adults, so managers need to be aware that accommodating these employees is as important as making adjustments for physical conditions.

 

Safety first

Safety is the important principle here. It is generally considered shocking when an employer scrimps on physical safety, but the same priority is not always given to psychological safety. If a company allowed window cleaners to scale tall buildings without any safety equipment, that would be horrific and inevitably cause death and injury. Equipping people to be psychologically safe is just as important, because failure to do so can be extremely damaging.

Around the world, there are different levels of acceptance for neurodiverse individuals. AstraZeneca is committed to being a global leader in creating safe workplaces for neurodiverse employees everywhere we operate.

We are not exaggerating when we say we want to set a standard for the whole world. The first step towards creating psychologically safe workplaces is to enable everyone to feel confident about disclosing neurodiversity. We ensure that our employment environments and teams do not create barriers to participation.

 

Providing real support

Supporting neurodiverse people is the next step and there are so many ways we can do this as a progressive, forward-thinking global company. Investing in technology can play a major role in accommodating neurodiverse people to be the very best they can, such as speech recognition software to help dyslexic employees who may find tasks such as writing long emails to be challenging.

But it’s not just tangible technology that makes a real difference to employees who need different adjustments to succeed at work. Trust is a major factor in creating positive, constructive, supportive environments. It is important to move at the speed of trust, to let neurodiverse employees set the pace.

Flexibility in where and when people work is another important way to include neurodiverse team members. HR plays a huge role in finding ways to accommodate people, such as working from home, adjusting working hours to support people when they are at their most creative and productive, and providing quiet spaces for employees who are not comfortable in a noisy environment.

In a broader context, there are adjustments that can help everyone across an entire organisation. For example, if there is a long document or presentation that can be condensed to a shorter, more user-friendly format, that benefits everyone, no matter how they process information. If information can be conveyed effectively without being onerous, it saves everyone time and everyone wins.

 

Creating opportunities and reducing stigma

When we appreciate the differences people bring to AstraZeneca, everyone feels valued within the company. There are different types of diversity that should have a positive impact on a company. It can be easy to determine, for example, if an organisation has strong representation of women in leadership roles. It is easy to gather clear data and set policies, but we need to make sure we are understanding neurodiversity within our workplaces, so we can be effective, inclusive employers.

Neurodiversity is not always immediately visible, which can also make it hard to gather data, create policies and ensure that equality of opportunity happens during recruitment, onboarding and during every employee’s career with the company. This conversation needs to take place with every hiring manager. When you start to think about what is missing from a team, the light bulb moment can happen and it can make sense to include neurodiverse people to offer new perspectives, ideas and creative thinking.

Hiring processes need to be accessible, with diverse interview panels. If adjustments need to be made for neurodiverse employees, that needs to be prioritised, such as longer interview slots to allow for people who need more time to express themselves. These adjustments are just as important as allowing ramp access for a candidate in a wheelchair – accessibility always matters. This is vital for bringing diverse talent into AstraZeneca.

At AstraZeneca, we encourage people from schools and universities to consider STEM subjects, particularly if conditions such as dyslexia make dealing with words and language challenging, but mathematics and science are stronger subjects. We have a real opportunity to create fantastic opportunities for so many people, as long as we are open to spotting the potential and offering the right environment to nurture talent.

One of my passions is to break down the stigma that can be associated with neurodiversity. If we can have these open conversations, if people are comfortable about discussing how to improve accessibility and be more effective at work, it moves the needle and we can truly embrace real cultural change.