Last month was Autism Awareness month. In February, I sat down with Julie Robertson, the CEO of Specialisterne Australia, to agree a national schedule of events which Clicks would sponsor, to promote the advantages of employing people with autism. Then along came COVID-19 and caused us to throw our well-laid plans into physically distanced rubbish bins.
Ever the innovator, Specialisterne instead set about celebrating Autism Awareness month with a series of video interviews. I was honoured to be first cab off the rank. Our topic: asking the questions you’ve never dared ask before about hiring neurodiverse workers, and how prepared recruitment agencies actually are. Our biggest challenge by far was keeping to our allotted time. We set out to make a novella, and could easily have ended up with Gone with the Wind! Don’t worry, we got all the best bits for you in under twenty minutes…popcorn and comfy pants not required. You can watch the interview here.
This was an experience that I really cherished. I hope the frank dialogue Julie and I exchanged proves valuable in your pursuit of a competitive business advantage. Just a quick reminder on the benefits of autistic workers: compared to the neurotypical population, neurodiverse workers are 92% more productive, they learn tasks 48 times faster, and they have exceptional retention rates.
If you’re concerned about the impacts of COVID-19 on a recruitment project such as this, don’t be. The entire recruitment, selection and evaluation process has been migrated to a fully contactless methodology. It’s seamless and delivers a wonderful applicant experience.
If you’d like to find out more about the autism advantage and how it could work in your organisation, please reach out to me on 03 9963 4802 or email me.
General Manager, Operations.
