REWARD
Ensuring neuroinclusivity at all stages of the employee life cycle
PART 1: JOB ADVERTS
Cybill Watkins MCIPP, product legislation manager, Zellis, reminds organisations how to ensure they’re being neuroinclusive at all stages of an employee’s life cycle. This issue, we’re looking specifically at job adverts
W elcome to the first article in a series on the topic of neurodiversity, which expands on my feature in the September 2023 issue of Professional . Before we dive in, just a recap on me. I was diagnosed as having combined type attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and as being on the autistic spectrum, with Aspergers, at the tender age of 46. I have spent much of my working life in payroll and human resources, and I’m one of the many who ‘fell’ into payroll after starting accountant qualifications (which I quit, along with every other exam in my younger years). I found that many of my strengths could help me to succeed in the payroll industry, but my struggles meant I didn’t ever fit in or settle (and I was generally seen as a disruption, incapable, with insufficient experience or just not the right fit for the company). As soon as I felt I was failing, I would run. I live in fear and fear controls your actions, no matter what anyone says. But these days the fear doesn’t hurt so much, and I’m able to have some sense of control when I have the right support. The fear was also a major strength which meant I became a bit of a legislation geek, absorbed in reading up on and understanding legislative changes. (Yes, I
loved it when furlough came in; I loaded everything onto my Kindle and spent nights awake learning and breaking it down into more understandable wording.) I have found my perfect little niche in not only the amazing world of payroll off the main career track, but also in being able to share my story and every aspect of neurodiversity I have learnt through my own working experiences and alongside so many external groups and businesses. Let’s go back to the very start: the job advert stage In this article, I want to consider the very beginning of an employee’s life cycle – the job advert stage. You see so many recruiters increasingly relying on technology to help with the preliminary shortlist for job vacancies, which will scan the applications for trigger words and exact-fit criteria. But this can be discriminatory as the technology doesn’t recognise that the individual has dyslexia or communication challenges, meaning their application is riddled with spelling and grammar errors, for example. Or that they have a CV which spans multiple pages because previous employers haven’t supported them to become a valued member of the team, as they’ve struggled to form relationships due
to their autism. The technology also can’t appreciate that the applicant with ADHD gets bored easily and won’t thrive in a role which is exactly the same each day. These are all things for an organisation to consider when advertising a job vacancy. “Looking back now with the knowledge I have gained on my traits; I wasn’t the cause of the burnout, it was the environment I was in” How many of you have seen or written a job description, and noticed the layout is the same across multiple employers? There’s usually a list of requirements noted as being essential, followed up by a set of ‘desirable’ skills. Let’s look at that from a neurodivergent angle. So, you have essential, which can often include the number of years of experience required. Here’s our first hurdle. How can you state
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | July - August 2024 | Issue 102 48
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