REWARD
Ensuring neuroinclusivity at all stages of the employee life cycle
PART 2: THE APPLICATION PROCESS
In the second article on ensuring neuroinclusivity at all stages of the employee life cycle, Cybill Watkins MCIPP, product legislation manager, Zellis, shines a spotlight on the job application process
I n my previous article, we scrutinised job advertisements and some of the hurdles people looking for a new job could face. Following this stage, applicants are then presented with the job application process. We all know that every employer has their own processes here, with specific software systems and their own preferences in place to ensure they secure their perceived perfect employee. The processes chosen will fit in with the employer’s strategy and ethos and will probably remain unchanged for long periods of time as we hear phrases such as “this has always been the way they carry out the job application process” or “we don’t need to fix what isn’t broken”. From my neurodivergent perspective, many job application processes are, in fact, broken, and employers are potentially discriminating against neurodivergent candidates. Here are some areas for employers to consider to ensure their job application process is neuroinclusive. The challenges around online job applications With the continuing development of all-in-one human resources / onboarding software, many businesses now
complete the entire application process online. Here’s hurdle number one for a neurodivergent person who struggles with various aspects of the wonderful world of ‘online’. Have recruiting employers properly considered how someone who struggles to remember passwords could cope with multiple systems, each with their own login credentials? Each piece of software will potentially have different password parameters. For example, one might use eight characters with one capital and another 15 characters with a special, capital and a number, not allowing more than two of the same letters. You may have already just lost your perfect candidate if you don’t allow applications via other methods, for example a CV, an email or even, verbally. Just look at the tribunal case of Mallon v AECOM Ltd (https://ow.ly/L3qx50ShOoi), in which the claimant was unable to complete an online application due to dyspraxia and the respondent should have allowed him to submit a verbal application. Let’s consider what happens after the applicant has managed to set up an online account for their job application. They must then complete sections of the application which could be easily found on their CV
or have absolutely no relevance to the actual job application at this early stage. Personally, my attention span would be totally depleted by this point and I would just move on to applying for the next role. Employers should also assess whether they’ve considered if the person applying has challenges in completing something which is new to them, that they haven’t done before. An applicant may be brilliant at following processes and make the perfect payroll administrator, but the employer’s job application process may just be one step too far if it involves submitting copious amounts of data online. Possible adjustments Employers should consider if there are any possible adjustments which could be made for the application process and list them on job advertisements. A short video could be created or human support provided to help with the application process if they have to use the system approach. Employers should also look at how they present questions to gather information on the application form. I’m not referring to those which ask about age, address or that type of information, but if there’s a good
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | October 2024 | Issue 104 40
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