Companies are only learning of employee neurodivergence after hiring them, new survey finds 

New findings have revealed that the vast majority of companies are only learning of employee neurodivergence after they’ve been hired, leaving businesses unable to provide them with the additional support they need straight away.

The HR Dept Ltd polled HR Consultants across the country and found that nearly nine in ten (89%) worked with at least one employer who had only learned of an employee’s neurodivergence after hiring them, over the last 12 months. More than half (56%) of respondents had worked with several businesses in this position.

What’s more, 79% of respondents believe that the number of businesses who discovered an employee’s neurodivergence after being hired, has increased from the year prior, calling into question the perception that the stigma surrounding disclosing neurodivergence has improved.

The HR Dept Ltd. is the UK’s largest provider of HR consultancy and employment law services, supporting more than 6,000 small businesses through a network of franchises across 120 locations in the UK, Ireland and Australia. Each of which is headed up by an expert HR Director.

The organisation surveyed 36 HR consultants across the UK to determine how businesses are approaching neurodivergence during job interviews and to gauge the level of understanding around supporting neurodivergent colleagues. Respondents work with organisations across the entire breadth of the UK including the south-west, north-west, north-east, Midlands, London, Wales and Scotland, and through their extensive work in the local business community, have gained comprehensive insights into the challenges that employers are currently facing.

The research suggests that an increasing number of job applicants are choosing to withhold their neurodivergence until after they have been hired. Sue Tumelty, Founder and Executive Director at HR Dept Ltd, believes that candidates often avoid disclosing their neurodivergence at interview due to the fear of their success being impeded by discrimination. This is resulting in employers only discovering that an employee needs additional support, several weeks into a role.

She notes: “This isn’t beneficial to anyone. Not only is an employee going without the support they need but the employer’s ability to accurately assess how the new employee is progressing, is also hampered.”

Tumelty continues, “Clearly, there is still a stigma attached to neurodivergence which is dissuading candidates from being upfront about their needs. More must be done to ensure that businesses are effectively alleviating any fears candidates may have and are able to cultivate an inclusive environment that makes it easy and comfortable for interviewees to be transparent about their additional support requirements. Employers also need to be better supported in understanding how best to put this into practise.”

The report also revealed that following conversations with clients, 64% of HR consultants believe that employers lack some understanding about what reasonable adjustments for neurodivergence individuals are, with 22% of those believing that there is a strong lack of understanding among employers.

Over half (56%) also reported that employers lack confidence in being able to make adjustments successfully and 17% of those believe that employers are very unconfident in doing so.

Lucy Westlake, Director of The HR Dept Norwich and the East Coast, isn’t surprised by these statistics, noting that: “Employers already have a huge amount to juggle, and whilst awareness is improving and many are eager to do better, the lack of understanding and confidence around the topic is simply stalling engagement. There needs to be better support and training available to help employees who suspect they are neurodivergent, particularly around discovering ways of working that will enable them to work to their full potential. As well as resources to help employers to understand what ‘reasonable adjustments’ do and do not entail, and improved access to guidance about how best to support individual needs.”

Employee management can also often be impacted by the fear ‘getting it wrong’. Something which Sue Tumelty has seen first-hand, adding that: “Not only will a greater understanding around neurodiversity ensure that employees get the support they deserve, but it will also give managers the confidence to recognise behaviour that isn’t occurring as a result of neurodivergence and therefore requires a different approach.

She continues: “Ways of behaving that are brought on by neurodiversity and those that can be avoided, such as misconduct or being rude are entirely different, so employers need to feel confident in carrying out their usual disciplinary processes when appropriate, particularly when the wider workforce is at risk of being detrimentally impacted.”

Much of the HR Dept’s work centres around providing employers with the guidance that they need to better support their employees and in turn, get the best out of their whole workforce.

Westlake notes: “If employers can recognise that everyone communicates and processes information differently and are able to take a more flexible approach to internal communications, training and assessments, for example, the entire workforce will benefit in tailoring of communications styles and preferences to engage all, not just neurodivergent individuals.”