In an increasingly global marketplace, diversity and inclusion are being recognized as a key component in business success. Research tells us that diverse and inclusive teams are smarter, more creative, and make better decisions. While an increasing number of organizations are embracing the notion of diversity, the practice of inclusion is often overlooked. Being respected, valued, and welcome to contribute equates to more than just good feelings: Humans have a biologically based need to belong—to feel included, supported, and valued by others socially. Today, we are diving more into neuroscience specifically neuroinclusion and looking at what we can do more of in order to achieve an inclusive workplace.
Episode 119: Neuroinclusion and the Autistic Job Candidate with Steve Eisenberg (@steve8004)
Often times as in my podcast I talk to the experts as with our recent podcast interview on Neuroscience, however, we don’t always go direct the source to get the job candidate or employee perspective in our workplace. Steven Eisenberg is a professional who has a vested interested in the subject of neuro inclusion and neurodiversity. He is diagnosed with autism and spends a great deal of his time talking with employers, recruiters, workplace leaders, and businesses on how they can be more inclusive and diverse in their employee populations and hiring programs. Steve attends conferences and events sharing and coaching companies on program components they should consider for their diversity and inclusion programs.
Steve offers a unique perspective which is why I knew I needed to have him as a guest on the podcast. He is also an active autistic job seeker who is looking for an organization that is inclusive, diverse, and willing to hire him for his unique set of skills and experience in marketing and project-based work. His perspectives in these areas are important for all companies but also who are focused on diversity and inclusion hiring as well as retention goals for their organization. Steve says that he is excited about the increase in hiring for those who are diverse candidates, however, it is extremely challenging as a job seeker to find companies who have autism hiring programs where he lives. He also shares how the interview and candidate selection process is challenging for someone like himself. This fact is one of the reasons he has started talking to and educating hiring managers and HR on what companies can do to make their workplaces and hiring processes more inclusive.
[bctt tweet=”CEO’s interest in inclusion hiring & employment programs has increased 32% in the last 3 yrs #workology” via=”no”]
The CEO’s Focus on Diversity and Inclusion in Their Workplaces
Research tells us that inclusion is an important topic, especially to CEOs. According to the 2017 Deloitte HR Trends Report, the proportion of executives who cited inclusion as a top priority has risen by 32 percent compared with our 2014 survey. This along with the feedback I’ve received from a list of companies with autism hiring programs last year is one of the reasons both Steve and I believe more dialogue and conversation needs to happen between employers, employees, and job seekers. You can hear more about Steve’s point of view and other insights into the workplace and hiring process for the autistic job seeker by listening to the entire podcast interview.
Connect with Steve Eisenberg on LinkedIn.
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*A special thank you to my production team at Total Picture Radio.
