Neurodiverse workforce: inclusive employment as an HR strategy
| Date | 14 October 2019 |
| Pages | 204-209 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-02-2019-0007 |
| Published date | 14 October 2019 |
| Author | Bramhani Rao,Jyothi Polepeddi |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Neurodiverse workforce: inclusive
employment as an HR strategy
Bramhani Rao and Jyothi Polepeddi
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to develop and propose a Neurodiversity-Smart HR framework that may
facilitateorganizations to build an inclusive workforce.
Design/methodology/approach –Real cases of inclusive companies in India such as Lemon Tree
Hotels have been exploredin detail through observations, video interviews of company’sleadership and
personaldiscussion with special-needs communityto design a generalized framework.
Findings –Development of Neurodiversity-Smart HR frameworkthat integrates resources from multiple
stakeholders.
Practical implications –The proposed framework shall facilitate organizations to build an inclusive
workforce and engage with the special-needs community throughout the inclusion process. The
neurodiversityapproach is a potential solution to organizational issuessuch as innovation, engagement,
social responsibilityand attrition.
Originality/value –The only studyto propose a functional inclusiveemployment framework.
Keywords Neurodiversity, Inclusion, Persons with disabilities (PwDs), Sustainable workforce
Paper type Viewpoint
1. Introduction
Organizations in the modern world operate under immense competition, disruptive
innovations and technological transformations. Therefore, companies strive to gain
competitive advantage and sustain in the marketplace. Few companies, across the world,
focused on achieving sustainability through people and made human capital as the center
of their sustainability strategy. Organizations such as SAP, Microsoft, Ford, Ernst & Young
(Forbes, 2016) have integrated their diversity and inclusion practices with their corporate
social responsibility human resource (CSR) initiatives to achieve sustainability through the
development of the sustainableworkforce.
“A sustainable workforce is a potential outcome of medium to long-term strategic
planning reviews carried out by organizations that view their people as assets and do not
simply focus on the short term; enabling them to plan for the future with regards to their
people requirements”. Companies considered human resources as an asset and
redesigned their policies and processes to hire the best talent and facilitate them to
achieve their highest potential at work. An outcome of this thinking was –inclusion.
Organizations researched and understood that to build a culture of creativity and
innovation, they must integrate minds from diverse sections of society including –“minds
that are different”. Today, organizations are exploring the untapped potential hidden in
the “differently wired” brains of people with cognitive disabilities, such as autism
spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, Down syndrome and
learning disabilities, and the presence of this uniquely diverse group of people has been
referred to as “neurodiversity” at workplace.
Bramhani Rao and
Jyothi Polepeddi are based
at the School of
Management Studies,
University of Hyderabad,
Hyderabad, India.
PAGE 204 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEW jVOL. 18 NO. 5 2019, pp. 204-209, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI 10.1108/SHR-02-2019-0007
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