Jason Portelli's top tips for supporting your neurodiverse team members
Some people need a little extra support to work effectively. Perhaps they have visible physical needs; perhaps it's an invisible difference. It's always good to understand what works for them, and how the workplace can be tweaked to be more inclusive of everyone's differences. People Matters asked tech futurist Jason Portelli, the founder of Tech Pathfinder, for some pointers about providing such support.
Portelli, who was himself diagnosed with ADHD last year, is firm that before even going into questions such as how and what, the person you are trying to support needs to be on board with being supported in the first place.
"In a workplace setting we simply need to acknowledge that everyone is different. As like any program or policy around inclusion, the key is not to assume you know what's best and ask the individual for their input," he said.
Citing his own experience with ADHD, he pointed out that the condition presents itself in many different ways for different people, meaning that although there is a shared experience, what works for some won't necessarily work for others.
But some principles are universal, and Portelli highlighted several of these as next steps.
Are you trustworthy?
"Workplaces need to consider if they are presenting themselves as trusted advocates to their employees," Portelli said. And how does that image of trustworthiness come about? From the leadership modelling the values and behaviours they want to see throughout the organisation.
"Take a look at your company values and consider if the senior leadership and executive teams are demonstrating these values, and importantly, are they being held to the same level of expectation and accountability as other employees?"
He also flagged out a very common pitfall that damages trust. Companies frequently seek employees' input or feedback on issues of importance to them, only to take the responses and do nothing about it. Rather than giving the impression that the input has fallen into a black hole, companies need to provide transparency on the results and actions.
This, said Portelli, can have a really positive impact even if employees' requests are not granted. Something as simple as sharing the outcome from a survey, and the next steps you plan to take, can have a really positive impact on trust levels, he pointed out.
Do you provide the right tools?
Technology can play a huge role in helping neurodivergent employees manage their work. But, says Portelli, it again comes down to getting the individual's input. Some, like him, might excel with the support of digital tools; others may need physical reminders, or different processes, or some other kind of personalised system.
And, he pointed out, the expectations around these tools and systems must be very clear and agreed-upon. This is especially the case with communication tools, given the proliferation of methods of communication in the modern workplace.
"Simply mapping out what each tool is used for can do two things: Firstly it could identify some redundancy if two tools are doing the same thing. Secondly, It provides staff with a clear map to communicate with each other."
For example, he said, a workplace could set out the expectation that urgent matters are to be addressed in person or over the phone, Slack or Teams is to be used for short conversations, emails are to be used for longer detailed questions and communications, and a due date for responses or actions should be set.
Start with your existing tools and policies
Our knowledge of neurodiversity is constantly broadening, and this may make the goalposts shift as our awareness improves. But that's not a reason to shrink from making changes, Portelli said. Rather than feeling overwhelmed, we need to recognise that we're already on this journey: it's just another step forward, which we are in fact already equipped to take.
"The simplest thing you can do today is to take a look at your existing equity and inclusion programs and policies through a neurodiverse lens to see if changes can be made to better support your people," he said. "Ask for their engagement, and provide resources for all employees to learn about inclusion and psychological safety."
He also pointed to the possibility that employer funded diagnosis and support could increase. "Now is a good time to look into your EAP programs and determine what’s right for your business. Consider tracking the retention rates of staff who are neurodivergent, and pay close attention to those exit interviews and survey responses to identify areas of improvement."