There was a great article in workforce.com called Companies Find Fruitful Results When Hiring Autistic Workers. Many give lip service to hiring those with disabilities. That’s fine, but lip service isn’t enought. Go out on a limb and try it. Here’s how.
Daxko has partnered with a local Birmingham group called Triumph Services. They help adults with developmental disabilities, including autism, live independently. Daxko put our money where our mouth is; we’ve hired a young man with autism to help us with administrative items, light cleanup work, restocking supplies, and most importantly…keeping our soda fridges and fruit bowls filled. (We offer these free to all our team members, so high on the priority list for sure.
One other thing about our hire is he also has a job at Publix. He works two jobs – more than many other candidates we screen. Shows initiative, drive and commitment.
Check out this success story. Startup company Aspiritech hires those with Aspergers (a mild form of autism) as software testers. Yes software testers. Due to the typical high attention to detail found in many adults with Aspergers, for Aspiritech it is a good and successful match. Win-win.
Adding autistic workers to your workforce is really easy. Here is what you do.
- Find a local group that supports autistic workers. Partner with them now.
- Check out www.autismspeaks.org. Here are a few articles on autism in the workplace:
- Find a job that needs filling. Usually those with high attention to detail (although that is not always the case).
- Typically more flexible organizations are ideal for this type of hire. Strict clock-watching environments may not be the best.
- Treat autistic employees like every other employee in your co. They are working for pay and to learn real life skills. If it doesn’t work out, that is OK.
- Have courage to try something different.
Great post. It is important that businesses see that being different might actually HELP the bottom line and it isn’t just about doing a good thing. Not everything will be a match but think outside the box about people whenever you can!