Walgreens has been training and employing neurodiverse workers since 2007. “From data and research, what we know is that it is the most unemployed demographic in the country,” said Carlos Cubia, global chief diversity officer for Walgreens Boots Alliance. Those with disability
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
When Cornelia Quinn, co-founder of Go-Bee, which makes reusable antimicrobial airplane tray covers, needs help packing and fulfilling orders, she looks no further than her 19-year-old son, Jake Looks like someone with autism.
As a person with autism, finding employment is challenging. More than half of young people with autism are unemployed. Unemployment for neurodivergent adults is as high as 30% to 40%, triple the rate for people with disabilities Up to 85% of people on the autism spectrum are unemployed, according to a recent Deloitte report. Neurodiversity is an umbrella term that covers a wide variety of conditions, including autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, and dyslexia. With one in 45 adults on the autism spectrum alone, that’s a lot of untapped labor market potential.
This is an important data point for employers in the midst of the current labor crisis. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly half of US states now have unemployment rates below pre-pandemic levels – a 50-year low – while 13 states have unemployment rates below 3%. That means employers are struggling to fill open positions and are keen to look more closely at previously overlooked segments of the population.
“Employers are trying a lot of ways to find and see hiring resources that may not have been there before,” said John Dooney, HR consultant with the Society for Human Resource Management.
“Everyone is struggling to find talent in the market,” said global chief diversity officer Carlos Cubia. Walgreens Boots Alliance, “What we know from the data and research is that this is the most underemployed demographic in the country. And it’s people with disabilities. So it’s an untapped resource that businesses can look forward to.”
Walgreens, Amazon lean into neurodiverse talent
One obstacle that employers face when hiring neurodiverse individuals is favorable conditions. Since neurodiversity includes such wide variations, the accommodation required also varies widely. Someone with sensitivity to loud noises may need headphones to muffle the sound. Other people with severe dyslexia or other conditions may benefit from signage that includes pictures or is color-coded.
Since its launch in 2007, Walgreens’ Transition Work Group program has helped place 1,000 individuals in the company’s distribution centers. The 13-week training program includes both classroom and on-the-job training that teaches how to pull and pack orders from the distribution center to the store.
“These individuals, once they are through the 13-week program, are paid at the same rate as someone with a disability, they have similar expectations in terms of job performance. , and are treated just like a normal employee within the workforce. We don’t cut corners to say where, you know, your productivity may be lower, your expectations may or may not be lower, we do. Do nothing,” said Cubia.
The company has a similar program for its retail stores. Disabled retail workers train disabled employees to stock shelves, unload trucks, greet customers, or work as cashiers. To keep the program running, Walgreen’s human resources department and distribution center leadership works with local community organizations as well as state and local social service agencies to help find and screen candidates.
Job coaching can be an important part of ensuring success. Wawa, which operates a chain of convenience stores and gas stations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and three other states, breaks down tasks for neurodiverse employees. Specialized employees have a variety of responsibilities, from food preparation to cleaning to customer service. A job coach employed by a coaching organization, not Wawa, will help determine the right scope of tasks for the individual, which may vary based on their abilities and desires.
Jay Culotta, Wawa’s treasurer and president of The Wawa Foundation, said that when her daughter Hannah, who has Down syndrome, started working for the company two years ago, she worked with a jobs coach to make sure she that it is functioning efficiently and effectively. “Over time, as Hannah became more independent, that job coach would start to fade away,” Kulotta said.
Wawa has worked with Eden Autism Services in New Jersey for over 40 years. The partnership began when a store manager hired Ari Shiner with autism through Eden in 1981. Wawa now works with over 200 different job coaching organizations. Shiner is still with the company and Wawa has about 30 other neurodiverse employees who have been around for at least 20 years.
While some neurodiverse individuals may need more accommodation, many may not.
“Generally the accommodations that are needed are not very large,” said Dan Roth, a technical recruiter. heroine Those who, as someone with ADHD, are also considered neurodivers. “If someone is operating at 50% of their capacity, but if you build two or three light dwellings, and it brings them to 85 or 95%… look at how much higher ROI you are getting there,” They said.
Feather go-bee, which employs four neurodiverse individuals, Quinn breaks down the tasks best suited to the individual. While her son, Jake, specializes exclusively in computer-related tasks, another member really enjoys rolling and turning up the sleeves. “It’s almost therapeutic for him,” she said. “We set up stations for them and we really want to fuel their success and give them social opportunities to collaborate with each other to fulfill their role or task,” Quinn said.
Go-Bee co-founders Cornelia Quinn and her son Jake, who has autism. She says of employing her son and other neurodiverse workers, the goal is to make them “feel that when they wake up in the morning, they have something to look forward to, and just to realize that they belong to society.” are part of and they’re contributing.”
Yesterday
While hiring neurodiverse individuals may require some accommodation and investment, recruiters and companies that have gone through this process say there is a payoff – both financial and otherwise.
“These individuals are very reliable, very good from a productivity standpoint…
The accident rate for individuals who undergo Walgreen’s TWG program is 25% lower than the standard at Walgreen’s distribution centers. Retention is also high, Cubia said. “You’ve heard the old adage that it costs less to acquire a new one than to retain an employee. It helps you save money from that approach,” he said.
In addition, the IRS provides tax credits and incentives to companies hiring individuals with disabilities, which may include some neurodiverse individuals. Some incentives go toward offsetting the cost of housing.
For Wawa, payouts are not necessarily tied to performance metrics or profit margins.
“We have some colleagues in this program who are just as efficient and productive as our typical colleagues… and we have some who are not in the cards and that is fine. Their job scope may be very, very narrow or They may work perfectly with their job coach, “but there are other things that are brought to the table,” said Dave Simonetti, senior director of store operations at Wawa.
Those other properties are harder to measure by numbers, but just as important. “The colleagues they work with seem to think that the community really embraces the program. It’s a huge win with customer service, which is a huge opportunity in our industry. Many times it’s just a huge positive for customer interaction. It’s a different set of metrics,” he said.
Wawa has approximately 47,000 employees, 500 of whom are neurodiverse.
While SAP, Microsoft, Ford, Deloitte, IBM and other companies have shifted their corporate HR practices to bring in more neurodiverse individuals for coding or other technical jobs, neurodiverse individuals work for fulfillment, distribution or retail jobs. But efforts to keep are more scattered. Part of the bias is the belief that neurodiverse individuals or people with disabilities cannot stay in a business that tracks performance metrics so closely.
Arvin Swanger, recruiter for Indeed.com and WilsonHCG, which focuses on placing neurodiverse individuals, said opportunities for neurodiverse individuals can vary depending on the company, store, and store manager. He cited several individuals at Walmart and several at Lowe’s. Some store managers are very familiar with the process and any accommodations, others are wary, she said.
Walmart spokesman Jimmy Carter said the company does not have a specific program dedicated to hiring neurodiverse individuals. “We do not inquire about specific circumstances, but we are committed to engaging, hiring and developing diverse talent from underrepresented communities, including neurodiverse individuals,” he said.
Go-Bee’s Quinn hopes that with greater awareness, more neurodiverse individuals will find employment. The current high unemployment rate, “is an alarming number. Going forward, I want to involve the community in some way,” she said.
“They’re all great opportunities to help them with a purpose, and they feel like they have something to look forward to when they wake up in the morning, and just feel like they’re part of society.” And they are contributing,” he added.