Ep 479: Neurodiversity Hiring At Microsoft

Recruiting Future with Matt Alder

I published three interviews in October to mark National Disability Employment Awareness month. What particularly struck me was the amount of work going into neurodiversity hiring, and I want to dive deeper by finding out how specific employers are developing their programs.

My guest this week is Neil Barnett, Director, Inclusive Hiring and Accessibility at Microsoft. Neil helped to develop Microsoft’s Neurodiversity Hiring Program, which has been in place since 2015. He has excellent insights and valuable advice for employers looking to establish similar programs.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Are employers getting any better at disability inclusion?

• The story behind Microsoft's Neurodiversity Hiring Program

• Screening in rather than screening out

• Changing the hiring process to set people up for success

• Providing tangible feedback

• How the success of the program has changed aspects of Microsoft's other hiring programs

• Building an inclusive workplace

• Non-apparent disability and self-disclosure

• ERGs and growing internal communities

• Building the business case to get started

• How Microsoft collaborates with other employers

• Advice for parents on the future of neurodiversity in the workforce

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts

A full transcript will appear here shortly