Redesigning Hiring to Recognise Neurodivergent Talent

Sarah Williams, Chief People Officer at OCS UK & Ireland, makes the case that neuroinclusive hiring is a question of design rather than good intentions. Her article, first published by HR Review, sets out how recruitment quietly filters out capable people before their strengths are seen, what employers can change, and how OCS is putting it into practice.

Neuroinclusive hiring is a capability issue before it is anything else. Many recruitment processes still reward a single, narrow version of good: confidence under pressure, quick verbal answers, a polished social performance. Capable people get filtered out before anyone sees what they can actually do.

The cause is rarely a lack of intent. It is a lack of design. A process built around one communication style will keep favouring the people who suit that style. A more inclusive approach starts with a simple principle. Difference belongs in the system as standard, not bolted on as an exception.

Why the Interview Keeps Missing Good People

The interview is often treated as the main measure of potential. In practice, it can test speed, confidence and social navigation rather than competence. For neurodivergent candidates, that gap between what gets assessed and what matters in the job can work against them without anyone intending it to.

A shift in how we assess counts for more than another awareness campaign. Lean on the interview as the gateway and you select the strongest performers in an artificial setting, not the strongest performers in the role. Neuroinclusive hiring rebuilds that gateway so it surfaces ability rather than composure under pressure.

Psychological Safety, In Practice

Hiring is only the front door. People stay, and do their best work, when the culture around them makes it safe to contribute in different ways. For neurodivergent colleagues in particular, psychological safety has to show up in everyday behaviour and routine, not in a policy document. In practice it looks like:

• People communicating in the way that works for them, without being judged for it.
• Adjustments treated as normal, not as exceptions that need justifying again and again.
• Managers asking, “What do you need to do your best work?” and acting on the answer.
• Clear expectations in place of ambiguity and unwritten rules.
• Difference met with curiosity rather than criticism.

When those signals are missing, people mask. They suppress traits, over-monitor their own behaviour and perform the acceptable version of themselves to reduce risk. Masking costs wellbeing, performance and retention. Most organisations only measure that cost once it has already shown up.

Sharpening the Signal Without Adding Cost

A neuroinclusive model works best when assessment is treated as a design problem rather than a statement of values. Shift the focus to evidence and the process becomes less about how someone performs on the day and more about how reliably it reveals what they can do.

Start by letting candidates show their skills in context instead of explaining them out loud. Practical tasks and applied assessments let strengths appear in ways that mirror the reality of the role, rather than asking people to translate everything into interview-ready answers. A candidate might work through a realistic scenario, prioritise the actions and talk through the decision they reached.

Consistency is the next lever. Structured scorecards force clarity on what is being assessed and why. They reduce drift, make comparisons meaningful and limit the personal interpretation that creeps in when expectations are loosely defined. They also give hiring managers confidence, because judgements rest on agreed criteria rather than impression.

Accuracy improves again when needless pressure comes out of the process. Sharing questions in advance can change the quality of responses, letting candidates focus on substance rather than recall or improvisation. When people understand what they are being asked to demonstrate, the process can tell capability apart from coping strategy.

None of this adds layers or complexity. It sharpens the signal. Decisions become easier to justify, easier to explain and more likely to reflect how someone will actually perform once they are in the role.

What the Redesign Looks Like at OCS

OCS is embedding neuroinclusion into the mechanics of hiring rather than running it as a parallel initiative. The starting point is hiring managers, because inclusion is decided in the moments of recruitment, onboarding and day-to-day management.

One early step has been building neurodiversity awareness into Hiring Manager Toolkits, with practical guidance on reasonable adjustments, unconscious bias and the principle that difference is not deficit. The aim is straightforward: give hiring managers the confidence and understanding to make fairer, better-informed decisions.

Access is widening too. CV screening is being removed from parts of the process where possible, to reduce bias and open opportunity on potential rather than background signals. Targeted recruitment is being ring-fenced for people who face barriers to employment, neurodivergent candidates among them.

Pipeline matters as much as process. OCS is working with Ambitious About Autism to develop supported internship pathways and widen access for young people. Engagement with SEND schools is building earlier awareness of career routes through tailored World of Work sessions, supported site visits and activities designed with educators and job coaches. The intention is to make facilities management feel open and reachable, and to build belonging from the outset rather than as an afterthought.

From Awareness to Everyday Practice

For employers, the next step is embedding neuroinclusion into everyday processes: hiring, onboarding, performance management and leadership practice. That is how it becomes part of how an organisation operates.

Progress needs both data and lived experience. Representation across roles and levels. Retention and progression. Feedback on support and adjustments. And the cultural measure that matters most, whether people feel safe to be themselves and have equal access to opportunity.

The core point is simple. Talent does not come in one shape, and neither should opportunity.