Over the festive period I had the fortune of speaking to Jo Marks, a HR business partner at SAP UK, one of the world's leading software corporations.
SAP are true pioneers of the inclusive workforce, globally employing autistic adults across 14 different countries for over six years. Today, the company has over 175 colleagues who are on the autism spectrum employed across 140 teams - making them one of the biggest employers of neuro-diverse individuals in the world.
The 'Autism at Work' programme was launched back in 2013, in partnership with the Ambitious about Autism charity to integrate individuals who are on the spectrum into the SAP workforce to support their ongoing success as a businesses.
Speaking on the programme, Jo Marks said: "Diversity and inclusion is a key pillar of our people strategy at SAP. We really recognise as an employer the benefits of having a diverse workforce such as the different perspective that it brings to problem solving, innovation and the creative process."
Through their work with Ambitious about Autism, the company have integrated new methods of recruitment to make their workplace more accessible for those with the condition, these include many of the small changes previously mentioned by other interviewees - like reducing the ambiguity around interviews.
"We've just made subtle changes" Jo said.
"We send the interview questions to the candidates ahead of time so that just gives them the opportunity to understand around how the interview will be structured and what to expect on the day and gives them the opportunity to prepare as well.
"We've also created a welcome booklet to take away some of the anxiety and ambiguity of coming somewhere for the first time. It includes what to expect, photos of the office and reception and pictures of people they'll meet on the day. Just so there's that information upfront on what to expect."
Despite these changes, the company retains an understanding of the importance of catering for people on a more personal level.
"The big bit that's always really important for us is communication (with the candidate) throughout the whole process and starting really early.
"We try to be very open and individualistic in our approach as well - this small change can have a potentially big impact."
You can hear more from Jo on the benefits of an inclusive workforce in the clip below.
More to follow.
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