Ongoing support for employers who hire neurodivergent workers 

Specialist supports are in place to ensure employers can be confident when hiring neurodivergent people and people with disabilities, says NOW Group

Maeve Monaghan, chief executive of NOW Group, a social enterprise tat supports people with learning difficulties, autism and who are neurodivergent into sustainable employment.

A major confidence gap is holding Irish employers back from hiring more neurodivergent people and people with disabilities, according to new research commissioned by leading social enterprise NOW Group.

NOW Group is a leading social enterprise operating across the island of Ireland, supporting people with learning difficulties, autism and who are neurodivergent into sustainable employment. Through a range of services and social enterprises, NOW Group works with businesses and individuals to create inclusive workplaces and deliver social value.   In this Q&A interview, Maeve Monaghan, CEO of NOW Group, outlines the main message coming from NOW Group’s latest research – the fact that employers don’t necessarily lack the willingness to become more inclusive, it’s more that many lack the confidence and practical knowledge to know where to begin.

What is your key advice to employers around making the leap towards inclusive hiring?

My biggest piece of advice is: you don’t have to do it on your own. Our research shows a real confidence gap among Irish employers; just 8% feel very confident hiring and supporting neurodivergent people and people with disabilities.

This means Ireland's significant disability employment gap isn’t necessarily about a lack of willingness. Employers are worried about saying the wrong thing or being insensitive. And fear can lead to inaction. Employers don’t need to become experts overnight but by partnering with an organisation like NOW Group, you can have support along your journey. It’s also an opportunity. While organisations are facing major recruitment and retention challenges, it makes little sense to unintentionally exclude people who could make a huge contribution. Inclusive hiring is about removing unnecessary barriers so you can recruit the best person for the job from the widest possible talent pool. When done right this leads to successful outcomes and often, further opportunities.

What steps are involved in hiring and supporting neurodivergent people and people with disabilities?

The first step is looking honestly at your existing recruitment process and asking where unnecessary barriers might exist. That starts before somebody applies. How is the job description written? Which requirements are genuinely essential? Where are you advertising, and are you reaching a diverse pool of candidates?

Then look at the application and interview process. Could you provide questions in advance, offer a quieter environment, allow additional processing time or give candidates different ways of demonstrating their abilities? Small adjustments can make an enormous difference without changing the standards required for the role.

Once somebody joins, good support starts with a conversation about what that individual needs to perform at their best. There isn’t a single checklist because people are individuals. Adjustments might involve working patterns, communication preferences, technology or simply greater clarity around tasks and expectations.

It’s also important to support managers and colleagues. Inclusion shouldn’t rest solely on the employee having to continually advocate for themselves.

That's why NOW Group works on both sides of the employment relationship: supporting people with learning difficulties, autism and who are neurodivergent to develop skills and progress into sustainable employment, while working directly with businesses to create workplaces where that talent can succeed.

What do the companies that you engage with say about their experience?

One of the things we hear is that the reality is often less daunting than employers might have thought.

There can be a perception that becoming more inclusive requires an organisation to redesign everything it does. In practice, it is often about understanding the individual, making sensible adjustments and giving managers the confidence to be supportive.

My team works with major employers and organisations across Ireland, including An Post, Deloitte Ireland, Levy Ireland, Flutter and Circle K. Those partnerships demonstrate that inclusive employment can work across very different businesses and roles. Employers also increasingly recognise that this isn’t separate from the recruitment and retention challenges they're experiencing. More inclusive recruitment gives businesses access to people and skills they may previously have been missing.

And many of the practices that support neurodivergent and disabled employees are simply good people practices: clear communication, thoughtful onboarding, appropriate flexibility and understanding how somebody works best. That’s why the ambition now should be to move inclusion away from being seen as an act of goodwill and make it part of how organisations think about workforce planning.

How does your ongoing support ease “the fear of getting it wrong” for employers?

Fear grows when people feel they are navigating something alone. NOW Group’s role is to remove that uncertainty and give employers practical support at every stage. Our research shows some employers don’t know how to reach candidates with disabilities, while others aren’t sure how to provide accommodations during recruitment or in the workplace. These are practical problems, so they need practical solutions.

A partner like NOW Group can help employers reach candidates, review recruitment practices, build confidence and capability within teams and understand appropriate workplace support. At the same time, because we work directly with people preparing for and entering employment, we understand the candidate’s perspective too. We can even support businesses to extend this inclusivity to any customers or clients with disabilities, through the likes of our JAM Card for Business.

That bridge between employers and potential employees is incredibly important. We aren’t simply telling businesses they should be more inclusive; we’re helping them to do it successfully.

Employers will occasionally get things wrong, but the goal shouldn’t be perfection from day one. What matters is creating a culture where people are comfortable asking respectful questions, listening and adapting. If we can close the employer confidence gap, we have a real opportunity to help close Ireland’s disability employment gap too, while helping businesses access the talent they need. 

• Maeve Monaghan is chief executive of NOW Group, a social enterprise supporting people with learning difficulties and neurodivergence into sustainable employment across the island of Ireland. NOW Group works with employers to build inclusive workforces while equipping individuals with the training and support needed to succeed in the workplace.