Inclusive hiring has nothing to do with quotas. It is about making sure your process finds the best people, rather than the people who happen to be best at your process. A traditional recruitment process quietly filters out a lot of talent, and neurodivergent candidates are among the first to fall through the gaps.
There is a commercial case too. McKinsey’s Diversity Wins research found that, in 2019, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than those in the bottom quartile. For ethnic and cultural diversity the figure was 36%. Diverse teams start with who you hire, so here are five changes you can make now.
1. Write job descriptions people can actually use
Keep language gender-neutral and plain. Focus on the skills the job really needs instead of long lists of qualifications that screen out capable people, and separate the essentials from the nice-to-haves. Put the salary in the advert; we explain why in how transparent salaries drive inclusion.
Say clearly that you welcome neurodivergent applicants and that adjustments are available at every stage. Our guide to writing accessible job descriptions covers the detail.
2. Look for candidates in new places
If you always advertise in the same places, you’ll keep hearing from the same kinds of people. Use job boards that reach under-represented groups, including those for neurodivergent talent, and build relationships with organisations that support them. Employee referral schemes can help too, but only if you actively encourage referrals from a wide range of backgrounds; otherwise they tend to reproduce the team you already have.
3. Reduce bias at screening
Anonymising CVs, by removing names, addresses and the names of schools or universities, helps reviewers focus on skills and experience. Have more than one person review applications, and score them against the same criteria. If you use AI tools to screen applications, check how they treat non-traditional CVs before you rely on them.
4. Make interviews fairer
Interviews are where many neurodivergent candidates are let down, because the format rewards quick thinking and social polish more than ability to do the job. A few changes make a big difference.
Ask every candidate the same questions
Structured interviews, with consistent questions and scoring, reduce the influence of individual bias and of “gut feel”.
Share questions in advance
Sending questions beforehand, and explaining what you hope to learn, lets candidates prepare and show what they can really do. It rarely gives anyone an unfair advantage; it simply removes a barrier.
Use practical tasks
A short, job-relevant task used as a discussion point is often a better guide to performance than abstract questions.
Vary your panel
Panels drawn from different teams and backgrounds give a more rounded view of each candidate.
If you offer interviews to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria, our guide to the guaranteed interview scheme explains how to run it well.
5. Train the people who hire
Every change above depends on the people running the process. Hiring managers and recruiters need regular training on recognising and countering bias, and on what neurodivergence can look like in an interview. Without it, good policies get lost in practice.
Start with one change
You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Pick the change that removes the biggest barrier in your current process, make it, and measure what happens to your applicant pool. For a fuller walkthrough, see how to make your recruitment process neurodiversity friendly.
How Enna can help you hire neuroinclusively
Enna’s neuroinclusion audits and consultancy review your recruitment from advert to offer and give you a prioritised list of changes. Our neurodiversity awareness training for managers prepares hiring managers to run fairer interviews.
When you are ready to reach candidates, you can advertise roles to neurodivergent talent through the Enna jobs board. Not sure where to begin? Take our neuroinclusion maturity assessment or book a call with the team.
