I was recently looking for a break from depressing current events, so I turned to reading some HR journals.  I came across this gem I’d never heard of before. What if I told you about a new type of diversity -not the usual race, gender, age, cultural background type of diversity– but something new called “neurodiversity”.  What is that? You might ask, well let me tell you.

There are companies –Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Ernst & Young-  who are hiring people with special talents in pattern recognition, repetitive analysis and memory.  These are people with above-average skills resulting from their unique neurological differences.  These differences are caused by dyslexia, ADHD, autism, Aspergers, and other types of neurological conditions.  Surprised?

Neurodiverse people can do well in the areas of software testing and cybersecurity.

In fact, I was blown away to learn that according to a Harvard Business Review article titled Neurodiversity a Competitive Advantage,  Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have a “Special Intelligence Unit, which is responsible for analyzing aerial and satellite imagery, and have a group staffed primarily with people on the autism spectrum. It has proved that they can spot patterns others do not see.”

As you can imagine, there are challenges to hiring neurodiverse people.  This is a talent pool that companies will often overlook because they don’t fare well in the normal hiring process.  Some of their behavior is incompatible with the desired traits companies look for in candidates:  good communication and social skills, being a team player,  following rules.  No wonder neurodiverse people don’t do well in interviews, some can be socially awkward or find it hard to make eye contact.

These challenges maybe why only large global companies are willing to tackle them, they have the resources to invest in how best to identify, hire and manage these individuals.

What is heartening is to see that some companies (and apparently some governments) are finding ways to use the special talents and extraordinary skills that neurodiverse people bring to the table.  Instead of seeing them as having a disability, they are being valued for their super-abilities, enabling them to be productive contributing members of society.

Don’t know about you, but this story filled me with hope and optimism for humankind.  Just in time for Christmas!

©Copyright Eva Del Rio

Eva Del Rio is creator of HR Box™ – tools for small businesses and startups. Send questions to Eva@evadelrio.com