San-IT joins Neurodiversity in Business

San-IT are proud to announce that we’ve become a corporate member of the Neurodiversity in Business forum.

Our membership is part of our wider commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives in the IT sector where individuals with a range of neurodivergent profiles are often underrepresented.

We believe in the idea of ‘Differences not Deficits’ and our aim to bring impairment into the conversation fosters diversity of thought, different approaches to work, innovation, and creativity in the workplace.

What is neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity describes the amazing variety in human neurology, thinking, communication styles and expression. Those typically excluded are a wide spectrum of neurodivergent conditions, characteristics and expression including conditions such as Autism Spectrum Condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Developmental Language Disorder, and Dyspraxia. 15-20% of the global population is Neurodivergent.

Why does it matter to us?

Awareness around neurodiversity is a subject close to our hearts. Barry, our Founder and Managing Director, has ADHD, as does Louise and Barry’s son. It was their son’s diagnosis that led to greater research of neurodiversity and recognising the strengths that a neurodiverse brain can bring to a forward-thinking business.

‘My diagnosis made it apparent that it was more than likely the ADHD that allowed me to hyper-focus on my tasks. People with ADHD are single minded in pursuit of their goals, meaning that they are willing to take risks and think outside the box to achieve what they want to.’

Barry Lowe, Founder & CEO

Neurodiversity is not just about treating people with different brains better. It also means creating workplaces that are more accommodating for neurodivergent employees — who may need extra time to complete tasks, or who may need flexible work arrangements because they have children with special needs.

We have always employed neurodiverse people (in fact, our first ever apprentice was autistic) and truly believe this approach brings a wide range of positive benefits.

What have we done about it?

Being ‘human centred’ is the best way to support each individual within our organisation and allows everyone to be their authentic self at work. For us, the next step was to work with organisations such a Neurodiversity in Business to discover the best ways in which we can support neurodiversity in the workplace and ensure all employees feel supported in a way that plays to their strengths.

The organisation, led by Dan Harris (Chief Executive Officer) draws upon the cumulative knowledge of neurodivergent experts and leading companies to share best practice and improve the employment and experience of the neurodiverse workforce.

“We are delighted that San-IT has become a member of NiB. It signals their commitment to ensuring a truly inclusive workplace and a desire to strive for the best in diversity and inclusion standards. We look forward to working with San-IT and all our members in delivering meaningful change for the neurodivergent across business.”

Dan J Harris, CEO – Neurodiversity in Business

A selection of the forum’s founding members include: Accenture; ARM, AstraZeneca; Capita;  Hiscox; IBM, Kimberly Clark; KPMG, Lloyds Banking Group; Metro Bank; NatWest; Network Rail; Openreach; Oracle; Orange; Rolls Royce plc; Sky; TalkTalk; The Open University; Unilever; Virgin Media/O2 and many more.

What have we done so far?

As part of our involvement in NiB, we have so far:

• Achieved the Neurodiversity Friendly Award from Do-IT Profiler – demonstrating an understanding of neuroinclusive workplaces and conditions.
• Formed a group of Neurodiversity Champions who undertook training in inclusive language, communication and attitudes to implement throughout the business.
• Undertook a gap analysis – looking at areas of the business that could be more neuro-inclusive (for example, rewording job descriptions to ensure they state simply what is needed for the job and don’t have a lot of unnecessary information or jargon)
• Adjusted physical workplaces, including providing noise cancelling headphones and quiet spaces for employees, and providing collaborative spaces to break up the working day.

What’s next?

Although we are so proud to be working towards our inclusivity goals, we know there is still work to be done. We want to improve the recruitment process to make sure we are being as accessible to all as possible, this includes building diversity training into our induction process so that everyone is aware of their own unconscious bias and how it affects their behaviour towards others.

We are committed to providing long-term support for neurodivergent people and want to continue our efforts to ensure we can employ more talented individuals who have unique skills but may need extra support in the workplace.

Click here for more information on the Neurodiversity in Business initiative.