In 2019, Nicolas (Nico) Neumann was the first individual to take home SAP’s most prestigious employee award. Created in 2014, the Hasso Plattner Founders’ Award had previously gone to multimember teams for inventions such as creating an immersive customer experience and a zero-downtime software upgrade option. Neumann won for creating a tool to automate complex cross-company invoices, reducing a process that took at least two days to one that took 20 minutes.

SAP’s financial accounting department implemented the tool. And the difference it made led to Neumann’s recognition.

It was “great to see how a single human being with just a simple idea but a great drive to achieve it can really change the world,” said Luka Mucic, SAP’s chief financial officer at the time.

Neumann joined SAP Argentina in 2016 through SAP’s Autism at Work program, which has for more than a decade supported candidates on the autism spectrum during the hiring process and offers a variety of resources once they’re hired. It also offers best practices to help other organizations accelerate their autism and neurodiversity hiring efforts.

Not every neurodivergent employee your company brings on board will reach such a breakout accomplishment. Neurodiverse people—like neurotypical people—are, as the term suggests, diverse. Neurodivergent people are often fully aware of their strengths and the gaps that help them to reach their full potential. As with all employees in every organization, their skills, capabilities, and potential vary.

This recognition makes it important for employers who are developing hiring programs that welcome people who are neurodiverse and who have disabilities to start with an emphasis on enabling individuals to bring their whole selves to work. This allows them to reach their potential and allows the hiring organizations to capture the valuable skills and perspectives that they offer. These hiring programs design career pathways for individuals to participate as much as possible, with as few limitations as possible, by providing accommodations in every aspect of employment throughout their tenure.

Successful neurodiversity hiring programs raise awareness among employees and make important alterations to the recruiting and onboarding processes as well as adaptations to communications and management approaches.

The investment is worth it as companies benefit from the achievements, skills, experiences, and unique perspectives of individuals they might otherwise overlook. Because when organizations fail to see what individuals have to offer—through misconceptions, bias, or some other factor—it is a missed opportunity.

An overlooked talent pool

At a time when a range of industries, from food services to manufacturing to IT, are facing high levels of competition for key skills, neurodiverse candidates who have historically been overlooked during the hiring process represent a pool of great untapped potential.

A disability has three dimensions, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition: impairment, such as physical or mental function; activity limitation, such as hearing, seeing, or problem-solving; and participation restrictions, whether in work, recreational activities, or receiving healthcare. An estimated 1.3 billion people globally (or one in six of us) have some form of disability, according to the WHO.

People with disabilities are underemployed. In May 2025, only 37.5% of individuals with a disability were employed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This population includes people with physical limitations as well as intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). While this percentage (74.8% in May 2025) is near an all-time high since data collection began in 2008, the employment–population ratio for people with disabilities is still markedly lower than for those without disabilities.

“Unfortunately, many businesses and employers are reluctant to hire these individuals, even though, in many cases, they perform as well or even better than other employees,” says Craig Escudé, a family physician and president of IntellectAbility, an organization that educates families and service providers who support people with intellectual disabilities.

Escudé points to an older but notable research study, which found that employers overlook people with IDD for a range of reasons that go beyond negative stereotypes, including concerns about coworkers’ and customers’ adverse reactions; assumptions that it will cost more to hire, train, and retain people with IDD and that these workers won’t be as productive; and fear of litigation associated with the hiring and firing of people with disabilities. A more recent review of research on the topic of why employers hire (or fail to hire) candidates with disabilities identified 32 factors—most of them barriers. The most frequently mentioned hurdles were the expectations that people with disabilities are unproductive and cost a lot of money, and employers’ lack of knowledge about disabilities.

There is still limited understanding of the long-term effects of neuroinclusive hiring practices, especially regarding employee well-being and organizational effectiveness, as noted in a 2025 call for research by the Academy of Management.

While research data on the benefits of hiring neurodivergent workers is nascent, there is some evidence that an inclusive recruiting method can pay off and that more companies are pursuing these benefits. Participation in the Disability Index, a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN (an organization that benchmarks U.S. corporate disability inclusion policies and programs), has grown sixfold, from just 80 companies in the Index’s inaugural year in 2015 to 485 in 2023. And companies that lead in key disability inclusion criteria have realized 1.6 times more revenue, 2.6 times more net income, and two times more profit than other participants in Disability:IN’s annual benchmark survey. They are also 25% more likely to outperform on productivity (measured as revenue per employee) compared to industry peers that did not participate in the survey.

In addition, the labor market in recent years has created a double benefit for those with disabilities as well as for older workers, says Richard Wahlquist, CEO of the American Staffing Association, a trade group. “It’s the best time in my 30 years in the industry for older workers and people with disabilities, and our industry is looking for them,” Wahlquist says.

It’s not enough, though, to have the desire to reach out to the neurodiverse population as a potential talent pool. The culture and climate of the organization must support such efforts.

People with the power to contribute

Jim Hogan is an accomplished technology executive who is autistic.

Diagnosed when he was 4 years old, Hogan, who is now over 50, describes himself as “a dedicated lifelong autodidact” who turned some of that self-teaching to computer science. Before joining Google in mid-2020, Hogan had technology management and director roles at companies including Accenture, Verizon, Kaiser Permanente, and Genesys. At Google, he has more than one role: he serves as principal innovation strategist of healthcare and life sciences, and as vice president of accessibility in technology. (To make things even more interesting, he has studied immunology through Harvard Medical School’s HMX online program.) Hogan’s LinkedIn profile notes that he is “an innovator, a human rights activist, and a strong representative of what is possible for autistic individuals.”

Hogan knows how challenging the employment system can be for those on the autism spectrum based on his own experience of being a victim of bullying over the years from coworkers and managers. In 2004, a peer subjected him to what he calls “widespread public humiliation, making up lies about situations that never took place to ruin my credibility, and general cruelty.” The bullying progressed to the point, he says, of experiencing a complete psychotic break. He was hospitalized for over two weeks.

Now thriving, Hogan says his career experience also shows how energizing it can be to find the right employer and role.

Hogan says his employer encourages him to follow his passions, both as a technologist and as an advocate for others. “I feel connected with Google in my favorite causes such as innovation evangelism, accessibility for everyone, and trying to make work environments psychologically safe for everyone. I have found a belonging here that has eluded me for my entire career,” he says.

Actions on the road to inclusion

Hogan and Neumann represent top performers who happen to be neurodivergent. But they wouldn’t be in their positions to make significant contributions if their organizations did not have cultures in which they could thrive

These elements don’t appear, fully formed, in an instant, says Anu Mandapati, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officer at consultancy IMPACT Leadership Partners in Austin, Texas. “The biggest thing about DEI is that it’s a journey. It’s not about perfection; it’s about practice. The more you practice, the better you’ll get. That’s when we become confident as a company,” Mandapati says.

Steps organizations can take include:

Train everyone from top to bottom to accept individuals’ differences

Offer awareness sessions to help employees understand the different perspectives that people who have IDD may bring to the workplace—and the support the organization provides. Make everyone aware that they are participating in a broader attempt that covers a range of settings—including the hiring and onboarding process and everyday interactions—and that this effort applies to everyone, not just those in HR.

Leaders should participate, too, says Tova Sherman, CEO of reachAbility Association, a nonprofit based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that consults and trains with organizations building DEI programs. “If you send your employees to training related to inclusion and hiring people with disabilities, you, as the leader, need to be at that training,” Sherman says.

Ease the pressure during hiring

The interview process can be extremely challenging for neurodivergent candidates, hindering their ability to adequately convey their aptitude and competencies. Finding ways to relieve stressful situations can make a meaningful difference. According to the City & Guilds Neurodiversity Index 2025 only  51% of employers adapted their recruitment processes to accommodate neurodivergent candidates. Productive moves that HR professionals and employees cite include:

Training for interviewers. Interviewers can receive coaching to minimize unconscious bias they might bring to meetings with candidates who have disabilities. For example, every interviewer should be trained to recognize and move beyond tendencies that are exclusive or that lack awareness and understanding, Hogan says.

Specialized skills assessments can take the place of interviews to determine a candidate’s competence for certain types of roles. Microsoft’s neurodiversity hiring program starts a candidate off with an online technical assessment before inviting them to an event that includes spending a few days on technical skills, team-building, and interview preparation.

Do-the-work tryouts instead of interviews. SAP’s Autism at Work program, which launched in 2013 and now has more than 240 employees in 16 countries, provides an illustrative example here.

When Carrie Hall, who is autistic, joined the Autism at Work program in 2015, she says the hiring process had marked differences. Instead of facing a battery of conceptual interview questions that she might find ambiguous or unclear, Hall was invited to perform sample work tasks for about a week so that she could demonstrate her ability to do the job. Today, Hall is in her second job at SAP, as a senior product inclusion specialist. It’s a position she calls her dream job, working in a team on inclusive product design and accessibility.

Hall says the initial opportunity for candidates like her to perform work is instrumental. It helps others get a sense of the candidates’ potential, while candidates also get a sense for the work, the people, and whether the place is a good fit for them.

Coaches for job candidates. Offering accommodations for interviewees that need them is another important best practice. At SAP, for instance, those applying through the Autism at Work program may seek assistance through accommodated interviews that might involve a job coach before, and even during, the interview.

Build awareness of available supports during onboarding

For employees on the autism spectrum, the onboarding period offers an opportunity to learn about the support that is available to them. This could include (as with the Autism at Work program) introductions to workplace mentors and access to life-skills assistance, such as finding an apartment or arranging transportation. It could mean in-office accommodations, such as quiet spaces with limited distractions, a comfortable chair, a preferred style of lighting, or requests for their attention previewed in an e-mail instead of a spontaneous comment over the cubicle wall.

Mike Giongo is another veteran of SAP’s Autism at Work program, where he started as an intern in 2015 through a referral from the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation after his college graduation. He eventually moved to a position as a process management specialist on the SAP Global Strategy & Insight team, staying with the company for nearly a decade. Giongo says active coaching throughout the onboarding process was important to his success. “It’s got to be organized. It’s got to be persistent. It’s got to be consistent, and expectations have to be clear and clearly communicated on both ends,” he says. “Onboarding can be like navigating a maze and can become stressful very easily,” he says.

Provide ongoing support to retain talented people

Support shouldn’t stop once the formal onboarding process is over. One in three neurodivergent employees are dissatisfied with the support they receive from their employers, according to the City & Guilds Neurodiversity Index report, which also found that and over half have taken time off work due to their neurodivergence. Retaining neurodiverse employees requires ongoing attention throughout their tenures with their organizations. Communication preferences tailored to individuals and peer mentors provided to employees on the autism spectrum are two examples.

Communication preferences are very important to consider because, based on a person’s ability to express and receive information, the means of sharing ideas can help or hinder a person’s ability to work with colleagues, says Google’s Hogan. Some people prefer in-person conversations; others might need to read an e-mail instead to get the meaning. To accommodate this need, Google has introduced “user guides” connected to employee profiles that indicate a person’s communication preferences. It’s simple, effective, and personalized.

Communication preferences are very important to consider.  Some people prefer in-person conversations; others might need to read an e-mail instead to get the meaning.

Peer mentors are another example. SAP’s Hall points to two mentors that helped her with her résumé and interview prep: one neurotypical and the other autistic. Hall’s neurotypical mentor, a user-experience designer, encouraged her to apply for positions at SAP and helped her redo her résumé so that it conveyed her background and experience in ways that matched the requirements of the position she sought. Her other mentor, a data scientist, helped her with interview prep and understanding job descriptions, which can be challenging for someone who is autistic, Hall says.

“He’s a data scientist who was able to see patterns in the job description and could identify what I could focus on for the interview,” Hall says.

This mentor’s support was notable; Hall says she strongly believes that autistic individuals can serve as strong mentors for others who may have different life or career experiences. She started a nonprofit group, Autistic Women’s Alliance, to support diagnosed or self-identified autistic women in their careers. The focus on women is important because women tend to be diagnosed later than men, Hall says.

Job applications are one area in which support can help. Another is résumés.

Based on his experiences, Giongo stresses that employers should not look for a “perfect fit.” He advises not placing too much emphasis on the résumé and instead considering possibilities for growth and upward mobility or other opportunities in the organization. Considering different approaches can help both employees and organizations find the right fit.

Recognize: You’re dealing with individuals, not “types”

A common saying in autism circles is “When you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” It’s a recognition that every individual has traits that make them unique. The same is arguably true when meeting people of any kind, regardless of their abilities.

At the beginning of this article, if we hadn’t told you that Nico Neumann was a neurodivergent employee and part of SAP’s Autism at Work program, you probably would have focused on his award-winning invention for invoicing.

That’s as it should be. The point at which we no longer need to identify employees as having a disability is really the point we should strive for. In the meantime, to reach the goal of offering everyone more opportunities so that organizations can gain access to the broadest array of talent means we do need to focus specifically on those who have IDD and other disabilities.

Once they’re in the workplace, though, what matters most isn’t who they are or the labels used to define them, but what they do—their contributions. And those contributions can be significant.