HR Insights: The Podcast, Series 6 - Neurodiversity: Shifting Perspectives in 2024

Neurodiversity is a fairly new topic in the world of DEI but affects an estimated 1 in 7 people, with diagnosis rates on the rise. This is a topic we expect to see more of over the next year with its prevalence in many more organisations’ agendas for 2024. Our CEO and Host, Stuart Elliott is joined today by an expert in this field Ritu Kiran, Founder and CEO of Aubilities. 

Throughout the conversation, Stuart and Ritu discuss her career, how and why she founded Aubilities and neurodiversity in the workplace. They take a deeper dive into what neurodiversity is and why it’s important, discussing the rise in cases and whether it is due to trends or general awareness around the subject. They also look into the recent high number of diagnoses within adults and what organisations can do to be more neuro-inclusive and how they can adapt the recruitment process to ensure they are getting the best out of people. Lastly, they discuss what Aubilities can offer and do to allow those with neurodiverse needs to thrive. 

Prior to founding Aubilities, Ritu had a corporate career for many years, starting her journey working for a major global Management Consultancy firm, specialising in HR consulting and HR projects across a multitude of clients. After this, she moved into the global learning and development space. In 2016 Ritu had her first child, who was diagnosed with autism in 2018, shortly after his diagnosis Ritu began researching autism to learn more about her son’s needs and quickly identified a gap in the corporate market of utilising these talented and specialist thinkers to add value to businesses. Ritu is also a Trustee Board member for the UK national charity – Resources for Autism. She has recently been picked up by Jessica Kingsley Publishers and has an impending book launch in 2025 on parenting autistic children. 

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Key Timestamps:

01:19 – Intro to Ritu & Aubilities 

08:35 – Definition of Neurodiversity 

11:13 – Neurodiversity at work

15:40 – The rise in neurodivergent diagnoses

18:53 – Tips to start supporting neurodiverse employees

22:47 – Adapting the recruitment process 

21:47 – The person-centric approach – does it work for everyone?

36:30 – The 3 key pillars to start the conversation