AS:035 Maximizing Productivity Through Neurodiversity and Inclusion

Intro: 00:08

Welcome to the Accessibility Solutions Podcast, hosted by Linda Hunt, an award winning accessibility consultant, speaker, and author. With over 30 years experience in senior management rules and indeed passion for creating inclusive environments, Linda brings us unmatched expertise and credibility to our discussions. Join us as we explore the Transformative Power of accessibility and inclusion in today's world. Through captivating conversations, Linda shares her wealth of knowledge, provides practical solutions, and sheds light on the latest trends and investments in the field. Whether you're a business owner or disability advocate, or simply curious about the world of accessibility, this podcast is your go to resource. Get ready to unlock new perspectives, breakdown barriers, and embark on a journey of empowerment. Are you ready to create a more inclusive world? Let's begin.Welcome to the Accessibility Solutions Podcast.

Linda: 01:01

So hello everyone, and thank you so much for joining the Accessibility Solutions podcast.

I am very pleased today to have Stina Borth and Did I spell it correctly? So I'm pleased to have Stina Borth with me today. StIna is a renowned productivity expert and the consultant for companies that want to increase personal productivity by nearly 50% and a healthier bottom line. Helps the world's smartest professionals become even more productive and innovative. A unique approach integrates newer neurodiversity, inclusion and simplifies complex human dynamics. Stina's style of coaching increases productivity, revenue and positively impacts both the personal and professional lives of the executive she works with. So welcome, Stina. I am so very glad to have you here specifically addressing the needs for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, which is something that we do a lot of work with. So I'm wondering, when you're working with your clients and companies and organizations, what is the biggest hurdle that they have to kind of address when they're looking at diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace?

Stina: 02:25

I think it really is first and foremost the mindset of shifting from looking as, oh, these are things we have to accommodate or we have to give versus looking at what are our benefits and what are we receiving by having this inclusion? And really, it's so the start of the conversation is educating around that. Why is your company gonna benefit from these efforts of including neurodiverse folks, including people that have identified disabilities? And how is that going to move that bottom line into a healthier space? So if you're talking to people that are really focused on the numbers and not necessarily the culture, we talk about that, we talk about how there's 48% of productivity that increases just by being aware of neurodiversity and of disabilities and putting that into practice. So the answer to that would be awareness is the first thing that comes to play. And then once we get through that, it's knowing how and addressing the desire for change. A lot of times what's intimidating for companies and executives professionals is, okay, I understand Cena that this could benefit, but now I don't know what, how to do it. And so having that partnership of walking through together the application of those strategies and tools is essential. So it's not just a drop, we need to do it, you figure it out, but laying out individualized plans for that specific company or that professional.

Linda: 03:49

Yeah, and I so agree, you know, a lot of the companies that we work with, whether it's hiring persons with disabilities or dating individuals that they may already have in their employ.

There are a lot of misconceptions around that person, you know, they're not gonna be as productive or it's gonna cost a lot of money to accommodate them or they're going to be off sick more because they're dealing with whether it be a disability or, you know, something else. That's so there's a lot of misconceptions around that. So I agree education is very important. And then we also work with companies that have embraced that diversity in the workforce. Then there's the whole concept of all of the other employees that work within that company as well. And we do some training around, you know, kind of that comfort zone in terms of how they can effectively work together. Just because, I mean, we're all different. So you've got different personalities in work, in a workplace and this is really no different. It's how do we work as a cohesive team within a company regardless of the different personalities or in the case of persons with disabilities, different abilities that are there and understanding the value that everyone brings to the workplace. So in your work, as you said, education is very important. Do you find that clients are reaching out and finding you because they are open to that? Or is it, and I know we find this quite often, it's got more to do with we've either got somebody that we're trying to employ or somebody, you know, at a higher level has decided that diversity, equity, and inclusion is now something that the corporation wants to be behind. And, and then they don't know where to start or as I say, they don't know what they don't know. So how do people come into kind of your sphere gonna be working with them?

Stina: 05:48

There's several different ways. One way is that they have identified a specific problem and like one common one that I've been contacted with is for disclosure. So there's an interest in, how do we hear disclosure is, is something that needs to be addressed. We don't know how to do it. So there's a specific heart of diversity and inclusion. And that's a great question. I love being approached with that because that means that they're open for discussion beyond. They just don't. They're not aware of what else they can be doing that's under that umbrella of diversity and inclusion, especially with neurodiversity and disabilities. And there's folks that will contact me that they have programs where they've been working with adult training, getting ready for the workplace and they don't know they don't have enough places to send them or to introduce them to because those companies don't know how to be inclusive. They said that we love the idea, but how would we support this individual and how would this benefit us? So we couple together, we partner so that we can go in there and say, this is how, and we have someone that can help you with that. You don't have to know it all. You don't have to be the master of these skills yet. We're gonna help you learn. And we also that gives us a funnel of bringing these folks to our diverse have disabilities and they are ready to work, they are qualified and they have the training. And it's really that fear of, but I don't wanna drop the ball here from the company side. And I love the phrase and that I say all the time that everything you want is on the other side of fear. So let's go through that fear together. And then sometimes it is looking for that DEI training and just finding interest in including the neurodiversity of the word that's come up more in conversation and they're not sure how that applies. And I really try to normalize and broaden and define neurodiversy is just your differences in your nervous system. We all have that. I've talked to a pocket of where they do these cohorts for entrepreneurs and I talked to them about whether you have any diversity. There's actually a term for that. It's neuro entrepreneurialism. There's more connections in a specific part of your brain. Did you know that? No, and this is how you can use it. And really when we focus on the programs with Keymaker, our hopes and skills, so I love the personality piece who gives us information when we have assessments that inform us even more. So I love when we can take and hone in on what specific skills are there that individual superpower and what ones need support, and then how we can put them on a team. So there's a great balance. And then we have these underutilized skills that come out and the company benefits overall. If productivity shoots straight up, you know, and then that is directly linked to revenue and less turnover and then overall culture just feels comfortable to be honest and open and not be masked in the work environment that benefits everybody.

Linda: 08:39

Yeah, and I so agree that accessibility is good for business. And so it's whether it's the fact that you've embraced employees with disabilities but from a forward facing perspective that customers appreciate that your business is showing that it's embracing diversity and inclusion and so that a social conscious perspective gives you a higher advantage in terms of what you're portraying to your customers. As I say, I mean, in Canada, we talk about 22% of the population has some form of a disability and over the age of 65, that's 40%. So this is a lot of people that understand the importance of a company being inclusive from the standpoint of whether it's inclusive from a customer perspective or inclusive from an employee expect perspective. So we just kind of touch on that a little bit more. Do you and I love case study, so I love to hear the positive benefits so you can touch on some of the positive benefits that your clients have experienced and feedback that after they've gotten over the hurdle of accepting the fact that this is good for business, do you have any real positive comments that you've heard back from clients?

Stina: 10:02

Absolutely. Just when you were talking, I was thinking about number one: now you created transparency and that's trust, not within your company and then with your customers as well. And when we see that trust, that's for poor you, your business is more stable. Specifically, I have a really great example. I was working with this CEO a few weeks ago and we're going through the initial assessment. It's just a self assessment. Just like, where do you think you are at in these different areas of executive function was what we were targeting. And this is a really highly intelligent and high performing, but just felt like I don't know what's there is something that's held me back, it's like driving a boat and something's dragging. I can't see it. It's under the water. And after I went through that, he recognized and saw I didn't know I was so low in organization. What's interesting is that it definitely was observed from those working with him and around him, but because he was CEO, nobody was bringing that up. He needed to make that self discovery. And as soon as he did, and of course he was asked, would you like help with this? Do you want this to change within? I'd say within a week, maybe in a few days, he implemented just a few strategies that really seem simple, but if you do it in repetition, you continue it. It took off so much time and so much stress that allowed him to then zone into his area of genius, his what he was there to play. So with that, I mean, you have that from a leader and then it trickles down. It also means that when you're practicing these strategies and these skills and, and including, and just altering things just slightly so that they're accessible, it's easier to do that with your clients and your customers. So it doesn't, you're not just sending out a contract and saying, well, here's the link, sign it, here you go. Well, what if that individual struggles with processing? You can then easily flip around and send it a different format and complicated because you have practice with that, you don't get stuck in that. This is the one way to do it, not really. That speaks back to the, I named my company keymaker because we need to be making keys to open those doors where the keys aren't fitting or we can't find them. So when we hit those moments where nothing, you know, the given system, the given protocol isn't working for this client, for this customer, for our personnel, needed to create something so that there isn't that block and we can access the goal on the other side. We can access those skills. So I think, and then that trickles down. I mean, ultimately it does trickle down to 48% is the stats that shows increase in productivity, 20% increase in engagement, and then 34. 38% decrease in turnover. So there's all of these benefits and that's not even talking about how the people that you're interacting with feel and our relationships really those, that's the base of business.

Linda: 12:45

It is certainly, yeah, like you said, the relationship. And so the more, know, as I say a lot of times you may not remember what someone said to you, but you will always remember how that interaction made you feel. And it's so important for businesses to understand that, as you said, that I love, the key to unlock the lock is it looks different for different people. And, you know, in the work that we do, accessibility is, is really just making the world accessible for everyone regardless of their differences and treating everyone with the same level of respect whether she said, whether that be your customer, your employees, just anyone. It just makes, like I said, it makes the world accessible so that no one is experiencing barriers, you know, which is, you know kind of my life's work is to that whole eliminating barriers regardless of what those barriers are. So thank you so very much for joining us today to have a really in depth discussion. Any last kind of thoughts as we wrap up,

Stina: 13:55

I think my last thought would just always be to keep diversity in mind and inclusion and always look for the way, look for how we're doing it now. Is there a way that we can do it slightly differently? Differently is there, can we be more innovative and who can we reach out to to support us? You don't have to have all the answers. There's a network of folks like you and I exactly, I'm alongside, you know, with our children. We say it takes a village. Well, our businesses are our children. Yeah. So let's treat them like they're like they are.

Linda: 14:23

Yeah, a very good point. We don't expect everybody to be experts in anything. I mean if you hire an accountant to help you with your back, with your taxes, you hire a lawyer to help you with legal advice. And so if you need assistance in terms of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in your business and, you know, you go out and you hire an expert to assist you with that work within your business. So again, thank you so very much for joining me and for our listeners, if you are interested in hearing more than Stena's information is in the show notes, please feel free to connect with her. If you feel that this episode would be of interest to anyone, please leave us a review and share the link to the episode, and until next time, this is Linda Hunt, host of Accessibility Solutions, and thanks again for joining, and until next time, cheer!

Thank you.

Outro: 15:20

Thank you for joining us on the Accessibility Solutions podcast hosted by Linda Hunt.

We hope these discussions have inspired you and provided valuable insights into the world of accessibility and inclusion. If you're ready to take the next steps in creating an accessible and inclusive environment, we invite you to book a personalized accessibility solutions consultation with Linda. As an experienced accessibility consultant, Linda will work closely with you to develop innovative solutions tailored to your unique needs and challenges. Together, you'll navigate the complexities of accessibility regulations, explore inclusive design principles, and implement practical strategies to ensure equal access for all. Don't miss this opportunity to make a real difference. Visit our website at solutions4accessibility.com. That's No.4. So solution4accessibility.com. Schedule your consultation today. Let's transform your space into an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone. Thanks again for listening to the Accessibility Solutions podcast. Stay tuned for more empowering episodes as we continue our journey towards a more accessible world.