Let me tell you the story of Alan. He’s not actually called Alan, mind you.

A client organisation contacted me, as they thought they might benefit from a Neurodiversity Workplace Needs Assessment for a manager within their team. The manager, Alan, was a bit chaotic with regard to meeting deadlines at work but really brilliant at coming up with new ideas of how things could be improved, with a new system or a new spreadsheet!

So I had a call with the company’s HR Manager to understand the situation. She outlined the consequences of some of Alan’s fun but chaotic way of working, and I could feel some frustration from her that they had tried a few things already to help, but so far, it wasn’t working.

I explained the process for a Neurodiversity Workplace Needs Assessment. The aim is to identify the adjustments that will support a specific individual, with their specific challenges due to their neurodivergence(s), in their specific role. And as a result, they’d be better able to utilise their strengths.

The HR Manager said she felt that the process I had described would be helpful.

So we started the process. The HR Manager and Alan’s Line Manager jointly explained to Alan what would be happening. A questionnaire was sent to him, and another to his Line Manager. I then had a call with each of the HR Manager and the Line Manager to build a good picture of the situation from the two people who’d been supporting him the most.

I then met Alan face to face*.

I wanted to discuss with Alan the challenges he was experiencing in the workplace due to his neurodiversity. He wasn’t formally diagnosed with ADHD, but from the descriptions from all parties, and from my experience in the discussion, there were definitely some challenges going on! I couldn’t keep up; his brain was whirring so fast!

I used post-it notes to show visually the agenda of what we would discuss, to keep us on track, and so I could then put each post-it to one side once we’d covered that topic.

We talked about what Alan was already aware of that helped him, things that his friends and family also did that helped him, and I made some suggestions of what else could help. He commented that it was great to discuss with someone who really “got him” and could empathise with his situation. At the end of our discussion, he gave me a big hug!

I then wrote up the report, outlining the challenges caused by Alan’s ADHD symptoms in his particular role and also the strengths that his ADHD creative brain brought.

I then outlined the reasonable adjustments that would support him to be effective in his role, and when I say reasonable, I mean reasonable for the small size of the organisation. Most of the recommendations were zero cost – sending meeting agendas in advance and setting up reminders. And some were low-cost headphones or changing the lighting above his desk. And some of them were about capitalising on Alan’s strengths – his creativity, his desire to challenge the normal way of doing things and seek improvement, and the fact that he was a joy to talk to!

I shared the report with Alan first, to make sure I’d described our discussions accurately, and then shared it with his line manager.

Just over a week later, I had a follow-up discussion with Alan’s line manager and HR to support them in implementing and prioritising the adjustments.

Three months later, I received a note from the HR Manager thanking me, commenting that the situation had improved hugely since they’d started implementing some of the recommendations, and that both Alan and his line manager were both definitely a lot happier.

So it’s a process that’s person-focused.

It doesn’t have to be based on a formal diagnosis.

It aims to support the specific individual in a way that is reasonable for the organisation.

If that sounds like something that would be beneficial in your organisation, please feel free to contact me for a no-obligation discussion.

*And this can be done online instead.