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In addition, the IRS offers tax credits and incentives to companies that hire disabled individuals, which could include some neurodiverse individuals. It helps you save money from that standpoint," he said. "You've heard the old adage that it costs less to retain an employee than it does to acquire a new one. The attrition rate for individuals who go through Walgreen's TWG program is 25% lower than the norm in Walgreen's distribution centers.
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"These individuals are very reliable, very good from a productivity standpoint … they're very methodical and deliberate about how they do their job attention to detail," Cubia said. While there could be some accommodation and investment needed to hire neurodiverse individuals, recruiters and companies that have gone through the process say that there is a payoff - both financial and otherwise. "We set up stations for them and we really want to promote their success and give them social opportunities to collaborate with each other to accomplish their role or task," Quinn said. "It's almost therapeutic for him," she said. While her son, Jake, is especially adept with computer-related tasks, another member really enjoys rolling and folding the sleeves. there, look how much more ROI you're getting," he said.Īt Go-Be, which employs four neurodiverse individuals, Quinn breaks down tasks to best suit the individual. "If somebody is working at 50% of their capacity, but if you make two or three light accommodations, and that brings them to 85 or 95%. "The accommodations that are typically needed are not enormous," said Dan Roth, a technical recruiter for Amazon who, as someone with ADHD, is also considered neurodiverse. While some neurodiverse individuals may need more accommodations, many do not. Shiner is still with the company and Wawa has about 30 other neurodiverse employees who have stayed on for at least 20 years. Wawa now works with more than 200 different job coaching organizations.
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The partnership started when a store manager hired Ari Shiner, who has autism, through Eden in 1981. Wawa has worked with Eden Autism Services in New Jersey for over 40 years. "Over time, as Hannah became more independent, that job coach would start fading away," Culotta said. Jay Culotta, treasurer for Wawa and president of The Wawa Foundation, said that when his daughter Hannah, who has Down syndrome, started working for the company two years ago, she worked with a job coach to ensure she was performing tasks efficiently and effectively. A job coach, employed by a coaching organization, not Wawa, will help determine the right scope of tasks for the individual, which can vary depending on their abilities and desires. Typical employees have a range of responsibilities from food preparation to cleaning to customer service. Wawa, which operates a chain of convenience stores and gas stations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and three other states, breaks up tasks for neurodiverse employees. Job coaching can be a crucial part of ensuring success. So it's an untapped resource that businesses can hopefully turn to." Walgreens, Amazon lean into neurodiverse talent "What we do know, from data and research, is that this is the highest unemployed demographic in the country. "Everyone is struggling to find talent out there in the marketplace," said Carlos Cubia, global chief diversity officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance. "Employers are trying multiple methods of hiring and looking at resources that may not have before, said John Dooney, HR advisor at the Society for Human Resource Management. That means employers are struggling to fill open positions and are more willing to look more closely at previously overlooked segments of the population.
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states now have unemployment rates below pre-pandemic levels - a 50-year low - while 13 states have unemployment rates below 3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a significant data point for employers amid the current labor crunch.
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