The DXC program empowering neurodivergent IT pros

The tech industry stands to gain significant value by tapping into neurodivergent talent. Such professionals can offer fresh perspectives, demonstrate strengths in areas critical to IT, and even have the potential to make teams 30% more productive, according to research from Deloitte.

To harness these strengths, employers often need to make changes to hiring processes, onboarding procedures, and how teams are managed to better accommodate and retain neurodivergent workers. IT and tech professionals who identify as neurodivergent often express challenges around sensory overload, uncertainty disclosing a diagnosis, navigating unstructured social and professional interactions.

In 2014, global IT services company DXC set out to create a professional development program for autistic professionals, identifying qualified candidates who could benefit from additional training as they embark on IT and tech careers. The result was the DXC Dandelion program, which has grown over the past decade to encompass all neurodivergent professionals such as those with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism.

“The idea was to find people in that sweet spot who have a lot of value to add, but who, without some extra help and support, would be unlikely to get past first career hurdles,” says Natasha Copley, DXC’s chief of staff for APMEA.

Fostering diversity of thought for business gains

While the DXC Dandelion program aims to train neurodivergent professionals, one hallmark is focus isn’t solely on neurodivergent individuals. DXC also recognizes the importance of training managers and employers on how to best accommodate neurodivergent workers.

There are often small changes that can be made to environments or processes that can have a big impact on neurodivergent workers. And in some cases, neurotypical employees may find they benefit from or enjoy certain accommodations brought on by neurodivergent employees.

“One of the things we like about the program is it shifts the thinking for the whole organization,” says Copley. “It’s truly an inclusive program, and it educates everybody that inclusion is good. And when you tap into people with a different skill set, it can have great benefits for the team in ways you wouldn’t otherwise have imagined. There are residual benefits that come from having a program like this.”

For employers, the program not only brings diversity of thought but it can help build loyalty and retention with neurodivergent workers if they make the necessary internal changes. And while it might sound daunting for organizations that want to start accommodating and retaining neurodivergent workers, there’s a lot to gain for companies that embrace the transformation.

Data from the DXC Dandelion program shows there’s a 92% employment retention rate for companies that hire from the program, an up to 40% increase in overall productivity on teams that participate in the program, and 75% job satisfaction reported by neurodivergent employees who go through the program.

Copley says program participants also know it’s a learning curve for managers and employers, and that they’re often very self-aware about strengths and areas where they may have deficits.

“A lot of the people we have joining the program recognize the efforts of managers to make things easier,” she says.

Plus, expert consultants work closely with management, building a relationship to guide them through the training they’ll need to work effectively with neurodivergent employees. The consultant works as a point of contact for the employer and the employee, giving them a place to check in on areas that might need better communication or skills development, or where the employer may have to make changes or accommodations for the employee.

For managers and employers who go through training, Copley says what they often find is it’s not as burdensome as they imagined it’d be. “One of the really great things about people with autism is they’re direct,” says Copley.

Empowering through accommodation

Candidates are first assessed to identify what they want to gain from the program, and where they’ll need to build skills and gain more expertise to thrive in the industry. The assessment for candidates of the program isn’t set up like a typical interview either. Early in the program, Copley says they found that having to sit across the desk from another person and answer questions is a big limitation to enabling people to be successful.

The process was quickly changed to increase the likelihood that assessors will uncover the real potential of somebody, rather than their capacity to perform in an interview.

Jacob Forster, a participant of the DXC Dandelion program’s mainframe group, says the interview was more like a week-long workshop, which helped reduce the stress and anxiety of the process.

In fact, the interview process was so relaxed that at points he says he forgot he was technically interviewing for the position. “I just enjoyed the time we worked through the workshop,” he says.

Once accepted into the program, participants are entered into a fixed term contract from 12 to 24 months, depending on their needs. Once that contract period is up, people typically have a job opportunity from the company they’ve worked for, a job opportunity from DXC, or an offer from another outside company.

Forster says he felt he was given support he wouldn’t have received from a non-neurodiversity-based program, with regular access to resources to make the process less overwhelming. He says it’s particularly helpful to have a contact point to check in on him and help with anything while working in his new role. Additionally, he appreciated having a mentor who could offer insight into office dynamics, meeting structures, and other subtle unspoken rules of the office.

Another participant, Michael Hollows, says he found the DXC Dandelion program after his wife saw a Facebook ad. He knew he wanted a job in IT, so he joined to gain more experience in the field. The program fit into his life like any other job, but he says that through the program, he was able to gain better self-awareness, and the security knowing someone neurodivergent like himself has a career path in tech.

“The Dandelion Program has allowed me to enter the IT workforce based on the merit of my raw skills, rather than about how well I can sell myself in a job interview setting,” he says.  

Expanding diversity of thought globally

When the program started in 2014, there weren’t many conversations about neurodivergence in the tech industry. DXC providing a resource for autistic individuals to gain training and skill development at the time was something of a novelty in hiring. But awareness around neurodivergence and diversity in general has become more common, and with that the Dandelion program has also grown.

Copley says the focus moving forward is looking at how they can retain the core elements of the program while also make it more accessible to customers, as more organizations seek to embrace diversity of thought and talent development.

Companies that reach out to DXC to source talent for projects are also given the option to include participants from the Dandelion program, incorporating a DEI element into hiring. This can be especially appealing to companies that might not currently have the time or money to invest in a proprietary DEI program for neurodivergence, so they can source talent to meet skills gaps, hire neurodivergent talent, and receive resources for training and upskilling managers.

“It’s about building a talent pool in the IT industry with people who are good at it, and who have demonstrable productivity increases, but who would otherwise be overlooked,” says Copley.