FOCUS FRONT OF HOUSE
MAKING A
DIFFERENCE
36 JULY 2022
Bianca Angelico Chief DayMaker, On Verve shares advice
on how front-of-house teams can support neurodiverse
employees and guests
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is
high on the agenda for many UK
businesses. In order for D&I objectives
to be met, companies need a robust plan
that includes how they communicate,
the hiring process and ongoing support
for employees in the workplace and
virtually.
It’s estimated that around one in seven
people in the UK are neurodiverse – about
15 per cent of the population. And 50 per
cent of that population are unaware they
have a neurodiverse condition. Despite this,
a CIPD poll in 2018 found that just one in
ten organisations considered neurodiversity
in their people management practices.
Failure to consider neurodiverse
individuals not only impacts D&I goals,
but means businesses are missing out on
valuable members of the workforce.
WHAT IS NEURODIVERSITY AND WHY IS
IT IMPORTANT?
Simply put, neurodiversity is about the
di erent ways that the brain functions,
learns and interprets information. Some
of the more well-known neurodiverse
conditions are autism, ADHD, dyslexia and
epilepsy.
Neurodiverse people are on a wideranging
scale of hyper and hypo sensitivity.
Any number of environmental factors can
be challenging, including sound, lighting,
temperature, the number of people in a
space, proximity to others, confined or
closed spaces, lack of enclosure, patterns,
colours and texture.
Conditions can be seen as a stigma, but
this is absolutely the wrong way to think
about it. Neurodiverse people possess
valuable skills that can be hugely beneficial
to businesses. For example, people with
autism o en have exceptional analytical
skills, and people with dyslexia are known
for creativity and approaching problemsolving
from a di erent angle.
Any competent business leader knows the
benefits of assembling a team with a mix of
skills. By creating a workplace and culture
that supports neurodiversity, businesses
can give themselves a competitive edge in
addition to developing a strong D&I plan.
Of course, neurodiverse people may need
that extra bit of support to allow them to
flourish in the workplace, and front-ofhouse
(FOH) teams have an important role
to play.
HOW TO SUPPORT NEURODIVERSE
INDIVIDUALS
One of On Verve core values is ‘passionate
about personality’ which is why we treat our
team and every employee and guest as an
individual. We embed ourselves within our
client organisations and get to know each
person. In that sense, we already appreciate
that everyone is diverse, whether they have
a neurodiverse condition or not.
A big part of knowing how and when to
o er support is being able to read the room,
spotting signs of discomfort and knowing
how to respond.
For example, some people on the
autism spectrum might appear quite
blunt in how they talk. That doesn’t mean
they are being rude; it’s just how they
communicate. Some of our DayMakers have
had employees come up to them and say,
“this building is terrible!”. It’s important
to understand the nuances of how autistic
people communicate which shapes how
our DayMakers respond and also take on
feedback.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS ARE VITAL
We’ve had times where a client employee
has had an outburst in the o ice, for
want of a better word. My number one
tip in this situation is to acknowledge
what that person is upset about. Making
them know they are being listened to and
understanding will help to quickly defuse
the situation. Stay calm while doing this,
and then make suggestions for how you