Cognitive inclusion in DEI emphasizes creating workplaces that embrace diverse thinking styles, benefiting all employees. Inspired by neurodivergent inclusion, this approach enhances productivity, engagement, and innovation by fostering a supportive culture without the need for formal disclosures.

Lisa Colledge’s presentation at The Neuroverse Virtual Summit 2024 highlighted how embracing a culture of cognitive inclusion can transform organizations. Key takeaways include upskilling to adapt to change, leveraging cognitive diversity (such as skills from dyslexia, autism, and ADHD) for effective problem-solving and innovation, and fostering a culture where all team members feel valued. Prioritizing strategic cultural change enhances employee engagement, wellbeing, and productivity, driving sustained success and competitive advantage.

To maximize institutional impact, it's crucial to go beyond merely increasing diversity and focus on creating a cognitively inclusive culture. While diversity in research, students, and staff is important, the real advantage comes from enabling everyone to contribute their best. This means fostering a culture that values different cognitive styles, such as those found in neurodivergent individuals, and providing support that enhances mental wellbeing and engagement. Research shows that such a culture not only improves individual and team performance but also amplifies the institution's societal impact.

Employee disengagement is a pressing issue impacting organizations, with 77% of employees being disengaged. This results in substantial financial losses due to decreased productivity, absenteeism, and high replacement costs. For roles like technical specialists and C-suite executives, replacement expenses can reach 100-200% of their annual salary. To address disengagement effectively, proactive cultural design and targeted engagement strategies are essential to optimize organizational performance and minimize financial impacts.

Employee engagement is crucial for organizational productivity, with disengagement and attrition costing companies with 500 employees up to $8.9 million annually. Contrary to assumptions, monetary incentives are less effective than fostering a strong connection to the organization's mission. Wells Fargo's neurodiversity program illustrates this by tapping into untapped talent pools and enhancing overall innovation and employee satisfaction through a focused cultural approach. This underscores the importance for all organizations to prioritize engagement strategies that align employees with the mission to optimize performance and reduce turnover costs.

Improve business communication by adopting autism-inspired practices to create clearer, more actionable messages. Miscommunication can lead to frustration, unengaged culture, and reduced performance. By slowing down, reducing noise, and clarifying idioms, you make communication more inclusive, benefiting not only autistic employees but also non-native speakers and your entire organization. Effective communication requires effort from both parties: the sender should aim for clarity, and the recipient should seek understanding. Implementing these strategies can enhance engagement, satisfaction, and productivity across your organization.

Employee disengagement is a widespread issue, with 8 out of 10 workers globally checked out, leading to lower productivity, profitability, and customer loyalty. Engaged employees are passionate about their organization's mission, but they represent only 20% of the workforce. Improving engagement requires making it a strategic priority, seeking external help, and actively listening to employees' feedback to boost performance and culture.

A neuro-inclusive culture fosters a work environment that embraces cognitive diversity, benefiting both neurodivergent and neurotypical employees by valuing diverse ways of thinking and problem-solving. By focusing on skills and outcomes rather than conforming to standard processes, this approach enhances inclusion across all diversity dimensions, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and ability. It promotes collaboration, shared accountability, and long-term adaptability, creating a resilient and supportive organizational culture where everyone can contribute their best, ultimately driving innovation and success.