Tara Cunningham, the CEO of Toms River-based Beyond Impact, has worked for more than a decade helping Fortune 500 companies set up programs that will help them add neurodivergent employees to their workforce.
Simply put, she helps them rewire the hiring process.
“Bad systems, bad job descriptions, bad interview questions – there are so many things that make it very difficult for neurodivergent people to be able to get a job,” she said. “I work with organizations to make their systems and their communication methods not only better for neurodivergent employees, but for all of their employees.”
It comes with a positive payoff, Cunningham said.
“There are so many white paper and studies on this: If you employ neurodivergent mindsets from recruitment to onboarding to retention, your entire company increases productivity,” she said.
“Teams that do this well have seen upward of 140% increase in motivation and employee engagement and productivity. There is a definite bottom-line benefit to using a neuroinclusive lens when you are hiring and retaining employees.”
On Oct. 29, employers in New Jersey can learn the secrets to success at the NeuroX Conference at the Heldrich Hotel and Conference Center in New Brunswick.
The all-day event, created by Drew Peloso and co-produced by 7Magnolia, a neurodivergent-owned and operated company, will feature top speakers from around the state and the country, including Microsoft, long a leader in this space.
(For more information and to register, click here)
The conference will start with a keynote from Tim Sullivan, the CEO of the NJEDA, discussing how the nation’s most neurodivergent state is working to be a leader in neurodiversity hiring.
It will include a number of other key panels and discussions, including:
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Thinking differently: Key to New Jersey’s Innovation Revolution
Fireside chat on the importance of work for New Jersey’s vast neurodivergent community, how the state is leading in AI and how these two elements come together. -
Case Study: In Search of Extraordinary Talent, What One Company Learned
An up-close and intimate fireside chat pulls back the curtain on the neurodiversity hiring journey for a major corporation. -
State aid: How New Jersey’s Departments of Labor & Workforce Development and Higher Education are working together to upskill neurodivergent talent and get businesses the resources they need to ramp up neurodiversity hiring.
(For the complete agenda, click here)
The conference will serve as the kickoff event for the NeuroX Network, which was created with the mission to increase employment opportunities for neurodivergent individuals. (For more information on the NeuroX Network, email info@neuroxnj.com.)
But more than that, it aims to help jumpstart a dimension in hiring in New Jersey.
Tapping the neurodiverse community for employees is a new trend in the business world = but one that starts at the top.
Fortune 500 companies, many of which belong to Neurodiversity @ Work Employer Roundtable sponsored by Microsoft, are creating programs. EY has long had initiatives. Rutgers, Rowan and Ramapo have programs for neurodiverse students that stand out in the state.
Despite these efforts, the movement to hire neurodiverse employees still is relatively small, even in New Jersey.
That’s why Cunningham – who is neurodiverse herself – was thrilled to hear about the conference during a recent quarterly call with Neurodiversity @ Work Employer Roundtable.
“I was so excited that there was something actually happening in New Jersey,” she said. “Too often, it feels like we a black hole between New York and Philly.
“Bringing awareness and understanding to the state will have great impact on the neurodiverse community and the business community.”
