HR-Creating Neuroinclusive Hiring Practices: Interviews

🗂️ Workshop Outline
1. Welcome & Objectives
Define neuroinclusive interviewing and its business impact
Clarify goals: reducing bias improving candidate experience expanding talent pools
 
2. Barriers in Traditional Interviews
Unstructured conversations favor neurotypical communication styles
Common biases: halo/horn effect confirmation bias
Sensory and social challenges that may disadvantage neurodivergent candidates
 
3. Structuring Interviews for Inclusion
Use standardized question banks and scorecards
Introduce visual schedules or interview agendas in advance
Offer multiple response formats: verbal written video submissions
 
4. Alternative Assessment Methods
Work samples job trials or task-based exercises
“Cognitive task breakdowns”: separating analytical creative and social components
Silent interview stations or written Q&A for reducing sensory overload
 
5. Interviewer Training & Mindset
Language guidelines: clear concrete phrasing; avoid idioms and jargon
Nonverbal awareness: respecting personal space minimizing distracting gestures
Role-play exercises: practicing accommodations such as extra processing time
 
6. Designing Accommodations & Disclosure Pathways
Confidential self-identification forms with safe submission channels
Pre-interview checklists to capture individual support needs (e.g. noise-canceling headphones breaks)
Appointment of an accommodations coordinator as a single point of contact
 
7. Feedback Loops & Continuous Improvement
Post-interview candidate surveys focused on accessibility and clarity
Monitoring metrics: interview completion rates time-to-hire retention of neurodivergent hires
Regularly revising question sets and processes based on data and lived-experience insights
 
8. Wrap-Up & Next Steps
Key takeaways and implementation checklist