EMBRACING NEURODIVERSITY

Despite steps in the right direction to quell the fleet industry’s recruitment crisis, skills shortages persist.

Driver availability has been the Achilles heel of commercial fleets for years now, meanwhile a lack of qualified EV and ADAS technology vehicle technicians threatens service capacity, making SMR scheduling uncertain.

It was reassuring to hear therefore, that the Government plans to give more prominence to skills training linked to jobs, targeting at least 10% of young people pursuing higher technical courses or apprenticeships by 2040. This is nearly double the current level and is encouraging for the future of our sector. Nevertheless, the recruitment crisis is real and happening now.

That’s why it’s time to focus on developing the strengths of the one in five people in the UK who live with a neurodivergence.

Statistics show that only 56% of those who are neurodiverse have full-time jobs and almost a quarter of people with neurodivergent diagnoses report struggling to find full-time employment. This is hard to understand when neurodivergent people often have a real flair for particular tasks and methods and often flourish when they spend less energy trying to overcome challenges and instead work in environments that complement their strengths.

With so many people in the UK being neurodivergent, many companies will already employ someone with a neurodivergence, ADHD or Autism for example, but may not be making the most of them. Effort and adaptation on the part of employer, however, can help neurodiverse staff excel, and can also result in attracting, recruiting and retaining more of the right people for roles that need filling.

The recent Venson whitepaper Neurodiversity Behind the Wheel – Driving Change has highlighted that even fleets with an informal approach to neuroinclusivity have successfully addressed employee shortages in industries and locations where drivers and vehicle technicians are in short supply. A notable example of this is M&H Carriers, a Scottish logistics company, specialising in last-minute delivery for major companies, who we spoke to when developing our white paper.

After approaching Enable, a Scottish organisation that helps to connect neurodivergent and disabled people with employers, M&H now employ Bailey Griffin, 23, a class-one HGV driver. Bailey drives a 36-tonne urban arctic, typically on local runs to the likes of large shops, industrial areas and warehouses around Inverness, and is a fan of the job’s steady rhythm.

Meanwhile, Josh Flaherty is a 26-year-old forklift truck driver at M&H’s Argyll depot. Also autistic, he describes how the specificity of his visualisation makes him adept at packing trailers, and that he is sometimes drafted in when colleagues struggle with tricky or bulky cargo.

No-one’s denying there can be difficulties. When asked about the challenges he faces in the warehouse, Josh says: “If I do something a certain way and then somebody does something completely differently, that can set me off,” he explains, “or if we’re late/off schedule…” In fact, Fraser MacLean, managing director of M&H Carriers, is candid about the challenges of hiring neurodivergent staff as he highlights the benefits they bring to the business, and stresses that he recruits to fill positions, not to tick a diversity box.

He explains that Bailey and Josh will have particularly challenging days, but not many. “You’re looking at one bad day a year, but they’re never off sick,” he said, “whereas your other staff might have an average of seven days off sick a year. Well, you’re six days up, then, aren’t you?

“It’s just a different challenge and a different way of looking at it. That day’s not pleasant. It’s really bad for them and it’s not good for the business, either – but it’s still better than someone that’s off sick seven days a year.”

The case of M&H Carriers is just one example of many in our industry. It demonstrates that if employers are prepared to take the time and effort to be flexible and are prepared to individualise roles to channel neurodivergent qualities, they can end up with some of the most efficient, dynamic, productive employees on a fleet. As our sector continues to grapple with a dual skills shortage of an aging workforce and lack of newly trained personnel, now is the chance for our sector to embrace the neurodiverse workforce, which has so much to offer the future of fleet.