Diversifying Talent: Neurodiversify/Simplify Illuminates the Job Market

Within the Colorado Neurodiversity Chamber of Commerce, there lies the unique opportunity to meet so many individuals that aim to improve the world around them every single day.

During a meeting with Shuchi (talent acquisition) and Charles (Director of Neurodivergent Solutions) from Simplify/Neurodiversify, I had the chance to learn more about their team and how they plan to change the landscape for neurodiverse individuals seeking jobs. 

New Beginnings

When did the platforms start? Simplify is a start up, being a few years old. It started alongside their vendor management service, but in 2020 they expanded their talent solution after being approached by Microsoft. As more and more companies begin to understand how underutilized the talent pool is for neurodiverse individuals, Charles and his team was asked to create a talent pool source program to streamline hiring. 

After finding success through their Microsoft creation, they decided to make the project bigger and grow the platform as much as they could. Their goal is to become a full talent management service that encompasses a neurodiversity hiring solution alongside other items that the community could utilize. This is what would become Neurodiversify, which premiered in August 2023. 

“A lot of people have an appetite for this conversation” says Charles, when asked about the reception of the platform. “We wanted to have some different resources and content for [people] them to be able to draw upon and launch into [the neurodiversity] space successfully.” 

International Footprints

Neurodiversify/Simplify has a global footprint, despite being so young. They are headquartered in the US, but also have teams in Canada, South America, U.K., Pakistan, India, and Australia. In each of these countries, they have joined neurodivergent hubs across those countries to help connect individuals that need different resources. 

The inspiration for Neurodiversify came out of the success they found after working building the Career Connector for Microsoft. “To use our skill set in a way to… [create] the change we wanted to see in the world, it was just a win-win.”

Neurdiversify, with their global imprint, has to be prepared for different aspects of the job when looking through an international lens. Charles spoke to this by saying the job mostly entails working with individuals with the background knowledge that they come to these organizations with. Both him and Shuchi agreed that some individuals they work with have a more intimate background with neurodiversity and what it entails. Others still, are finding themselves newly implanted in the community, learning as they go and asking the right questions. “Regardless of where people are at on that journey, we’re here to meet them where they are at.”

Internal Focus

The neurodiversity conversation can also be viewed through a much larger lens, accommodations for example. Charles and Shuchi raved about their platform, stating that it was “built by a neurodiverse team that is attuned to designing for neurodistinct use cases.” The team went on to discuss their process of how they look at newly created products. 

Most companies design a product, and then look at a way to make accommodations for everyone to use it, the team explained. “Our default approach is using universal design”, continued Charles, “in order to ensure everyone can use our platform”. Neurodiversify aims to have their platform be useful for everyone. 

The platforms use two products that help open the doors for all users. The first is ‘ReciteMe’, which allows for alternative color overlays, increasing font sizes, text to speech, and more items in a full accessibility suite. The other tool is Bionic Reading, which bolds one to three characters of each word, allowing for increased fluency and comprehension for neurodiverse individuals. 

Building A Better Future

Neurodiversify and Simplify are two hands of the same company doing a great job in bolstering the neurodiverse community. Both Charles and Shuchi understand the impact of their work and make it their job every single day to make the world a better place. By pressing into different marketplaces, they prove to not only those in their local community, but the world, that neurodiversity is here to stay. 

If you are interested in learning more about the impact of Neurodiversify (https://www.neurodiversify.ai/) and Simplify (https://ndcc.simplifyhire.com/) with job searching as a neurodivergent individual, please learn more at their websites. 

If you would like to learn more about the organizations doing wonderful work in the Colorado area, please find us at a CNDCC event or review our website at https://www.cndcc.org/.