Neurodiversity inclusion in the workplace

Written communication

As with phone calls, all written communication should be simple, with clear headings and bullet points to enhance readability. Visual aids and diagrams are a valuable tool when explaining complex billing issues and processes. For example, if the water provider has noticed a customer has started significantly increasing their usage, demonstrating how this translates to higher bills through a diagram can help customers understand.

Text messages should be used for simple, non-urgent communications for bill reminders or confirmation of payments. Once again, the key to success with texts is keeping the initial message concise, yet informative. Providing links to online resources where customers can get more detailed information allows customers to peruse information at their own leisure.

Providers must avoid bombarding customers with multiple texts that include lots of information. For neurodiverse customers who struggle to prioritise or digest information, repeated messages will quickly become overwhelming. When customers become overwhelmed, they are unlikely to take onboard information or take any necessary actions.

Critical to all these processes is training. Without a team that feels confident to implement the systems, progress will be limited. When it comes to neurodiversity, we encourage our contact centre team to consider how their own experiences can shape the strategy. We all know someone with a form of neurodivergence and we can take learnings from our own experiences to inform the processes we adopt at work.

Encouraging people to share their experiences can help the business to develop an inclusive strategy that is based on internal feedback. We know that involving the team in the development of new processes often increases their involvement and success and a customer support strategy should be no different. Training people on the processes will also become much easier if they have already bought into the importance of the programme.

And like with any new system, training should be continuous. There is regularly new guidance produced by the NHS, charities and independent foundations on neurodiversity and how we can support those with it. This means training programmes need to be reviewed accordingly and refresher sessions should be organised when necessary.