Specialisterne: leveraging the unique skills of Autistics at competitive market terms

[Visionary7903]

Specialisterne (‘the Specialists’ in Danish) seeks to harness strengths that many people with Autism Spectrum Disorders possess - good attention to fine details, precision, and high tolerance for repetitive tasks. Their consultants bring the joy of work into areas where it is often missing today. The thorough evaluation and training of its potential consultants as well as ongoing support, has no doubt played a key role in the social enterprise’s success:

…According to Specialisterne, the importance of the five-month [initial evaluation] period cannot be underestimated. Many candidates are shy or modest and so will only reveal their abilities as time progresses. Where the candidate is identified as not being well suited to work with the company, they will have a good basis for evaluating alternatives.
I too believe that this pre-work evaluation is invaluable. Too many people with [Autism Spectrum Disorders] – often as a result of their own lack of awareness/understanding – are placed into job roles for which they are wholly unprepared. If problems do occur, as often they may well might, then addressing them later becomes a more taxing and challenging task. Prevention is, I believe, much better than cure!..

(source: Harnessing the Power of ASD | Asperger Syndrome Management)

This kind of thorough preparation and on-going support can also be outsourced, as in the following example.

Founded in 1997, Ken’s Kids Inc. (informally known as Ken’s Krew) provides vocational training and job placement for adults with developmental disabilities, many with autism. The goal of the program is to help these individuals both sustain employment and become productive, successful members of society. The nonprofit organisation is named after Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, who played a pivotal role in launching the initiative. Today, Ken’s Kids has workers at more than 50 Home Depot stores and also has has CVS Caremark as an employment partner.

Part of the success of the Ken’s Kids program stems from the support and buy-in from store management and store associates. Ken’s Kids works hard to build that support by regularly meeting with managers. Another reason the program is viable is the level of support workers get from their coaches along the way…

…Before they’re placed into a Home Depot store, Ken’s Kids candidates must undergo a five-step assessment that includes a paper application, observation and parent interview, followed by an in-store assessment and interview with a Home Depot manager.
…Ken’s Kids associates also engage in role-playing, designed to help them learn how to deal with some of the social situations they may find themselves in on the job. These include what to do if they’re confronted with a difficult customer.
…“We’ve had a number of people graduate from the Ken’s Kids program,” says [Tracey Davis, a district HR manager for Home Depot in the New York metro region.] “They’ve been some of our highest-performing associates in the sales capacity…”

…Ken’s Kids carefully assesses potential trainees using a five-step selection process—application, interview, observation, store assessment and parent interview—explains Deborah Callaghan, the Pennsylvania state coordinator. She oversees 45 Home Depot associates with disabilities [as well as being a job coach.]
Coaches “work side by side with trainees for three months in stores, reviewing tasks and things like product knowledge,” explains Callaghan, who has a degree in special education. “Store managers receive sensitivity training as well.”
Ken’s Kids support services are free to workers with disabilities. Job coaches are paid by the program. It costs the program about $3,200 per worker for the three-month intensive training. After three months, the amount of coaching starts to gradually decrease, but coaches continue to conduct spot checks on workers every two to six weeks, depending on the individual. Job coaches provide support as long as the worker is employed…

(sources: Human Resource Executive Online - Aspies in the Workplace; http://kenskidsinc.org/pdfs/hrmagazine.pdf; http://kenskidsinc.org/pdfs/PhillyInq.pdf)