In support of a vision for a more neurodiverse workplace, SAP launched the annual Autism at Work Summit in 2016. The partnerships of an ever-growing list of companies have come together for the third year who place an emphasis on hiring people with Autism. The Autism at Work Summit creates a platform for academia, public and private sector, philanthropy, civil societies, service providers and the community to come together and to inspire imagination, ideation and collaboration by sharing from all of the wisdom and expertise that is assembled under one roof for three days. This is the only annual meeting of its kind in the world.
The town of Redmond, WA is where it all started for Microsoft. And Microsoft, in turn, has played a significant role in the development of the Seattle area. The commute to work is made easy with Wi-Fi powered shuttles, and once on campus the lunch options are nearly endless with more than two dozen world-class cafes and restaurants. On any given day, employees can be seen using one of multiple sports areas, or jogging the trails in and around the Microsoft campus. Comprised of 500 acres, 126 modern and multi-storied glass faced building and 75,000 employees Microsoft is one of the forces behind the transformation of the territory east of the city of Seattle.
Chuck Edward, Corporate Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition, Jenny Lay-Flurrie is the Chief Accessibility Office, and Neil Barnett is the Director of Inclusive Hiring were the three individuals who spoke in the first several sessions of our meetings and truly set the tone for our entire summit.
Chuck began with welcoming all of the attendees to the summit by saying that hiring non-traditional candidates in a non-traditional manner will bring success to the company, make a difference in that individual's life and a difference for his/her family. The competition model of the old days is not a sustainable model over time. And every time we participate in an event like Autism at Work we create a challenge to status quo. We all need to think of Autism at Work as the imperative initiative at work in our companies.
Since the announcement at World Autism Day in 2015, Neil Barnett has been responsible for the program evolution of the Microsoft Autism Hiring Program. He leads the inclusive hiring strategy for all people with disabilities across Microsoft. Neil was recognized as one of Microsoft's 2017 Most Creative People in Business. Neil is also responsible for the strategy and operational performance of Microsoft's consumer and enterprise support to people with disabilities. He is a graduate from Georgia Tech. Neil served throughout the entire summit as the orchestra leader making sure all the performers were ready to do their thing and that everyone in the audience got everything out the performance that they had hoped for.
In her presentation on Wednesday morning, light-hearted comedian, Jenny Lay-Flurrie who is the Chief Accessibility Officer for Microsoft, cleverly shared with us with the lilt of an Irish lass that Microsoft is moving from the mere concept of accessibility FOR all towards inclusion OF all. Microsoft has adopted the credo that they have changed the word disability to truly thought of as a mismatched human interaction. Further, she helps us to see that at Microsoft is creating a culture of inclusion and acceptance of differences. They believe that it is the DNA in every fiber of the company. It has been made clear that there is a strategic imperative for inclusion within the design of everything we build for the company and every product we build at the company.
If you would like to hear Jenny speak about this and hear about some of their real heroes, click on the link below to see an in-house video about the work that is at the heart of their work at Microsoft. They all believe that reaching these goals will ensure sustainability for Microsoft.
While on this new page, merely click on any number of videos that explain more and more of the work that they have been involved in and the product which has appeared as the true fruit of their labors.
In the next post, we will talk more about some of the other companies who were in attendance. You won't believe who joined in the conversation and looked forward to a world is made from true difference.
Since the announcement at World Autism Day in 2015, Neil Barnett has been responsible for the program evolution of the Microsoft Autism Hiring Program. He leads the inclusive hiring strategy for all people with disabilities across Microsoft. Neil was recognized as one of Microsoft's 2017 Most Creative People in Business. Neil is also responsible for the strategy and operational performance of Microsoft's consumer and enterprise support to people with disabilities. He is a graduate from Georgia Tech. Neil served throughout the entire summit as the orchestra leader making sure all the performers were ready to do their thing and that everyone in the audience got everything out the performance that they had hoped for.
In her presentation on Wednesday morning, light-hearted comedian, Jenny Lay-Flurrie who is the Chief Accessibility Officer for Microsoft, cleverly shared with us with the lilt of an Irish lass that Microsoft is moving from the mere concept of accessibility FOR all towards inclusion OF all. Microsoft has adopted the credo that they have changed the word disability to truly thought of as a mismatched human interaction. Further, she helps us to see that at Microsoft is creating a culture of inclusion and acceptance of differences. They believe that it is the DNA in every fiber of the company. It has been made clear that there is a strategic imperative for inclusion within the design of everything we build for the company and every product we build at the company.
If you would like to hear Jenny speak about this and hear about some of their real heroes, click on the link below to see an in-house video about the work that is at the heart of their work at Microsoft. They all believe that reaching these goals will ensure sustainability for Microsoft.
While on this new page, merely click on any number of videos that explain more and more of the work that they have been involved in and the product which has appeared as the true fruit of their labors.
In the next post, we will talk more about some of the other companies who were in attendance. You won't believe who joined in the conversation and looked forward to a world is made from true difference.
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