For Brennan Novak, who is autistic and suffers from
"I had graduated from high school and was attending a transition program, where I was having a tough time with college and my high anxiety," Novak says. "I joined one of AutonomyWorks' job shadows, and the work I did clicked with me and gave me hope of finding a place I belonged."
Read more:
AutonomyWorks, located in Illinois, was founded in 2013 by Dave Friedman after he and his wife struggled to find
Some characteristics of ASD, such as repetitive behaviors, strong interest in topics such as numbers, preference for routine and attention to detail make technology a common draw for people with the disorder. Not only do the job placements through AutonomyWorks help people with autism find the right fit, it helps create a new dialogue around hiring from this demographic, too, says Friedman, the company's CEO.
"There's a major lack of awareness, and this creates a lot of uncertainty and fear among employers," he says. "The purpose of AutonomyWorks is to destigmatize and create an entity that people can look to and say, 'It's this set of skills, this is how you recruit, this is how you manage, and if I do these things, I can see how they could be successful in my organization.'"
As one of the 75 million people with ASD, Novak was struggling to find a role that worked for him. Since joining AutonomyWorks in 2018, Novak has worked his way up to Team Lead position, managing work for AutonomyWork's various clients, including AI software company UiPath, which also has a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. Novak works on document understanding — teaching AI models how to extract correct data — as well as AI exception management, escalation and troubleshooting.
"Our team steps in where robots leave off," he says. "UiPath not only trusts our team with important work, but gives us opportunities to learn and upskill our team members, which will give us the most employment opportunities in the years ahead."
Read more:
Recent studies show the unemployment rate for people with autism is as high as 85%, making training and upskilling a critical area of need for those in this community. UiPath offers additional training to associates on its specific technology, as well as a buddy program that matches associates with a trained UiPath employee who can help with any questions or concerns they may have while working on projects.
There has to be an infrastructure to support neurodiverse talent in order for attraction and retention to be successful, says Bridgette McInnis-Day, chief people officer at UiPath. The company creates this by providing diversity training for all of their leadership and measuring the impact of their inclusion efforts with employee experience surveys. The benefits to company culture and business outcomes are unparalleled, she says.
"Inclusion is important, but you can't do it without thinking about the whole roadmap from a talent strategy," McInnis-Day says. "We have found that neurodiverse workers are extremely well-suited for technologies like AI and automation with unique skills like thinking outside the box, having a keen eye for detail and identifying patterns that maybe can't even be seen by AI. You have to have that human loop."
Read more:
By partnering with employers like UiPath, Friedman is confident AutonomyWorks can pave the way for even more disability inclusion within the workforce. These efforts have certainly benefited Novak, who has experienced personal and professional growth, and is using his experience to speak on behalf of a very underrepresented talent pool.
"I believe every company can benefit from hiring neurodiverse talent — this is something we prove at AutonomyWorks each day," Novak says. "Every time a company decides to do business with AutonomyWorks, we get to hire more amazing people for our team and continue to fulfill our mission of changing the way the world views people with autism."
