Latest / The Diversity Career Podcast with Fexingo: Inclusion, Equity, and Underrepresented Professionals / How One Company Made Dyspraxia a Career Growth Tool
Transcript
- Lucas: Last week we talked about how one company turned ADHD into a career growth tool. Today I want to look at a related but distinct neurotype: dyspraxia. Luna: Dyspraxia — sometimes called developmental coordination disorder. It affects motor skills, planning, and organisation. Not something you typically hear about in career development circles. Lucas: Exactly. And the company we're looking at is a uk based design consultancy called Studio 22. They have around 120 employees, mostly designers and project managers. About 15 percent of their staff openly identify as neurodivergent, and a significant portion of that group has dyspraxia. Luna: So they're not just accommodating dyspraxia — they're actually building workflows around it. What did they do specifically? Lucas: A few things. First, they introduced voice to text software for anyone who wanted it. Designers with dyspraxia often struggle with typing and handwriting — fine motor control issues. So they switched to dictation for documentation, emails, even prototyping notes. Luna: That makes sense. The physical act of typing can be a bottleneck. Remove that, and the creative thinking flows. Lucas: Right. But they also changed how they structure project timelines. People with dyspraxia often have difficulty with sequencing and time estimation. So Studio 22 moved from a deadline-driven model to a task-completion model. Each day, employees set three priority tasks. No fixed hours for each task — just get them done by end of day. Luna: That sounds like it could benefit everyone, not just people with dyspraxia. But I imagine it requires a lot of trust from management. Lucas: It does. And that trust was built gradually. They started with a pilot team of eight people — four with dyspraxia, four without. After six months, the pilot team's project completion rate was 30 percent higher than the company average. And the team reported significantly lower stress levels. Luna: Thirty percent higher — that's a striking number. And what about retention? You mentioned turnover earlier. Lucas: Before the changes, Studio 22 had a 28 percent annual turnover rate among neurodivergent employees — roughly double the rate for neurotypical staff. After two years of these accommodations, that gap essentially disappeared. Overall turnover dropped to 14 percent, and among neurodivergent employees it fell to 11 percent. Luna: So the accommodations didn't just help individuals — they improved the whole company's stability. That's a business case. Lucas: Exactly. And it's not just about retention. They also saw a rise in internal promotions. Before, only one person with dyspraxia had been promoted to a senior role. After three years, six had moved into leadership positions — team leads, creative directors, even a head of strategy. Luna: I'd love to hear how they adapted the promotion process itself. Because standard promotion criteria — like presentation skills or meeting facilitation — might disadvantage someone with dyspraxia. Lucas: That's exactly what they addressed. Studio 22 introduced what they call 'demonstration-based assessment.' Instead of a formal interview and a presentation, candidates complete a real project over two weeks. They can use any tools they want — dictation, mind maps, whatever. The assessors look at the outcome, not the process. Luna: That's a much more authentic measure of someone's ability to do the job. And it removes the bias toward people who are good at performing in high-pressure, time-constrained settings. Lucas: Right. And it's worth noting that this approach didn't just benefit neurodivergent employees. Overall, the quality of promoted candidates improved, because the assessment was more closely tied to actual job performance. Luna: Let's talk about the specific role of technology. You mentioned voice to text. What other tools did they use? Lucas: They deployed something called 'spatial project boards.' Instead of a linear list of tasks, every project has a digital board where tasks are organised by physical workspace — left side for 'incoming,' center for 'in progress,' right for 'completed.' It gives a visual, spatial representation of workflow, which helps with sequencing. Luna: That taps into the visual-spatial strengths that some people with dyspraxia have. It's not just accommodating a deficit — it's leveraging a different cognitive style. Lucas: Exactly. And they also provided each employee with a 'task coach' — a colleague who checks in for ten minutes at the start and end of each day to help prioritise and review. For people with dyspraxia, that external structure is huge. It's not micromanagement; it's scaffolding. Luna: That's a nice balance. So the company invested in these accommodations. What was the cost? I'm thinking about other firms that might want to replicate this. Lucas: Studio 22 estimated the upfront cost at about 15,000 pounds — mostly software licenses and some training for the task coaches. Ongoing costs are roughly 5,000 pounds per year. Compare that to the cost of replacing a single senior designer — which they estimated at 40,000 pounds. The ROI is clear. Luna: That's a no-brainer, honestly. And it's not just about money — it's about the culture. When people feel seen and supported, they contribute more. Lucas: Speaking of contribution — if you find these deep dives into inclusive workplace practices useful, you can support the show directly. We keep it ad-free, and listener support is what makes that possible. You can contribute at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: And even a small amount helps us keep bringing you stories like this one. We really appreciate it. Lucas: Now, back to Studio 22. One thing I found really interesting is how they handle meetings. Standard meetings with agendas and rapid turn-taking can be tough for someone with dyspraxia — processing delays, difficulty jumping in at the right moment. Luna: So they changed the meeting format? Lucas: They did. They introduced 'asynchronous input' for all team meetings. Before a meeting, everyone submits their updates or ideas in a shared document. The meeting itself is used only for discussion and decision-making, not for status updates. And they use a round-robin format — each person gets a turn to speak, with no interruptions. Luna: That's a great example of universal design. It helps people with dyspraxia, but it also helps introverts, non-native speakers, anyone who processes more slowly. Everyone gets to contribute. Lucas: And it's not just about being fair — it produces better ideas. Studio 22 found that after implementing these meeting changes, the number of actionable suggestions per meeting increased by 40 percent. Because more voices were heard. Luna: I want to ask about scale. Studio 22 is a relatively small company. Could a large corporation replicate this? Lucas: It's harder, but not impossible. Large companies often have rigid HR systems and standardised workflows. But some of the changes — like demonstration-based assessment and asynchronous meetings — can be implemented at a team level without company-wide buy-in. You don't need permission from the top to change how your own team runs. Luna: That's a good point. Start small, prove the value, then scale. I imagine the biggest barrier is mindset — managers thinking accommodations are expensive or unfair. Lucas: Absolutely. The founder of Studio 22 said something in an interview that stuck with me. He said: 'We stopped asking 'How do we fix these people?' and started asking 'How do we fix our systems?' That shift is everything. Luna: That's a perfect framing. And it's a lesson that applies way beyond dyspraxia. Any company that's serious about diversity has to look at their own structures first. Lucas: So what's the takeaway for someone listening who might have dyspraxia or manage someone who does? The biggest thing is: accommodations aren't charity. They're strategy. When you remove the barriers, you unlock real talent. Luna: And if you're a manager, start with one change. Maybe it's a voice to text tool, maybe it's a different meeting format. See what happens. Lucas: Studio 22 shows that small, thoughtful changes can have outsized returns — for individuals, for teams, and for the bottom line. That's a model worth paying attention to. Luna: Absolutely. And we'll keep following how this evolves. Thanks for listening.