Dear Reader,
Welcome back! I hope you have managed to have a break over the summer and enjoy the sunshine we have been having in the UK. I've just returned from holiday myself, and whilst catching up on the latest research, I came across findings that validate something many of us sense but struggle to articulate: we're in a moment of fundamental transformation, not just adaptation.
The World Economic Forum's inaugural Chief People Officers Outlook 2025 reveals that whilst organisations are being cautious in the short term, the most successful are preparing for structural transformation. This isn't about tweaking existing systems - it's about complete redesign of how we attract, develop, and retain talent.
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What's the data saying?
Leadership Insight: From Short-Term Caution to Bold Redesign
The World Economic Forum’s inaugural Chief People Officers Outlook 2025 finds senior HR leaders in a period of “cautious short-termism”—with hiring and restructuring on pause amid volatility. Yet, standout organisations are looking beyond incremental changes, embracing deep, structural redesigns of how they attract, develop, and retain talent.
For CPOs, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity: how can the people function transition from operational to strategic, demonstrating business acumen and shaping core transformation agendas and culture?
What the Data Means for Neurodivergent Talent
Here’s what the WEF data says, and why it matters for advancing neurodiversity and innovation:
- AI Adoption: The number one risk for CPOs is staff not upskilling quickly enough. However, this is also an opportunity: many neurodivergent employees excel in pattern recognition, systems thinking, and digital domains. Rethinking talent and upskilling strategies to unleash this untapped strength is a powerful lever for future readiness.
- Talent Scarcity: Demographic shifts and global skills gaps are amplifying the need for a broader talent pool. Neurodivergent professionals, who account for 15–20% of the population, are underutilised. Inclusive recruitment and job design address both diversity and hard-to-fill capability gaps.
- Evolving Expectations: Today’s workforce - especially younger, more openly neurodivergent employees - demand flexibility, purpose, and environments that respect cognitive differences. Failing to redesign systems perpetuates exclusion and hurts retention of top talent.
From Pause to Progress: Strategic Levers for CPOs
The Outlook 2025 highlights three transformation imperatives, all directly relevant to building a truly inclusive workplace:
- Redesign Organisational Structure and Job Design: Review every stage - from hiring to performance management - through the lens of inclusivity, seeking out “hidden” neurotypical biases and leveraging digital tools that level the playing field.
- Strengthen Culture and Business Purpose: Make workplace culture a strategic asset. Prioritise psychological safety, mental health, and social cohesion alongside business performance.
- Lead Human-Centric AI and Digital Transformation: Ensure responsible, bias-aware AI implementation in talent systems - so AI augments rather than sidelines cognitive diversity and closes digital skills gaps
Chief People Officers Outlook 2025: Rethinking talent strategy | World Economic Forum
Stories from the workplace
Periods of uncertainty - like hiring pauses, restructurings, or delayed decisions -amplify challenges for neurodivergent employees far beyond those faced by neurotypical peers. For many with ADHD, autism, or related profiles, a well-structured, predictable environment is not just preferred - it fundamentally underpins wellbeing and performance.
During a significant restructuring early in my career, I was navigating not only shifting team priorities and unclear timelines but also vague communications about roles, reporting lines, and expectations. As someone with rejection sensitivity and heightened justice sensitivity - common in ADHD - this lack of clarity meant constant emotional activation. Every ambiguous meeting, every unanswered question, triggered anxiety and rumination, often robbing me of energy I’d otherwise devote to problem-solving and growth.
It wasn’t capability or motivation that constrained me- it was the cumulative effect of unpredictable routines and emotional overload. Even well-meaning advice to “wait out the uncertainty,” “be resilient,” or “focus on what you can control” fell flat. What I needed was a proactive structure: timely updates, opportunities to voice concerns safely, and minor task adjustments to reduce overload. Instead, the sense of being on unsteady ground gradually eroded my engagement, leading to the need for time off to recover.
Recent research underscores this isn’t an isolated experience. Two in three neurodivergent employees fear leaving their job amid uncertainty because the prospect of seeking accommodations elsewhere feels even riskier. Poorly managed organisational change elevates stress, disrupts routines, and increases attrition among precisely the talent organisations can least afford to lose.
One change for immediate action
During hiring freezes or company uncertainty, CPOs play a pivotal role in translating ambiguity into inclusion and stability. Here’s how:
Communicate with Consistency and Clarity
- Deliver updates in both verbal and written formats, avoiding jargon and vague reassurances. Share what is known, what isn’t, and what comes next, even if the answer is “no change yet”.
- Use timelines, checklists, and FAQs to anchor updates.
Create Predictable Micro-Structures
- Maintain regular 1:1s for checking in, not just on work but on wellbeing.
- Offer clear short-term goals or priority lists, even if big-picture plans are unclear, to reduce overwhelm.
Invite Input and Respond to Feedback
- Empower all employees, including neurodivergent ones, to voice concerns or questions through anonymous surveys or accessible feedback channels.
- Show what action results from their input, however small, to build trust.
Empower Flexible Work and Processing
- Consider workload pacing adjustments, more frequent breaks, or quiet workspaces. Allow extra processing time for changes in roles or processes.
- Offer access to neurodiversity-affirming supports (mentoring, peer forums, tailored wellness resources).
Equip Managers to Respond Compassionately
- Train leaders to recognise that emotional responses (tears, silence, irritability) may be part of neurodivergent processing, not resistance or disengagement.
- Encourage offering space for follow-up meetings or written clarification after key conversations.
By embedding these supports, CPOs turn organisational “pause” into an opportunity for connection and retention, demonstrating that workforce transformation isn’t just about new structures for tomorrow, but about safeguarding trust and inclusion right now. Organisations intentional about this don’t just survive uncertainty—they unlock new strengths, becoming magnets for exceptional, diverse talent.
And finally, a question for you?
How has your organisation managed periods of uncertainty or change? What support would have been most valuable during those transitions, both for yourself and your team members?
Hit reply and share your thoughts - after taking time to reset myself, I'm particularly interested in what structures or communications help maintain stability during organisational flux.
Tania
FIVE ways you can work with me:
- Neuro-inclusive Recruitment Audit: Understand what practical steps you can take to ensure your recruitment process is inclusive for all.
- Training: From line managers to leaders, global HR teams to recruitment, awareness sessions to champion training.
- Consultancy: Policy writing, process redesign, reviewing neurodiversity materials, data, ERG launches - anything neurodiversity at work related!
- Coaching: One-to-one coaching to help support an individual navigate the world of work as someone who is neurodivergent
- Speaking: From a fireside chat to a keynote, podcast guest to panellist
Reply to this email to find out more!
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