Encourage! acceptance of an unnoticed pool of adults – talented, smart, loyal, willing and eager to contribute to the everyday working populations.
Approximately 80% of adults who have Autism are unemployed or underemployed, which was the exact statistic that propelled South Florida entrepreneurs, Kathryn Kerrigan, Richard Starke and Max Starke, to create Encourage Resources. Encourage Resources partners with organizations to apply untapped talent to a workplace environment that appreciates brilliance, uniqueness, dedication, and a strong work ethic while enhancing the social and economic lives of neurodivergent adults and creating a more inclusive workplace culture.
Encourage! Access to 7.4M across the USA which, until now is virtually going unnoticed. Nearly 3.3% of the population is Neurodivergent (Approximately 7.4M Adults in the US). The specific Neurodivergent conditions they experience break down into Learning Disorders (Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dypsgraphia), Mental Health (Anxiety, Depression, PTSD) and Development such as ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Benefits of Hiring a Neurodivergent Workforce include:
- Neurodiverse people overall are 30% more productive (Harvard Business Review)
- See business problems and solutions in unconventional ways, which leads to Diversity to Innovation 1
- All employees benefit from an inclusive workforce AND inclusive and diverse teams generate more revenue
- People on the spectrum often demonstrate trustworthiness, strong memories, reliability, adherence to rules and attention to detail
- Employee engagement also increases when employees can see that their organizations embrace the Neurodivergent
Encourage Resources assists in expanding the organization’s inclusion programs while also providing an opportunity for those who are Nueordivergent to be part of the community. Many organizations are not designed to accommodate and facilitate individuals with cognitive disabilities. It is difficult for neurodiverse employees to get hired as most businesses still insist on hiring based on the employee being a “good fit” in the company’s culture.
The idea has been a goal of Kathryn Kerrigan’s for many years and is based on her own personal experience in the field and countless friends. As CEO of AI software development company, UnKommon Revolution, based in Palm Beach, Florida, many of her employees and team members fall somewhere within the spectrum. As Ms.Kerrigan states, “They are the most brilliantly innovative aspects of our company.”
Upon meeting Max and Richard Starke, their like-minded business attitudes developed Encourage Resources. Max Starke’s experience has been involved in a variety of industries such as geospatial analysis and asset management for state governments, multidisciplinary firms, and government contractors. His passion towards creating a more accessible workplace for neurodivergents, like himself, inspired him to co-found Konnect and Encourage.” Richard Starke, Max’s father, has over thirty years of experience in the areas of private equity investing, corporate finance and corporate restructuring having worked at a number of large multinational financial institutions before becoming a founding partner in a series of private equity funds and private investments. He obviously understands the needs of the neurodivergent in the workforce and is an active participant founding Konnect and Encourage.
Encourage Resources provides solutions that support Neurodivergentjob seekers to navigate the employment search and application process while effectively communicating their skills and abilities to prospective employers. Partnerships with Encourage Include:
- Building Awareness: Partner with us to develop a Neuroinclusive learning roadmap for your organization.
- Driving Cultural Change: Leverage our change management resources and tools at every step.
- Applying & Implementing: Support Neurodivergent employees by implementing our learning strategies and programs.
- Ongoing Inclusion: Update your Neuroinclusive learning and catalog with fresh content driven by our latest research
Encourage! candidates with Neurodivergents to enter the workforce in a supportive way that develops their confidence. We all have brilliant talents – let’s start using them.