Mike Lamm from RethinkFirst | Building Neuro-Inclusive Cultures That Unlock Potential

Speaker A: As we close out the year, I want to thank all of you for tuning into the HR scoop throughout 2025. It's been an incredible season of conversations and I hope these episodes have given you practical tools and fresh inspiration to carry into the new year. I'm wishing you a joyful holiday season and a Happy start to 2026. For our final episode of the year, we're diving into the critical but often overlooked topic of neurodiversity at work. My guest is Mike Lam, Chief People Officer at AH Rethink first and he's here to share practical ways employers can move beyond accommodations to create truly neuro inclusive cultures. We'll talk about the origin and scope of neurodiversity and how nearly 20% of today's workforce is directly affected and and the role hiring practices manager, playbooks and mentorship can play in unlocking potential. Mike also paints a vision for connecting training and personalized support to measurable business outcomes. This is a powerful episode for anyone who wants to build a workplace where every individual can thrive.

Speaker B: Welcome to the HR Scoop, the podcast dedicated to bringing you the latest insights and stories from the world of human resources and employee well being. Brought to you by WebMD Health Services here we believe in the power of community and collaboration so get settled in and ready to hear from various leaders and experts on their well being journey. We'll explore unique perspectives, have thought provoking discussions and share real life stories to ignite inspiration and new ideas with your organization. Welcome to the HR Scoop where well being meets business.

Speaker A: Welcome back to another episode of the HR Scoop. I'm Christine Muldoon and I'm your host today for another great discussion. I'm thrilled to welcome our guest Mike Lam, Chief People Officer of Rethink First. Rethink is AH a global health technology company providing cloud based treatment tools, training and clinical support to employers, educators, payers and behavioral health professionals. Rethink's award winning Solutions serve over 1 million employees worldwide, 1/3 of, uh, Fortune 100 companies, many of the country's largest public school districts and over 96,000 individual behavioral healthcare providers. Mike is a seasoned HR executive and has directed all aspects of HR across multiple industries, predominantly with high growth organizations in the technology space. I guess you could see why we thought he would be a perfect guest for the podcast. Mike, welcome to the HR Scoop.

Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me Christine. I'm so happy to be here and uh, looking forward to the uh, discussion.

Speaker A: Me too. I'm really excited for our conversation today because I think you're bringing a topic to our listeners that's both important and probably often overlooked. Now, rethink plays a unique role in the world of employee well being with a special focus on neurodiversity. So to start us off, can you explain what neurodiversity means and what inspired rethink to make it a central part of your mission?

Speaker B: Absolutely. Um, yeah. So, you know, this is a really important community, uh, that we're serving. And I think oftentimes you hear some of these things get tossed around. You know, neurodiversity, neurodivergence, behavioral health, all of these things. And I, uh, appreciate starting with, you know, a definition. I, um, think it was back around 1997, uh, there was a sociologist named Judy Singer. And uh, Judy, I believe, was the first to coin the term related, uh, to neurodiversity. And it, it really referred to the differences in how people communicated, how they learn and how they socialize, uh, just basically due to biological differences in the brain. So, you know, there are diagnoses of adhd, you know, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, uh, dyspraxia, and many others that are considered natural forms of neurologic neurological diversity. Um, and they're found across all races, cultures, economic conditions, life experiences, you name it. But, um, you know, diversity, uh, when it comes to neurodiversity is something that we really focused on, uh, a lot at Rethink. And uh, you know, Rethink first was a company that was founded back in 2007. So if you remember, when I first started with, uh, you know, neurodiversity was a term coined in 1997. Our business really kicked off, uh, you know, in 2007, so not too far after. Uh, it's a very clear mission, uh, Rethink First. We want to provide scalable evidence based autism uh, treatment and training tools and caregiver supports to an underserved population. So that's where we started. Uh, you know, our co founders really saw that this was an underserved, um, population. There was an opportunity to use technology to support them and the caregivers to give them the support that they needed. Um, and we launched our first solution back in 2010. So again, we're talking, you know, 15 years ago to when we're speaking today, which was a suite of special needs and behavior management offerings, uh, to the K to 12 education industry. Um, so that's really where we started. We've since expanded into, you know, selling into the employer space. So workplaces, the Corporate environment. We provide um, practice management tools to behavioral health clinics and even into the payer industry. So we've really um, you know, from definition in 1997 to Rethink's launch in 2007 to where we are today, we've really seen our business broaden the support that we provide to the communities that we serve. But we've also seen um, you know, this definition or idea of neurodivergency sort of emerge and flourish with us. Um, and so that's really how we've made it a focal point for us from the beginning. But also we have evolved as you know, the understanding and evolution of neurodivergency, uh, just in society has grown with us.

Speaker A: I'm kind of thinking about what you just said because it's if you started in or started with um, autism and K2 through 12 and then it sort of has evolved. As you think about the impact that these neuro diverse, divergent um, individuals, differences in how they communicate and socialize, obviously that starts to merge into the workplace. And I mean maybe I'm making an assumption here, but I think this sort of is similar to mental health in the way that neurodiversity is becoming an increasingly recognized uh, topic in the workplace. And so as we look at kind of some of the numbers I, um, think you had shared with me earlier on, that research suggests that up to 20% of the workforce is either neurodiverse or support someone who is. So we're definitely, you know, talking a little bit more about this, um, like the same thing that's happened with mental health in the workplace. So knowing that from your perspective as chief people officer, what do you think that means for HR leaders that might be listening to today, um, in terms of creating more inclusive and supportive workplaces?

Speaker B: Absolutely, yeah. I mean what a stat, right? You know, 20%, one in five, uh, adults are either identifying as neurodiverse or are someone who uh, supports someone who is neurodiverse. So think about that in, in, in the workplace and you know, one in every five colleagues that you interact with not uh, only understands what neurodiversity is, but is experiencing that uh, day in and day out. And so you know, as chief people officer, you think about it in many different ways. Um, it's not, you know, oftentimes we think about ah, accommodation as a topic. How are you accommodating employees so that you have a welcoming environment. And what we're seeing now, when you start to see statistics like that about 20% of the workforce. Um, it's no longer about accommodating. It's really about how are we actively investing in unlocking the potential of all of our employees, including, you know, the 20% who may, uh, via identifying or maybe supporting someone who's Neurodiverse. So it's interesting, within the Rethink, uh, care platform, we have a few different things that are included in there. A lot of it is actually video. And so I think it was something like we had a little over a million views that we could take a look at and see what people are really interested, uh, in viewing and how they can take advantage of some of those things that nearly a quarter of our overall views. I think it was a little over 22% of views within Rethink air prioritized, uh, the course of the video that was legal, this understanding neurodiversity. So what is this like when you see that over a million views. People, uh, are very much focused on this and they want to understand, uh, as a business, how not only how we can support them, how we can invest in it, but how do you create a more inclusive environment. And you know, maybe something we'll talk about in a little bit is when I think about myself as a chief people officer and the role that I can play in this. When we talk about investment and the culture is, you know, we have a, uh, people, uh, strategy at Rethink first that I've broken down into four pillars. It's about attracting the best talent, develop, developing them while they're here, uh, retaining them and ensuring that we have an amazing, uh, employee experience and then connect. Right. The connection to our important mission that we have that we've already talked about connecting to each other. And so as uh, a, as a leader, it doesn't even need to be a chief people officer. When you build a strategy, what I try to think about is inclusive in my mind is how do I build my strategy and be inclusive of the entire community as I'm building? So when I think about attracting talent, what are the ways that I can attract all types of talent, including Neurodiverse? Uh, when I think about developing and talking about performance, do I have, uh, processes and an environment where everyone can thrive? Even with some of the, uh, sort of diagnoses that we've talked about in the beginning that build, uh, this ecosystem of what Neurodiverse is, can everyone, even within those diagnoses, thrive at my organization? Same thing with retention and connection. So for me, I think, uh, we can break it down into those specific Categories and understand, um, what does that look like, what is investment, what does inclusion and what are the ways that, uh, no matter what seat you're in, but as a chief people officer, you can make sure that you're just taking advantage of the great talent that uh, everyone across the board at your organization is able to bring.

Speaker A: Okay, so your pillars, as you said, was attract the best talent, develop them, obviously retain them, and then really connect not only to the mission, but each other, which are fantastic. So sort of building on that because as I think about it, having those pillars is one thing, but then how, like are there certain company policies or you know, sort of how you shape your culture for when it comes to things like leadership development, communication norms or accommodations? Because you kind of have to make it for everyone. But recognizing that someone that's neurodiverse, you know, you have to kind of think about how you need to communicate or socialize and you know, kind of bring those into the culture as well.

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And it's a great setup because I think that sometimes it's a little bit easier how to, in understanding how to get operational when you break it down into bite sized pieces like that. Right. So if I think about hiring, if I think about talent acquisition, talent attraction, you know, when you're looking at neurodiverse talent, uh, you know, some of the research says, and we have it in our State of Neurodiversity report that we released earlier this year, but it's not just our research. There's plenty of research out there. Um, you know, focusing on things like skills rather than truth, uh, is an important piece of ensuring that everyone has an equal shot at the table. Um, there's a little bit of a debate around and even ourselves as candidates for her roles, sometimes work samples, right. Or work assignments or tasks in a talent acquisition process, you know, sometimes you may see it as, am I really going to ask someone to do a, uh, work assignment as a part of this interview process in order to see who the best candidate is? Well, you know, there's plenty of research that says especially for neurodiverse individuals, that might be a more accurate representation of how they're going to show up on the job than, you know, a behavioral interview. And if you're going to be doing conversational interviewing, uh, make sure it's structured, make sure it's predictable. You know, you want to make sure that there's, uh, no surprises in the process. You're very clear with all of your candidates who's going to be there, what are their titles, why are they there? What's their role in the interview process? So that when anyone is entering into the room, um, you know, it's very clear what everyone's role is. And there's no sort of um, surprise that could throw anyone off, let alone, you know, a neurodiverse talent, just anyone in general. So we really feel as though it's important, you know, we drive home the importance of, you know, those tasks or those work samples. We make sure that we're really clear throughout the process and on what each stage is and who's going to be involved when. And we try to bring as much structure around that process as we can. Uh, so really keeping it uh, to a process and not be as fluid ah, as we can because again, you know, there's different ways that people can bring their skills and, and straight to the table and we just want to see what it'll look like on the job. Um, the other side of it too is like when you think about performance. And so um, you know, you finally have uh, attracted great talent to your organization and they've got the ticket to the show and now we want to make sure that they're um, performing well. And I think, you know, one of the things that we try to tell everyone, especially managers as we're developing them is, you know, feedback is the most important piece of performance at the time. And so especially when you're working with uh, neurodiverse talent or autistic employees, a big piece of that is, you know, you need to be direct, you need to be explicit and so be as direct as you can with your employees as you're delivering feedback to drive towards the performance that you want to see. You um, want to make sure that there's less uh, impression management. Right? It's not about sort of trying to figure out what's the message behind the message, but everything is out on the table and you're being as direct as possible and it should be. You know, again I talk about this with managers all the time. You know, observable, specific feedback, job related behaviors. Just connect it to the actual work that individuals are doing on a regular basis as much as possible. So a lot of those things as, as I talk through them, you know, we are, uh, the focus of our conversation is about um, you know, neurodiverse talent. These are things that managers and companies could or should be doing anyway. And so right, you know, you think about this investment in neurodiverse talent and this investment in neuro inclusion and behavioral health. This is just Good business practice. Right. So what, what the way that we try to show it is like, this isn't extra effort. This isn't something that you're doing on top of what you're already doing. You're purely being just mindful that you're taking on best practices and sharing good feedback and, and making sure there's no surprises along the way. So it shows up in each of those pillars, and that's how I like to talk about it, is you bring these things to the table and as you evolve the conversation, it's like, well, we're either doing these things already or we can do them better or we should have been doing them and we need to pick up.

Speaker A: Okay, that makes a lot of sense. I was to say, these seem like just best practices in general. Um, there's also, I think this misconception that supporting neurodiverse employees is mainly by focusing on physical accommodations.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: But it sounds like there are some other best practices like, uh, differences in how you might, uh, structure a meeting or different leadership styles that can be just as quick, critical. So can you just talk about some of those, um, elements or give some examples?

Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you know, and we talked about this in our initial conversation too, like this accommodation factor. Um, you know, there are definitely moments in, in supporting neurodiverse individuals where you may have physical accommodations that make sense, um, given whatever that diagnosis might be. But you know, oftentimes the things that come up the most, especially when you're working with, uh, neurodiverse talent, autistic talent, it's working styles, it's communication styles, having, as we just talked about with feedback, having clear, direct communications around what the working norms are, onboarding, um, preferences. So it's a dialogue. The accommodation is ensuring that everything is out on the table and there's transparency around how everyone can thrive. And so, um, you know, when you are, again, good management, good business practice, you want to try to build trust and confidence with the team, um, that you're building, ah, as a leader, as a manager, as a CEO, Chro, whatever it is. And when you're having conversations around, you know, asking the question, what, what type of feedback do you prefer? Like, are you, you know, you have a new person joining the team? If I have feedback to share with you, do you like, point in time feedback? Would you rather me take a step back and we talk about it in our next one on one. How do you like to receive and share? It's like a really important discussion to have to accommodate a neurodiverse individual's, uh, way of work, um, what are the things that you enjoy to do it right? Are you, do you feel as though you're having a lot of impact and you get the most joy out of working in the details in the data, uh, working in spreadsheets? Or are you someone where your preference is to brainstorm collectively, cross functionally? You want to be at the table thinking through different topics and lesson detail. So it's almost like, and a lot of us have been in them as leaders, you know, personality assessments. Right? What, what is the way that you like to work? I've been through, um, you know, insights, discovery, where you talk about. I like to be there, be in the details. I like to show me that you care. That's how I build energy, communication, or, um, you know, I want to be included in the decision, and that's really important to me. So, um, what we, or what I've seen is most helpful is having those discussions and accommodating the working style and the communication preference of everyone on their team. And again, maybe it's a recurring theme, but if you're doing this already as a manager with the members of your team, these are important conversations to have. In general, what you just might find in having neurodiverse, uh, employees on your team is maybe their answers are a little bit different than you expected, or maybe you have to, you know, give them feedback in a very specific way versus the rest of your team in order for you to get the result that you want. So it's really about, like, putting in the effort to ask the questions, to be inclusive, to really meet them where they are, and then you'll have the same impact and output that you were hoping for the rest of the team as well.

Speaker A: So I, uh, mean, that's again, maybe standard leadership practices, right? But how do you, I mean, I know you can't ask someone, right? Oh, are you neurodivergent? But, you know, how do you know if someone is neurodiverse so that you can support them in the right way? And, you know, if I'm a manager of a team, uh, obviously, like, what are some of the things that I might, that might be more evident to let me know? Or maybe that individual goes and talks with someone in your role first, and then would you come to me as the manager? Like, how can you show up and be the right leader for a neurodivergent person in a meaningful way without overstepping? Because obviously you can't ask. You shouldn't ask.

Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, It's a good question, right? I think it's very much up to the individual as far as, you know, what that conversation is going to look like. And the reason why I lean so heavily in this conversation and most conversations in, um, sort of mentioning that these are just good business practices in general is you may not get that sort of answer that you're looking for if you're suspecting that someone may need a little bit of support. And maybe you've read a bit on what neurodiversity is and you're feeling as though, um, an individual is showing signs of that, that may not be a conversation that they want to have or they're willing to have in the workplace. And that's okay. You know, that's their every right to sort of say, well, that's for me personally, and less so about the professional workplace. So, you know, you may not have that explicit conversation where someone identifies as a part of this neurodiverse community. So if you're leveraging in your, if you're leaning into these business practices around communication style, around working style, if you're investing in the right areas of, um, talent attraction and development and connection, um, you're going to be supporting those individuals no matter what. And that's why we try to say, try to be as inclusive as you can across all the different working styles and your team will thrive, um, if they choose to come to you and sort of say, hey, listen, you know, um, things are going well. I feel like I'm doing a good job in how I'm delivering in the work that's expected of me. But there's just this little bit of extra something I need, or in case you don't know, I wanted to share this information with you. You know, just be welcoming of that information, be thankful that they're willing to share it and have it be on their terms. So that's why the dialogue is really question and answer. How do I support you? What do you enjoy your work doing? What's the best way for you to receive feedback so that you can be more successful, and that's the best way to take it moving forward. So, you know, whether it's fortunate or unfortunate, it's the sense of you may not have that easy sort of formulaic answer that you're hoping for as a manager. And so in order to just make sure you're being as inclusive as possible and you're getting the most performance you can out of your teams, those best practices are what's the most important.

Speaker A: Okay, so it's about being as inclusive as possible in, you know, how you manage or support your team members. Um, I think it's also about building that trust as a manager. So there is those level, or that moment of if anyone was, you know, felt comfortable enough that they could trust you with whatever it is they want to share, not just around neurodiversity. Um, so be as inclusive, you know, uh, build that trust, have that open communication with your team. So I think that's helpful because we know that similar, um, to mental health, it's like becoming more of, um, a discussion or, uh, a focus within the workplace. And you kind of have to think about everyone's in a different place and it may not necessarily not be that they are ready to share, um, right. Uh, that information. Okay, I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about, uh, rethink first because obviously, you know, you focus on and support individuals across the full spectrum from childhood where there might be a diagnosis, and then obviously through workforce integration, someone's coming into the workforce. So tell the audience a little bit about how you support that through your solutions and how you see that continuum really driving impact for both employers and employees.

Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you know, we, we tend to, when we think about Rethink first and um, you know, the, the vertical within our business that uh, we work most with employers and within the corporate environment is our Rethink Care products. Ah. So that's, you know, a brand that's out there. Um, we really, you know, we. It kind of has three prongs. Right. We have our, our app that has some of those videos that we talked about earlier and, and where we got some of the statistics around what are, what's the content that is, uh, really being watched the most or that's driving the most impact. Um, you know, there are also offerings that we have within ResynchCare that provides consultations, uh, to professionals in the workplace and parents. Right. So, um, you know, one of the things that you have to acknowledge as you are doing this is, you know, there's obviously exceptional strengths that Neurodiverse talent can bring to your organization. Um, but, you know, there's also unique challenges that you need to navigate and you know, through those practices that we talked about earlier, you're able to support them. But, you know, struggling with communication differences or executive functioning challenges, um, you know, it can impact performance if it's not addressed. So what we want to try to do as, as recent CARE delivers to employers is, you know, providing training to the organization is really important. Um, like the, the offering that we talked about defining or introduction in Neurodiversity, it provides the employees an opportunity to understand this community that exists that's 20% of, of the workforce. But also you know, it helps drive productivity, well being and retention. If you're just understanding what the environment is that, that you're operating within and you know, within Rethink Care, um, the consultations that we provide to professionals in the workplace, it could range from a myriad of different things and this is that continuum, right. Could you know, we've seen uh, neurodiverse support show up in the sense of um, I'm having a difficult conversation with my manager and I need someone to help me through it or I'm a manager and I'm having difficulty with specific individuals on the team in providing feedback that sticks or um, ensuring that I'm being sensitive to all the different experiences that my employees are bringing to the table. So I think that what we try to do is provide support, um, sort of like on time support within the app and giving people content, videos, trainings, courses, even meditations, uh, that they need in order to support their mental health and their well being in the workplace. But then these consultations is where we take it to the next level and giving people through the support of a board certified behavioral analyst, um, which we've seen a major uptick uh, in usage and utilization. People just want to work through issues with someone who can talk it through with them that's not their manager. But as you know, tactics, research and experience that can guide them behaviorally toward the outcome that they want. And how that extends one step further is again going back to that 20% statistic. You know, a lot of uh, a lot of employers are employing parents and as we have seen a lot of children uh, are in this uh, statistics as well. We're seeing you know, more and more children being, identifying and being diagnosed with some of these diagnoses that we would define within neurodiversity. And so a lot of the times the consultations that the Rethink Care team is doing with employers or employees at these companies who have signed up for our product is at home. Right? So how do I have a child who has um, you know, a behavioral issue that I'm trying to work through through the Rethink Care offering in the Rethink Care app and product you can get a consultation with a board certified behavioral analyst paid for by, you know, your employer to work through some of those things. We've seen increasing rates of utilization within this Area where parents are going to our bcbas and talking through some of the issues that they have, uh, at home with their children and getting the support that they need that they might actually find is a little bit hard to find, uh, locally like in where they live or within practices that are local to their home. And so what's really interesting, and the utilization shows it is when employers are making this type of investment, right, they're acknowledging the increased, uh, levels of neurodiversity within the workforce. They are giving people the tools that they need to use at their leisure whenever they need to through the content that we have. But then, uh, it's happening in the workplace and extending outside of the workplace too, where now an employer can say, we want to support your mental well being, we want to support your family, but we're also going to give you that support outside of the office. And so it's a really unique way of an employer to talk about the culture that they want to create at their company by giving parents, caretakers, whoever it might be, who are in difficult situations, who aren't sure exactly how to navigate it to get the support through work, um, which is a great place to work, uh, if you can get that sort of offering. So um, that's how we see the continuum shift. Thing is you give the people the content they need for when they need it all the way to. We're actually going to give you consultative support for issues that are existing outside of the home on our value, which is, is really a great evolution.

Speaker A: It's a great investment for employers because it, you know, your employees that are, you know, stressing over this at home, it kind of helps them bring their best selves to work because their employer is helping them kind of work through the challenges that they're facing at home. So uh, okay, so we probably have, um, many listeners whose organization, you know, this might be a new consideration for them. They hadn't really implemented something like this. They haven't really thought about it. So could you share maybe some examples of, you don't have to name the companies, but companies that are really getting it right when it comes to neurodiversity support. And maybe if there are any, you know, best practices that stand out that, you know, some of our other listeners, you know, should consider adopting when they think about neurodiversity in their workplace.

Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you know, there's many different ways that you can invest in this and, and what we've seen and they're, you know, keeping the company names out of it. They're companies that you've, everyone's heard of, right? There's some of the top companies uh, in the world, name brands are making investments and it's really about you know, initially it's participation. Right. So um, whether it's participating in round tables, for example, there's a Neurodiversity at Work roundtable, um, and that is uh, I think that was, that started maybe back in the late 2000 and tens, 2017, um, where it brings uh, employers to the table uh, that are truly committed to neurodiversity focused hiring initiatives. Um, and so this is an external roundtable where people are coming together similar to the conversation we're having today and talking about best practices to make sure that um, we're bringing you know, every uh, talent that we can to the table no matter how they identify and sharing some of those best practices with each other. And I think that that's a really important message to send is you know, people are also looking external in order to get the resources that they need in having those conversations. Um, you know there's also this idea of building a playbook for managers. Right. So um, from an HR perspective we've really seen a uh, huge investment in employee resource groups over the last 10 or so years. Um, and a lot of that exists in supporting and helping communities thrive within the workplace. And so there's been an increased rise uh, in mental health related employee resource groups. So these are people who are really passionate about um, supporting each other and themselves when it comes to their mental health or when it comes to neurodiversity in general. And these are generally you know a, an employee run group um, that may get some sort of uh, company level support or an executive sponsor in some way. And they're just having really important discussions within the workplace in order to push uh, initiatives forward that will enable mental health or neurodiversity initiatives um, get launched and get off the ground. And so best practice with that is uh, enable them to thrive, invest the time, invest the resources needed to ensure that employees can have these conversations, uh, and push the culture forward towards this. Because there's a lot of companies that share on their career page or on their front sites around employee resource groups that with a major uptick in neurodiversity and mental health being one of the key pillars within the employee resource group strategy that companies are rolling out. And the other thing that I would say is like career development is an important piece of uh, organizations who are getting it right. So oftentimes the neurodiverse community uh, will thrive in a mentor shift, uh, sort of uh, relationship. Right. So if they uh, if they're getting the feedback that they need to, if they are going through hiring practices and performance practices that are inclusive in nature, but they also have a mentor or someone in the organization who can guide them through all of the complexities that exist in working in the corporate environment. We've seen that as ah, a best practice of enabling all talent to thrive. So people who can uh, who are in further leadership ranks or have been with the organization for a long time, who can help um, neurodiverse talent navigate, you know, the things that aren't as direct or on the nose like we talked about and we've all seen it, you know, the political landscape that exists within an organization, hopefully it's minimal, um, or you know, understanding the lingo or understanding how to get a decision across the finish line. Sometimes having a mentor and having a mentorship program uh, launched within your organization that neurodivergent ah, talent ah can participate in is actually a really helpful resource to navigate the not clear elements of what it means to work at your organization. So I think that the external ah, view is really important. Getting best practices from other companies, ensuring that you have mentorship as a key element of your uh, sort of career development playbook. And then those great business practices that we talked about uh, really enable these companies to do well.

Speaker A: And I would say that if someone is listening in and they're you know, wondering if this is something that they as an organization should invest in, big or small, because it really doesn't matter the size, you know, similarly like as you're investing in well being and trying to decide what other um, components you should add to that program, there's nothing wrong with surveying your, your population and finding out, you know, would you be interested in of course, making the survey anonymous. You know, um, a financial wellness solution, uh, mental health support, menopause support, neurodiversity solution. I mean these are, you can ask your population because you know, getting that direct feedback helps you determine what benefits or solutions you need to evolve how you're supporting your population. So Mike, let's think about the vision. Uh, what's your vision for the state of neurodiversity in the workplace? And what do organizations from your perspective need to do to get ahead of that curve?

Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you know, we've had a great conversation around, you know, some of the best practices. I think what we're finding is that you know, there's a correlation that exists, that exists between neurodiversity training, personalized behavioral health support and workforce performance. It's undeniable. Right. And what we're also finding is that the ticket to entry in order to unlock that performance, even through this short conversation, it's not something that is a huge hurdle to get over. And so the vision for where we need to take this next is companies that provide the right support or they're experiencing measurable gains in uh, you know, things related to their employees when it comes to productivity, satisfaction, retention. Um, we talked about within the Rethink Care app, right? There's working parents that are a huge component of a lot of our organization, especially those that are raising neurodivergent children. Could be 20%, right? We just carry that 20% or that one in five across all the verticals. Um, you know there's this increased engagement with executive functioning content or they want to have more of those consultations. Um, it signals this broader impact of neuro affirming practices on workplace well being. So what I think the vision is is you know, we want to continue to broaden myself, whether it's with Rethink first or rethink care or just in general as an HR leader. What this has shown me even in my, my short time with Rethink and learning about the benefits of what all of these companies are in interacting with our products. It's sort of like how can we continue to invest? This is a population that exists, is a population that brings great impact to an organization. So for me it's, it's one unlock after another. And so if I want to ensure that I have a neuro affirming like well being strategy at my company, I'm going to connect it to each of the verticals within those elements that I talked about within my people strategy so that I'm bringing everyone to the table. And as we continue to see, we've seen it since 2007 broaden from supporting scalable evidence based solutions for autism to now addressing so many different elements of both the industry, the marketplace and the community that we're supporting. I think the vision is, let's keep going, right? What are the other areas, um, within you know, the entire life cycle of an individual with a neurodivergent community. We're already supporting them through their education, everything. First we're supporting them as they're getting clinical supports for behavioral health solutions. We're supporting them in the workplace as with our recent care solution. But there's more that we can do and so our vision is what are the untapped opportunities, opportunities that we can continue to invest in while taking the experience and the knowledge that we have. Because as we continue to dig in, we're just unlocking not only, you know, uh, impact and value for uh, the customers and the industries that we're supporting, what we're supporting and giving the neurodiverse community, um, different chances and different opportunities that perhaps they wouldn't have had before 2007. And that's so close to our hearts and the mission that we have at this organization. So we just want to keep going and see what other untapped opportunities we can unlock and, and bring as many people as we can, uh, empowerment to thrive.

Speaker A: So you heard it from the people guy. Make this part of your people strategy. And so Mike, I have one more question for you that actually I asked all of our guests on the HR Scoop. So that question is, can you share, share with our listeners what you do to support your own personal well being?

Speaker B: Absolutely. Yeah. So, um, I have a 4 year old daughter named Shay. Um, there's nothing I'm, I'm here in our New York offices, uh, today, um, I'm looking forward to maybe not the commute home, the train ride home, but when I walk through that door, um, you know, it's starting to get warm here on east coast now and we're starting to build a routine and a ritual that um, I take a little 15 minute walk, uh, with my daughter as soon as I walk through the door to just sort of unwind, decompress. She's very good at letting me, or enabling me to forget everything that I talked about throughout the entire day and just focus on her. And so that's my, that's my unlock opportunity. I walk through the door, maybe take off the sweater, whatever it is, and, and just go for a 15 minute walk and hear how her day was. And, and that is a huge moment for me, not only to connect with her, but to also remember what's most important. And uh, that really helps me with my mental health every day.

Speaker A: That's probably one of the best responses I've had to that question. You can leverage your commute to decompress.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: So that you are fully present and enjoying that moment. And take it from me, whose kids are a lot older than your daughter and um, the time flies. So definitely make connecting with your, your kids part of your wellbeing strategy a hundred percent. Well, thank you, Mike. This has been such an insightful conversation. I personally have learned a lot, um, not just about neurodiversity. But why? Um, it's something every organization should really be actively investing in. And I hope today's discussion inspires our listeners to make meaningful steps in their own organizations and reflect on how they can help build more inclusive supporter supportive cultures. So thank you Mike. I appreciate you joining.

Speaker B: Thank you Christine. I appreciate you having me. It was great.

Speaker A: Thanks for listening to the HR Scoop podcast. Please take a moment to rate and subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or directly@webmdhealthservices.com podcasts.