Intro: Meet Sydney Elaine Butler, a powerhouse in HR, DEIA, and neurodiversity. Get ready to uncover invaluable insights as Sydney drops some gems on how to craft an environment where every team member's strengths shine bright to maximize full potential in your team! Website: https://www.accessiblecreates.ca/   Stay in Touch with Sydney: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sydney-elaine-butler   Script: Communication is obviously the most important thing, you know, listening to people, actually like understanding what the real problems are, trying to get to the root of the problem.  Everyone's mind is different at the end of the day. You know, we all have different experiences and ways we're brought up and all these different things that shape who we are. And that's part of neurodiversity.  People learn often the most when they're outside their comfort zone. diversity. People learn often the most when they're outside their comfort zone.  I think sitting down with them, you know, kind of having that second to actually talk to them, you know, I think a lot of times I feel like I'm at the end of my rope. During the pandemic, like everyone, our team transitioned to remote work, and it was a revelation for many of us. We have a very neurodiverse team, and I really try to celebrate this despite some of the challenges. During the pandemic, many of us realized we have a strong preference for virtual work, and many of us built new lifestyles around the fact that we don't have to go into the office. On the other hand, for a few of the team, it made them realize that they needed and wanted the structured routine of the office and the camaraderie there. As we transitioned back into the hybrid model, these differences and desires became more vocal. Conflicts arose as we tried to establish new team norms. Those who preferred remote work felt isolated from decision-making processes, while those in the office felt burdened with more immediate responsibilities. Our attempts to find a middle ground only led to more friction impacting our productivity and team cohesion. Okay. I realize we need a more nuanced approach to accommodate our diverse needs. Any ideas? Enter Sydney Elaine Butler, whose expertise in HR, DEI, and neurodiversity seems like the perfect fit to help solve this conundrum. Welcome to the show, Sydney. Thank you so much for having me, Erin. So I guess the question of the day for this person here, we don't know whether they're male or female, we don't know anything about them, but they're looking to know how to create an inclusive environment that respects and optimizes the strengths of each team member, regardless of their preferred work setting. And it seems like they want to build like an inclusive and neuro affirming organization. So that's interesting. Okay. So before we get started and dive right into this, I'd love to have you just share a little bit about who you are, what you do, why you do it, and what your big goal is. Yeah, so again, I'm Sydney Elaine Butler, the founder of Accessible Creates. And so I actually graduated in 2020, which was only four years ago. But when I studied human resources at school and I was like HR needs to be more inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities and I was also working in a recreational environment having kids teens and adults with disabilities and seeing how my co-workers treated me and also my best friend that have disabilities and versus how they treated our participants and even how our supervisors treated us. And I was like, something really needs to be done. And so I realized I could do more as an external consultant, HR in diversity, including accessibility, focusing on neurodiversity, and really drive this momentum forward. And I think during 2020 and 2021, things were changing in this space. And so I launched Accessible Grace in 2021. And since then, you know, I've, speaking at events, speaking at companies, providing consulting for companies to really understand that sometimes they bring me as an HR consultant. And when I do that, I bring the neurodiversity lens, accessibility lens, disability lens, and then vice versa. When they bring me for that, I also have the HR lens. And so really understanding that it's all interconnected. for that I have also have the HR lens and so really understanding that it's all interconnected and if you really want to make the workplace better that it starts with just trying to do something and so my big goal is actually to have a big training firm and and right now I've found it accessible creates to be that training firm now I'm like maybe accessible creates to be the consulting firm and then also start a training firm to provide best practices for organizations because i feel like so many organizations are just trying to be compliant and that's that's the bare minimum and so how can you actually move beyond that and hiring subject matter experts in different areas because i'm not a subject matter expert in everything but they that can help us work forward.  Absolutely. Okay. So what is your philosophy around neurodiversity? Yeah, I think a lot of times people think it's a deficit or they think that, they think it's just autism and ADHD but it's so much bigger than that. And so my kind of philosophy is give people resources they need to be successful based on what they say they need and literally listening to people and being able to understand that people might communicate differently everyone's mind's different at the end of the day you know we all have different experiences and ways we're brought up and all these different things that shape who we are and that's part of neurodiversity and so just really understanding that we all have different brains and that, you know, we all have similar brain types and similar ways of communicating, but at the end of the day, we're all different. And that's beautiful. Absolutely. So what did you think about this challenge that we have in front of us? It's so interesting because, you know, she's trying to, she's like, we're trying to have a very neuro- inclusive team we have a very new inclusive team um i think that based on what you said it seems like she was they were trying to do a one-size-fits-all approach you know and really understanding that you know you have to really look at each individual case and see okay where does this person best thrive does it make sense to have them back in the office? You know, or have them work remotely? You know, how can we best provide these resources? How can we also, it seems to be that disconnect between, okay, people that are working on site versus working remotely. How can we better make that cohesion?  And I think, you know, having, you know for example I did I do trainings for companies and sometimes now especially the last six months previous before that I was like all virtual everyone was attending virtually these my trainings I was doing through the company but now it's like okay they have a big boardroom and people that want to come on site and come to the training in person can all be in that boardroom. People that still are working from home can access that training from home. And so just, you know, seeing, meeting people where they're at. So what, if you were like working with this company, they brought you in as a consultant, what were the, what are the questions that you would want to ask to really understand the root cause or how would you go about it yeah i would say is there a demographic if like who prefers working remotely versus who works working on site or hybrid and really getting down to the nitty-gritty of why you know is it communication styles what is the communication like on site versus in the remote setting you know do you have any cohesion between making sure that the remote workers know what's happening on site and vice versa and so just these are some of the initial questions I would ask some of the teams that I've been going into it seems like the virtual people are very happy working virtually you know the people who want virtual they're like we're going to work virtually and they they're more like I don't care where people work if they're virtual or on site but I want to be virtual whereas the people who are they want the community aspect like the face-to-face community aspect they're more likely to be like well it's not fun unless everyone's here you know um it's not so much like that philosophy, like, you know, everyone can do what they want. I'll be in the office because that's what I like. It's more like, you know, I want to be in the office and I want all my friends there with me, you know, I want you guys there with me. Right. And so I feel like it's the in-person camp, I guess, that are more likely to want that like holistic policy around when we're going to be in the office and when we're not going to be on the office or whatever. What do you think about that? Yeah, I think, you know, because they want the greatest sense of community and like you said, they want their friends and colleagues there. And it is completely different atmospheres but i think kind of making the case that it's an individual accommodation sometimes for having the remote work some people try better and really you know providing that space it's like you can check in you know you can be on site but so you know have virtual meetings with the remote employees and again i think then this just needs to be more done to provide that human connection for all you know and and really understand that bridging that gap because you know and understanding that you're not there to communicate at the same time like you don't want the sense of community but it's also like some people thrive better and work better at home and that creating that sense of community is important but then the day you're here to do a job and but also providing different options and you know it's like have a social you know have a you know is it a remote social that's what comfortable with?  Or it's like, hey, invite people to a social once a week or once a month to connect. It's like, hey, virtual employees, come on in. We want to celebrate you. And maybe we can make it more of a celebration, a reward to incentivize bringing those employees in. And reminding each other that it's all working towards a common goal. Yeah. And you know being like reminding each other that it's all all working towards a common goal yeah yeah and it strikes me that um when you said that they're they're looking for like one solution it's i think the line was our attempts to find a middle ground only lead to more friction impacting our productivity it's like maybe there is no middle ground yeah i think sometimes people always want that middle ground it's like but can you actually get that middle ground i think middle ground is like the ideal that everyone wants but it's like sometimes it doesn't exist and then sometimes you it it looks different than you thought it would yeah how can how can that look like like yeah I think you know picture again I think kind of again meeting people where they're at and so you know like hey and explain to people the situation and really understanding that it's okay this person needs it to thrive and do well in the work we understand that you want the most sense of community you have you know other people here that are already here that will also like you want to work when i have that sense of community but it's not feasible for everyone and really understanding that you can you you're never gonna please everyone you know i think a lot of times you as a business owner as ceo you want to please everyone and you know you want to obviously have the best things from your employees and get the most the most satisfactory they can do the most and be the most productive but it's not always feasible and being kind of okay with the uncomfortability do you think that this might be a loaded question so forgive me um do you think it's possible to accommodate everyone within an organization or is is there something like, maybe it's not a good culture fit?  You know, like, where is your stance on that? Yeah, I think you can try your best to accommodate everyone. And so really by listening to your employees, I think I'm really trying to, you know, do the one approach for everyone, you know, not trying to do the one size fits all, but actually looking at individual's needs and say, okay, well, how can we best get you to that part but you know your individual needs being met and you're satisfied completely in every aspect of your job function but you know I feel like as humans we're never fully satisfied anyways and so but just you know knowing having employees know that you will are willing to accommodate them at any time and, you know, see, meet them where they're at and say, okay, what can we do to actually improve this? Having check-ins with them, you know, seeing how they feel and really having those conversations and having those difficult talks. I'm curious, like, as you, as you're talking about, like, meeting everyone where they're at, it strikes me like something I learned a long time ago when I was managing people, meeting everyone where they're at, it strikes me like something I learned a long time ago when I was managing people, I'm still managing people. But when I first started managing people, it was that, you know, people learn often the most when they're outside their comfort zone. And so sometimes meeting everyone where they're at, it, it could be perceived as like helping them be as comfortable as possible. You know what I mean so what's your um take on like you know how much discomfort is a reasonable amount of discomfort so that they're being pushed outside their comfort zone through learning something while also feeling complete like feeling like a whole person within their company yeah I think as long as you know you make sure that they feel safe and that they feel good about their work you know that's being the mother app but then also being like it's not feasible to do everything and you know it's like a stolen organization and kind of you know kind of frame it like that it's like what you said you know sometimes you have to grow you grow outside of your comfort zone.  And so, you know, nothing to ask you to do anything dangerous, not to ask you to do anything unsafe, but just, you know, kind of pushing the envelope a little bit. So for people who, you know, don't want to come into the office because they like it virtual, do you think it would be reasonable to to suggest like, know different activities you know to go in the office even though that might be kind of outside their comfort zone or what how could we um push people who want to work virtually not push them but encourage them to be in person every once in a while yeah i think kind of like having different activities you've had team building activities that you can't that you can do them virtually but it would be better in person it's like and really highlights like this is going to be for connection and you know help i mean this is why you want to do the um activity and do the event because i think a lot of times companies just try to do events and activities and and the employees eyes it's like well why are we doing this you know it kind of seems meaningless to me but it's like hey we're trying to build team morale between our remote and on-site employees you know we want to thank you for all your hard work in both spaces you know and that kind of incentivizes you know having people come in person and i think also somehow like i think it's kind of to say because i think like not making it mandatory actually you know, having people come in person. And I think also, somehow it's kind of to say, because I think like not making it mandatory actually would kind of, then people are like, oh, if we make it mandatory, then people have to come and they're going to be more willing.  I feel like actually the opposite is true. You know, it's like, if you don't be as mandatory, people, they feel like forced and they feel like they have no autonomy. But when they chose to do it and it's voluntary then they're like oh no i want to do it and but you explain the reasons of why and the team building or the creating this atmosphere then people think huh they'd be more actually more motivated to do it yeah for sure i completely agree with you i think people are forced they're much less likely and then when they show up they're not showing up with that like you know that mindset that you want them yeah they're just trying to like i was forced to be here i'm at the laboratory instead of like oh they generally want to be here and they because of why they're here yeah exactly like they know that people they enjoy are going to be there they know that there's going to be something interesting happening like um yeah maybe there's options um you know maybe they go there and they don't have to do exactly the same thing as everyone maybe there's like you know different varieties of things that yeah i think like yeah i think having like different activities for like different types of people again you know like it's like oh you're more social like have like a more like have like a dance party or like you know like have a right take a playing class you know oh you're more social like have like a more like have like a dance party or like you know like have a take a playing class you know like you're still with other people but you're working on another activity you can like share show with each other and just you know I think catering to those different types of people yeah for sure um how can we enhance how would you recommend to a team like this who is probably distributed and you know hybrid remote flexible whatever you want to call it um how would you recommend that they structure their communication so that everyone's on the same page or as possible yeah i think you know leveraging things like slack i love slack yeah i think Slack's such a huge platform. And other things like Slack. I think there's other ones that have similar. I can't remember the name of right now. The Flex Room that comes to mind. But really having that sense of community. And you can play posts when there is events, you know. And post the different things happening within the organization. And that, you know, people that are working on site can communicate with each other via slack and also people working remotely you know everyone can be communicated there either in the direct channel or they can message each other directly and so i think that's a huge way to foster that communication and i think even leveraging video calls such as this you know understanding that you could be on site we could still have virtual meetings with people that are working from home or working remotely and so understanding that there's all these different tools and we have so much technology and platforms these days and so just really leveraging that yeah for sure um what else is important to making sure that your team like what are the what are the systems and tools that you would recommend? Yeah, I think like the system is like kind of doing like, if you're the manager or if you're the CEO, just kind of touching base with your employees and like seeing how people are feeling about the current circumstances of their work and they're working virtually or they're working on site, seeing how people feel of seeing, does it make sense to do a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly meeting with everyone that's no matter if they're remote or hybrid, and really having more cohesion. I think a lot of times right now, it's like even though everyone knows it's the same organization, it seems like there's two different organizations when it's on site and hybrid or remote. And so having more of those cohesion and using those tools that we used when everyone was remote you know and really so just because you're back on site does not mean you should lose all that great technology and those systems you hadn't played previously to connect everyone yeah um for the often it's the people who want to be on site who um may be like more frustrated a lot of the time if assuming that there is um when in in an environment where there's a respect for autonomy you know so we're talking about an organization here who has a respect for autonomy they don't currently seem to have a standardized protocol for coming into the office or not being in the office you know um so when when folks aren't getting what they want they can tend to get really frustrated right in this model it seems like the people who are virtual't getting what they want. They can tend to get really frustrated, right? In this model, it seems like the people who are virtual are getting what they want. The people who are in person aren't getting what they want. And so it seems like they're starting to get very kind of more, you know, frustrated and vocally frustrated about it. In terms of the emotional atmosphere of the company, where would you start there? Yeah, I think really understanding, I think we're making assumptions that the virtual is happy and then the onsite is angry or more angry. But I think really understanding it's like, okay, where is everyone at, you know? Yeah. Like, you know, even just like doing a survey check, it's like, you know, kind of, are you on site? Are you remote? How do you currently feel about your work? What needs to be improved? What do you think needs to be improved? And so I think really understanding that, again, it's going to be an individual approach, but seeing where the gaps are and it's like, okay, this is, you know, it's going to be an individual approach but seeing where the gaps are and it's like okay this is you know it's like is it because you know is it everyone in your department there is it people in your department that are working virtually and then you like feel like you're missing people in your department is it into departmental you know is it people in different departments but you need to connect with them, be that they're virtual and I'm on site. And so just really seeing where the gaps are, really understanding where employees are most frustrated and where they think that the most problems lie and how it's like, what kind of also what level of frustration or what level of emotion are they feeling? Is it at 10 out of 10 they're very frustrated or like i'm getting slowly getting more frustrated and really understanding where they're at i was like i'm just starting to get frustrated and i think when you break it down like that because it's like i hope like i think a lot of times too oh they're mostly frustrated we have to like do it now but actually when people start getting frustrated is when you should start like okay this person's starting to get frustrated how can we get it back to not frustrated you know instead of oh this person's super frustrated obviously you want to help them too and come up with solutions but not just focusing on those people that are what's end right um if they were very frustrated i'm curious like what kind of interventions would you recommend if it was like these people are going to leave? Take a second to actually talk to them you know i think a lot of times I feel like people undervalue the importance of conversation in the workplace and it is having someone to feel heard you know and i think a lot of times people are like oh we don't think people are frustrated but they don't actually know how they're frustrated and you know we just see that there's a problem but it's like there's so many different correlations and so many different variables that could be making this person frustrated that's a mix of the home life that you know how they feel about the work they're doing the circumstance of being on site versus having people virtual and it can be a myriad of things but if you don't know that if you don't have that conversation with someone it's like oh i think you know you don't want to just diagnose the problem and be like well it's probably because there's virtual and then they're on site and at that first glance that's what it looks like you know they want that sense of community but it can be a lot deeper than that and seeing if they're that frustrated it's probably multiple variables right uh okay so they were very frustrated and it was something that hadn't been like say we're not it's not something that like it's been they're very, very frustrated, it's probably something that's been happening for a while. It's probably something where that, you know, they've vocalized and maybe it hasn't been fixed yet.  Right. Like, it's just something they're feeling like, well, this is never going to change. In that case, what do you, what do you tell the leadership team? In that that case what do you what do you tell the leadership team yeah i think again really listen to your employees and listen to the people you're managing and again really understand where they're coming from kind of put yourself in their shoes and really and like have the empathetic ear you know but also that that willing to okay this is the problem and this person's feeling this way it's probably other people that are feeling this way maybe not this exact same but probably similar um and so kind of working on a solution to solve the problem and being transparent with them when you know it's okay we're trying to work on the solution because i think a lot of times managers or leadership are working on the problem but they don't communicate that to the employee so the employee feels like nothing's being done you know nothing's being done nothing's being done but sometimes the complex problems they take time to solve by just you know being transparent with the employee hey you know thank you for you said about and we're working on a solution but it is taking a bit of time um please bear with us or it's like we kind of hit a snag and trying to come up with a solution um is there any other things that you would like to see change you know or hey that that solution isn't feasible i'm sorry you know can we work together and come up with another solution for any other problems or, you know, other, any other solutions towards this problem. And really again, having that clear communication because a lot of times you're just left in the dark. Yeah, that's true. A lot of the times you're not followed up with on the problem. It's almost like the problem, you know, people just pretend it doesn't exist anymore almost, you know, because it's, I don't know. I'm almost like the problem, you know, people just pretend it doesn't exist anymore, almost, you know, because it's, I don't know, I'm not sure what the, that's never been my problem. And I'm sure that's never been your problem either. So, okay. In terms of neurodiversity, you mentioned that communication is obviously the most important thing, you know, listening to people, actually, like understanding what the real problems are trying to get to the root of the problems, and then proposing solutions. Obviously, sometimes there's negotiation around that, like with a leadership level or manager, manager level, sometimes there's policies that need to change. or a manager at your level. Sometimes there's policies that need to change. But what is the relevance of the way that we communicate, the different people communicate in a neurodiverse organization? Yeah, so I think, for example, if you're sending mass emails and communicating, it's like someone does not like communication, you know, and it's like, i prefer for you to say it aloud and it's my best process information i remember but then the flip side also if you're just communicating everything in a meeting and we'll have the transcriptions and not you know not sharing that intervention right after then that could get muddled you know and so for example I best communicate when I see written like when I see an email when I see a slack message and if you just say instructions to me or you say something to me I'd be like I can kind of get it but like if you wrote it down I would get the full picture more and I remember I worked with an organization and I worked with the CEO, directly with the CEO. And he would send me voice notes all the time. And he would be like, you know, saying I did a great job. We wanted to improve. And I would get it. But I was just like, I told him to send this to me in an email. Send it to me, you know, via Slack. Because that's how I best process information. And you really need to meet people where they best process information. You know, and I think a lot of people are like we're really happy systems play so that that's gonna take more time out of my day but when the person doesn't understand what you said to them that's gonna end up taking more time of your day so just you know communicate how people need you to communicate like hey can i send you a voice note hey can i would you prefer text do you prefer email what is your preferred method of communication yeah how do we build that you know preferences not just communication preferences but all preferences into the process in an individualized way rather than having to like you know I'm a manager and I'm communicating I'm getting to know my employee. I understand their preferences, but then I have to do that with every single person that's on my team. And it becomes difficult to remember, you know? So how do you recommend building that into the process of an organization so that there is like a memory of some kind? Is there anything for that? Yeah. I think even just like having it included right when the employee is onboarded is a huge step i think onboarding right now is very much the employee the new employee learning about the company but the company doesn't really take much time to learn about this new employee and so it's like hey what is your preferred communication what is your preferred different channels you know how can i best help you thrive with this organization how can I best help you be productive at this organization what do you want to get out of this organization and so really having that conversation and the employee should be onboarding the employee to the company and the company being onboarded to the new employee and i think you know when you when you have a new manager you got you know promoted or moved to a different department within the company you know having that mechanism it's like okay even like leveraging excel or having a document that has that you know this is the employee's name this is the preferred communication this is preferred x y and z and just having that because yeah it is a lot but once and then when you especially when you first start but once you you know you start doing it you start doing repeatedly and you start doing the process over and over again it kind of becomes muscle memory but even we're human we forget things you know so having it written down somewhere that you use all the time but I would I would say like just a excel file the employee name and having that information there. Yeah, okay. That makes sense. I haven't seen this before. Maybe there's a tool out there that I'm not aware of, but what would be really interesting and I'm curious to hear your thoughts about this is there a tool that's been designed so that you can blast the communicate, like whatever communication it is, if it's a team you know organization level team level individual level but then you can send it in multiple formats you know what I mean so you don't have to you know you don't have to send the emails make the call you know do the slack do the text whatever it is you know but you can just do it in one place and then it goes and gets sent out in all the places. Is that overkill? I feel like that's not overkill. It's a very interesting idea because I feel like so many processes now being automated. And so it's like, it's just part of that. But I think for the productivity, you know, that makes sense. And it's like, watch, it's a thing although someone's like thinking about it right now also um because i feel like people always come up with new ideas and coming with things to just make the processes better but i think when you still have i think you still need that human approach at the end of the day because because it's like it sounds nice and to have these you know the animated email to call to whatever the preferred channel is but I think when it really comes for that person and knowing that person's making an effort to communicate with you how you best need to be communicated it's going to sink in a bit more when you know it's just coming from a platform it's just like did they you know and so I think it makes a difference yeah I think so I think it would be interesting to have something where if like if I'm a if I'm better at stream of consciousness you know and I like meaning like I like I know a lot of people who just like to take audio you know they do audio and they send their audio um audio grant I don't know what it's called just like a recording um I know quite a few people who've been starting to do that, but like I'm, I prefer it in an email as well because it works with my whole system better.  So I, I mean, I want them, I want everyone to be able to communicate way, the way that they feel it's easiest to communicate, but I want to receive the information in the way that I need to receive the information. I'm curious. I wonder if there's a way to like, you know, you know, create a system around those two things. Now we're going to start a product or something. Starting a new business now. Yeah, exactly. Sounds like we're starting a company. okay um what else do you want to tell these guys like what is the bad news and what's the good news like if you just like could boil it down to like you know the most basic hardest information that you they need to hear what do they need to hear yeah i think that well kudos on being a neurodiverse team that's not the end all be all you know i think people are like oh we're a neurodiverse team or we have a neurodiverse organization and i feel like sometimes people don't really understand what that actually means or like you know it's like at first glance it is neuroinclusive in a neuroinclusive organization and team but it really isn't and so really understanding and also that you can't satisfy everyone and that you can just try your best but meeting people again where they're at and really accommodating those individual needs is what makes the difference you know I always say like you know trying to make your organization as inclusive and accessible as possible obviously where you can but you're still going to need to accommodate those individual needs i think sometimes people think oh well we are inclusive enough we're accessible enough but it's like people people can still each still going to each have the individual needs that need to be met are you accommodating those you know or making every effort to accommodate those. And so I'm making sure that they feel like they're included at work on an individual basis and not just as an overarching. Right. Okay. Awesome. Thank you very much, Sydney. Been a pleasure and an honor. Thank you. We'll chat soon. Sounds good. Don't forget to stay weird, stay wonderful, and don't stay out of trouble.

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