Dandelion Program – How do I kick it off? The Dandelion Program is an organisational change initiative to Establishing the right working group is critical; the group create great inclusion for people that are on the autism spectrum. needs to cover a good cross section of the people that are required to assist with the implementation, and be the owners The program is about building the skills and careers of the of the team/individuals afterwards. individuals in the program, and establishing a more inclusive environment. Working group could look like this:
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Project Manager The hardest part of the journey is starting. • Human Resources Representative
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Manager/Team Leader of the area For the program to be successful, it requires five elements: • Individuals that want to assist
• Identification of a strong need and/or value proposition, e.g. Establish regular cadence on the meetings and document
business area in need for resources and/or competitive actions. The working group should provide a regular update differentiate. to the executive sponsor to keep them engaged.
- Executive sponsor advocating the vision. • Establishment of a working group including business and The Outcome
technical leads.
• Establishment of a common purpose with working groups. Identify a strong need, stakeholders, and a sponsor
that advocates the vision. • Engagement and communication with the current workforce.
The business area with the strong need or pain point will mostly likely be the earlier adopter.
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Checklist
Has the organisation hired people with disability in the past? If so: Establishment of working group: Who in the organisation? Business area How was the recruitment done? Human Resources What support was provided by the organisation? Project manager What has been the experience? Establishment of a common purpose and vision within the working group and the executive sponsor Identification of need within the organisation: Establishment of an engagement and communication plan Resource shortages with the existing workforce High staff churn Town hall updates Competitive advantage Email update Identify the manager and/or team leaders in the area of need Autism awareness sessions Presentation of the value provided to the people with autism to Executive sponsor presenting the program to his peers manager/team leads in the area and/or his management Is there an organisation advocate group? Identification of the stakeholder that need to be involved in the program Identification of the executive stakeholder
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