Roche Case Study

We held an employment conference with Roche in 2018, following the great work we did helping them with our audits earlier in the year.

 



About Roche


Roche Pharmaceuticals, founded in 1896, search for better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases in society. Their mission is to ‘do now what patients need next.’

In the World Health Organisation Model Lists of Essential Medicines, 29 medicines developed by Roche are included.

Alongside the pharmaceutical business, Roche also provide tests and technology to prevent and diagnose diseases, and also provide diabetes management solutions.



Our brief

 

We initially partnered with Roche Pharmaceuticals in January 2018. Roche were already a diverse company, but they wanted to give something back by creating new opportunities for the neurodiverse community and ensuring their recruitment processes aren’t driving them away.

Our neurodiverse team was brought in to conduct neurodiversity audits of their recruitment processes, both online and offline, with the culture of the organisation being assessed too.



Required

  • Offline and online audits
  • Culture assessments
  • Better recruitment procedures



  • Delivered

  • Vital neurodiversity recommendations
  • Support in implementing recommendations
  • Launch of Neurodiversity Conference


  • Our recommendations:


    Our team at Exceptional Individuals undertook a full audit of the Online, Offline and Culture within the organisation and whilst scoring over 70% on the whole, there were still some areas of concern.

    We commended Roche on their short application process, having no psychometric testing, and their online interviews.

    Some of the key issues we identified included not having an option to disclose a disability or any other needs on the form, inconsistency across job specifications and having a lack of information and guidance on their online platform.


    In brief:

    • Add a disclosure section to the application form (Vital)
    • Allow the user to make customisation adjustments (Highly Recommended)
    • Have any support material available directly within the application system
    • Clear descriptive guidance
    • A page outlining the process or a process map

    Roche made a commitment to address these areas in 2019 and are continuing to work with Exceptional Individuals to ensure a smooth roll-out of our recommendations.


    Employment Conference


    In October 2018, following the success of our audits, Roche and Exceptional Individuals together launched the Neurodiversity Employment Conference, held at the Roche Hub in Welwyn Garden City.

    The event saw 70 Exceptional Individuals candidates attend a full-day educational conference aimed at helping them to understand their neurodiversity, how to manage their weaker attributes and prepare for an interview. It also gave them the opportunity to interview for live vacancies with five of our partner employers.

    During the conference we heard from a number of Roche employees – most notably Andrew Armes, the HR and Recruitment Director, who shared how him and his team are working towards creating a fully inclusive culture within Roche at all levels.


    Results


    Since partnering with Roche in 2018, we have seen them massively improve the inclusivity of their recruitment processes. It has also been inspiring to work with an organisation that have been so passionate about neurodiversity, so much so that we decided to host a conference together.

    We are continuing to work with Roche, and have many more exciting ideas and projects to improve the working world for neurodivergent people.



    Want to work with us?

    Give us a call on 0208 133 6046, or visit our contact us page!