Inclusive Employment

Inclusive Employment

Since 2020, the Urbantech group of companies has been implementing a project for the inclusive hiring of people on the autism spectrum. The main goal of the project is to enable adults with autism to successfully realize themselves professionally, build a career and socialize in society.

The first company from the Urbantech Group of Companies to introduce the practice of hiring employees with autism was MVS Group.

During the work on the project, a partnership system was built with the charitable foundations “Vykhod”, “Naked Hearts”, “Rabota Ai”, “Best Friends”, the company DistingTec and the State Budgetary Institution of Moscow “City Psychological and Pedagogical Center of the Department of Education and Science of the City of Moscow”.

To date, 6 companies have joined the project: Marvel Distribution, Nanosemantics, PRK, NtechLab, Sberservice, Sistema Charitable Foundation - AFK Sistema.

Thanks to systematic work on the project, 15 new methodological and regulatory documents were developed: profiles, job descriptions, contracts, work regulations, adaptation plan, tests and others.

ASD

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of developmental disorders characterized by significant challenges in social interaction and communication and accompanied by limited and stereotypical patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.

Practical Guide

Drawing from its unique expertise, the Urbantech Group, together with its project partners, has created a comprehensive manual for the employment of individuals with ASD, which is now being offered to all interested companies and organizations free of charge.

This guide is a step-by-step manual, ranging from the decision to hire individuals with autism to the successful completion of their onbording process. It allows other interested companies to initiate the hiring of individuals with ASD, while providing a comfortable environment for their career development.

For a free copy of the guide, please contact us via email

as@urbantechgroup.ru

The Urbantech Group employs over 20 individuals with autism who preprocess of photographic and video materials and train of neural networks.

We believe that our hands-on approach can serve as a model to expand the employment of individuals with ASD across other Russian companies and that the creation of an inclusive work environment will become a reality in the very near future.

Workspace

To better accommodate our workspace and business processes for inclusivity, we have made several adjustments

1 Conducted an office audit

We performed an audit of our office space to identify and mitigate potential irritants—like the noise from printers, the combination of natural and artificial lighting, and the scent of cleaning products used during morning cleanings, etc. We relocated printers to a separate room, settled on a single type of lighting source, and rescheduled cleaning for earlier in the day, allowing any smells to air out before the workday begins.

2 Identified suitable roles

We have identified the job positions that we are currently able to offer to employees with ASD. We chose the role of a Data Processor, a position that involves numerous routine tasks carried out according to set algorithms. It requires high levels of concentration and attention to detail. Our ASD interns have swiftly adapted to the workflow and are performing exceptionally well.

3 Streamlined the processes

We proactively defined the legal framework of the employment contract and have crafted a detailed job description, segmenting duties into a comprehensive list of clear tasks. Furthermore, we've created meticulous instructions for work processes and established a clear schedule for the day-to-day operations of future employees. Training sessions were conducted for both mentors and coworker teams. In collaboration with our partners, we've thoughtfully devised and instituted a new recruitment and onboarding process.

4 Conducted surveys

We regularly conduct internal surveys. 80% of employees have indicated the importance of the project and expressed a sense of pride in the company.

Our partners