Turning Disability into Specialist Abilities
- the Specialisterne Case
Dublin
March 22 2012
Thorkil Sonne
Founder, Specialisterne & Specialist People Foundation
Chairman, Specialist People Foundation
Ashoka Globalizer Fellow
© Specialist People Foundation 2011. All rights reserved.
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Strong Idea
Proven Case
Global Impact
Local Impact
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Weed or herb?
Unwanted or wanted?
You decide!
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SPECIALIST PEOPLE
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Shift in the way value is created…
Industrial value creation
…fitting in is all important
Innovation based value creation
…not fitting in is all important
Source: “Specialisterne - Its Broader Importance in 21st Century Management”,
Speech at Specialist People Conference 2011
by Robert D. Austin, Harvard Business School / Copenhagen Business School
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Specialisterne
 For-profit social enterprise
 Owned by the non-profit Specialist People Foundation
 Focus on high functioning people with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Services
 Consulting software management, testing, registration and logistics
 5 month assessment and training
 3 year youth education
People
 20 people
 35 people
 20 people
 33 people
© Specialist People Foundation 2011. All rights reserved.
as staff and management
with ASD as consultants
(18+ years) with ASD as trainees
(16 – 25 years) with ASD as students
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Human
Resources
Specialist
People
Foundation
Management &
Administration
Specialist
People
Education
Business
Assessment
Danish Company Model
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Specialisterne Assessment Model
Application
Selection
The assessment
process is
considered
relevant
Introduction
1 week
Competence
assessment
1 week
Structured dialogue - Ongoing 12- 20 weeks
IT Training
5 week
Internship
4 -12 week
Profiling
1 week
Transition
Work readiness training
1 -2 week
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Specialisterne Brings Unique Competencies to Businesses
 Passion for details - all services offered are characterized
by the unique competencies of our consultants:
 High level of concentration
 Perseverance for repetitive actions
 Pattern recognition
 Spot deviances in data, information and systems
 Attention to detail
 Process optimisation
 Specialisterne consultants brings unique competencies to
tasks where most companies employees are often less
skilled and motivated.
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Specialisterne Business Services
Platform
specific
testing
Complexity & Price
Software
management
Test
specification
Quality control
Database
optimization
Software testing
Testing
Registration
Data registration
Data & service
management
Embedded testing
Data
Logistics
Data migration
Hardware
Functionality testing
Journalizing & cataloging
Data collection
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Customer Cases
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Customer Reference: IBM Denmark
“IBM has a long history of commitment to Diversity - focusing on
equal opportunities, eliminating barriers and understanding cultural
differences.
As a result, when approached by Specialisterne in 2010, IBM quickly
expressed its intentions to establish a long-term working relationship
with Specialisterne in order to create job opportunities for people with
Autism Spectrum Disorders.
As we speak, IBM has just hired its first two employees with ASD,
with the assistance of Specialisterne. Both jobs will be in the Security
Administrations department.
In addition, IBM wants now to discuss further how to expand the
cooperation, for example by enrolling interns from Specialisterne in
various departments.”
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Impact on employees
A job motivates you to get up in the morning and
do the best you can
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Impact on corporate partners
•
Higher quality in tasks requiring passion for detail
•
Great value for money
•
Access to untapped pool of skilled resources
•
Improvement of management skills
•
Combining social responsibility with business needs
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Changing the paradigm
Vision
 A World where people with autism and similar
challenges are seen as equal citizens in society
 To enable one million jobs for specialist people
Goal
- people with a business potential who need special
understanding and support to excel
 To make people with autism and similar
Mission
Values
challenges feel wanted and help them
excel in the right roles
 Respect
 Accommodation
 Accessibility
 Clarity
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Model for Feasibility Study
Industry
and
Market
ASD
Social
Welfare
System
Desk
research
Field
research
Desk
research
Field
research
Desk
research
• Diagnosis
protocol
• Network
• Employment
situation
• Existing
institutions
• Survey for
the local
autism
community
• Key stakeholders
within the
ASD area
• Price
benchmark
• Demand
and
competition
• Sector
turnover
• Salaries
• Fixed costs
• Leaders
from the
local IT and
other
relevant
sectors
• Expected
incentives
and
subsidies
• Working
schemes
for disabled
people
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Field
research
• Municipalities
• Region
• State
• Country
• Other key
stake
holders
Specialisterne
Desk
research
Field
research
• Financial
and funding
conditions
• Legal and
ownership
structures
• Financial
forecasting
and budget
• Local legal
experts
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Status in Ireland
•
Specialisterne Feasibility Study finalized
•
Specialisterne Ireland Advisory Board established
•
Specialisterne Ireland lead– Mary Ann McCormack
•
Ashoka support
•
Founding Corporate Partners sought
•
Funding sought
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Let’s make Ireland benefit from our
experience on turning disabilities into
specialist abilities.
Thorkil Sonne
Founder
Specialisterne
Specialist People Foundation
Ashoka Globalizer Fellow
thso@specialistpeople.com
www.specialisterne.com
www.specialistpeople.com
© Specialist People Foundation 2011. All rights reserved.
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