Partnering with Perrywood Garden Centres

The challenge

Perrywood Garden Centres sought to enhance the confidence and capabilities of their management team in supporting neurodivergent colleagues. As a growing business with a strong focus on people and community, they recognised the importance of inclusive communication and meaningful support, particularly in a fast-paced, customer-facing environment.

Their goal was clear: to equip managers with the understanding and practical skills to hold better conversations with neurodivergent staff, creating a workplace where everyone feels heard, supported, and able to perform at their best.

What we found

Our initial conversations showed that Perrywood’s leaders already had a strong foundation of empathy and care. However, as in many organisations, managers wanted greater clarity and confidence in how to translate this into everyday practice, especially when it came to discussing neurodiversity or individual support needs.

We also found that while some successful strategies were already being used in parts of the business, they had not yet been consistently shared across teams. There was a clear opportunity to bring people together to reflect, learn, and exchange ideas.

What we did

We designed and delivered a two-part training programme for two cohorts of Perrywood managers.
The first session focused on building awareness and understanding, exploring what neurodiversity means in practice and how to hold supportive, constructive conversations with team members. The second session was a practical workshop, providing managers with the opportunity to apply their learning, share experiences, and reflect on what was working well and where challenges persisted.

Each session provided space for open discussion, enabling participants to learn from one another while developing concrete strategies for use in their day-to-day management.

The results

The sessions prompted rich reflection and insight across both cohorts. Managers identified common challenges, surfaced practical ideas, and shared examples of strategies that had worked effectively in other areas of the organisation.

By creating a space for honest discussion and shared learning, Perrywood strengthened its collective understanding of how to support neurodivergent colleagues and fostered a more confident, connected management team. The programme laid the groundwork for continued conversation and collaboration around inclusion across the business.

A group of people learning from each other

Get the value from neurodiversity in your workplace

There’s a common misconception that neurodiversity inclusion involves acquiring a lot of new knowledge and making significant changes to an organisation. However, how to get the value from neurodiversity in your workplace is a lot simpler than you might think. The key to creating inclusion lies in combining existing wisdom with new insights, as this is where the magic happens.

This is a highly strategic approach that fosters sustainable, meaningful change within the workplace, benefiting both neurodivergent and neurotypical employees.

Get the value from neurodiversity in your workplace: Three phases

A neuro-inclusive workplace can typically be successfully achieved in three phases:

  1. The foundation – building knowledge about neurodiversity in the business environment.
  2. The structure – understanding implications for workplace culture and practices.
  3. The support – applying neurodiversity-friendly changes that align with your organisation’s objectives.

The integration gap

When it comes to neurodiversity changes, forward momentum is not nearly enough. Organisations need to be mindful of what we call the “integration gap” if they want their initiatives to be successful. This means creating dedicated spaces for reflection and action. The one thing that traditional neurodiversity training fails to tackle is the fact that this isn’t an “and/or,” situation. Workplaces need to create an environment in which existing knowledge and new insights work together to support neurodivergent employees.

Group coaching – Action Learning Sets

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of collaboration and input when it comes to creating learning spaces. For me, the most effective method of creating this is through Action Learning Sets. This is a group coaching model which brings together individuals, creating a robust shared learning and support ecosystem. Structured learning enables teams to collaborate by sharing skills and experiences. It provides useful tools to support neurodiversity, creates safe spaces for open discussions, avoids repeating the same mistakes and helps the organisation grow and improve faster. They create a safe space to discuss challenges and solutions, provide peer feedback for immediate use and build internal expertise for ongoing neurodiversity development.

Creating a sustainable neurodiversity change management 

While there’s no question that external neurodiversity coaching and facilitation can be valuable, the real power for an organisation lies in its ability to develop internal capacity. As teams learn to run these sessions independently, they create a sustainable framework for continuous improvement in neurodiversity inclusion.

Get the value from neurodiversity in your workplace: practical steps

Using Action Learning Sets should never be an afterthought. These are essential for any organisation who is committed to becoming more neuro-inclusive. These forums bridge the gap between neurodiversity knowledge and practice, creating lasting organisational change.

  1. Begin by forming a pilot group focused on neurodiversity inclusion.
  2. Gradually build organisational confidence in supporting neurodivergent employees.
  3. Develop internal capabilities for sustainable neurodiversity practices.
  4. Transform organisational culture through consistent use.

Ready to transform your workplace?

The journey to true workplace neurodiversity inclusion isn’t always an easy one. As with all important changes, there’ll be challenges as well as rewards.

Contact us today to discuss how we can support your organisation’s neurodiversity implementation through structured, collaborative learning. Whether you’re just starting your neurodiversity inclusion journey or looking to enhance existing initiatives, we’re here to help you create lasting, meaningful change.

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Transformative insights on neurodiversity in the workplace | Professional neurodiversity coaching | Workplace neurodiversity implementation