Tech for Good

Last year the Employee Resource Group for Accessibility organized a  #Mentalhealth  week. This image is the Microsoft Netherlands Wellbeing Manifest and it is one of the outcomes of the week, compiled by colleagues, with the aim of turning inspiration into action for sustainable good health. By sharing our own mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual beliefs, we want to collectively promote clarity, empathy, and kindness at a particularly challenging time in the world. This year we will be organizing another mental health  week! The energy of the team is great, and we will have partners joining! Are you in? Sent me a message if you want to join and maybe even share how you nurture the culture of feeling safe enough to make mistakes, how to raise tough issues, take risks and ask for help! #msftnetherlands   #wellbeing   #manifest   #msftadvocate   #microsoftlife   #greatcolleagues   #culture   #health   #Psychologicalsafety   #Partnersmakemorepossible   #Partnerpledge ... View more

To create trust in AI, organizations must move beyond defining Responsible AI principles and put those principles into practice. How does that look like? Watch the below video and find out all about:  - The latest trends and developments in responsible AI - Putting responsible AI into practice: Closer look at a customer case - Integrating ethics & best practices into data science project delivery   ... View more

When :  Thursday ,   June 9, 2022 |  9:30 AM   (GMT+01:00) Where :   Online REGISTER NOW   AI brings unprecedented opportunities to businesses, but also incredible responsibility. Its direct impact on people’s lives has raised considerable questions around AI ethics, data governance, trust and legality. Responsible AI is the practice of designing, developing, and deploying AI with good intention to empower employees and businesses, and fairly impact customers and society—allowing companies to engender trust and scale AI with confidence.   During this round table we will discuss the practical guidelines within responsible and ethical AI.   Agenda   Rob Elsinga, National Technology Officer at Microsoft will first talk about the trends and developments regarding responsible AI John Koot. Sales and Marketing Director at OrangeNXT will talk about a concrete Responsible AI customer case Ana Maldonado, Data Science Practice Lead at Avanade, will talk about Integrating ethics and best practices into data science project delivery   ... View more

January 2020 Microsoft colleague,   Mark Wiertsema, posted a personal story ''Gaaf! - Andersbegaafd'' about his cousin as a reach out to his network. He was asking for attention for the talented neurodiverse community. I was intrigued and learned that neurodiverse people are often misunderstood while potentially being the perfect fit for tech savvy roles. Last year Microsoft started the Partner Pledge initiative in the Netherlands. I am honored to be together with   Andreaa Mares   part of this new industry movement to challenge each other on our promise and journey to use technology for good. So far, I have learned a lot from different experts like   ITVitae, who educate, coach and support with inclusive career opportunities. With this blog I hope to share insights on why you as a tech company could consider welcoming more neurodiverse talent in your workforce!   The concept of neurodiversity emerged in the ‘90s as an inclusive movement that views neurological and developmental conditions as normal variations in cognitive traits that should be embraced as a part of human diversity. An estimated 15% to 20% of people around the world have a neurodivergent condition. Autism, the initial focus of many neurodiversity hiring programs, affects about 2% of American adults. The world of experience for neurodiverse people is different. To get a sense of understanding you can check out Jeffrey Meijer's excellent blog (Dutch) ''Een avondje Utrecht met mijn prikkelknipperlicht'' on his experience of having an exciting day out in Utrecht and how he experienced all the stimuli.   During these two years the world has changed. Diversity and inclusion have become a hot topic and working from home has created new opportunities. D&I has evolved from an activist topic to a political agenda with commercial advantages. I believe that a diverse workforce can only flourish through sincerity to care about humanity and curiosity about non-conformism. If you are sincere and you are willing to go the extra mile to evolve your workplace you can win big time as   Neurodiversity has evolved to be a strong Competitive Advantage (hbr.org)   The success stories of offering a   compatible (hybrid) workplace in tech are inspiring. Microsoft for example set up a   Neurodiversity Hiring Program   to accommodate the needs and tap into new potential while setting the future employees up for success.    It takes extra work to welcome neurodiverse talent. For example, consider using non-traditional, non-interview-based assessment and training processes, training their managers and co-workers, setting up a support system and tailoring methods for managing careers.   Microsoft Autism Hiring Program - YouTube   In my opinion the advantages outweigh the extra work from different points of perspective. Neurodiverse talent are differently able and can bring new insights that can help your business innovate. Another advantage is that it has been difficult to find talent while the neurodiverse community has been neglected as a pool of talent. One other advantage, which makes my heart beat a bit faster, is the gratitude that you can bring by offering a perspective to bring financial independence and with that the opportunity for more neurodiverse people to become a part of society from a perspective of their personal strengths and talents. Read the comments at the YouTube video shared above to read stories of gratitude from neurodiverse talent, their families and my colleagues expressing that these programs bring purpose to our day-to-day work.   If you are ready to learn more contact   IT Vitae   and check out the training paths and experiences on hiring graduates from their programs. Employers can also find resources for starting a hiring initiative through the Autism @ Work Playbook.   We would also love to hear about your journey, reach out to me if you want to learn more about the Microsoft Partner pledge and reach out to share your best practices about your inclusive workplace to the   Microsoft Partner Pledge Community.   ... View more

'𝗘𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗷𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗷𝗳 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘇𝗶𝗷𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻.' En bij  1uur.nu  draait het om die mensen. We brengen ze samen en halen het beste in ze naar boven. Wij geloven dat iedereen, ongeacht zijn rol, locatie of capaciteiten, moet worden uitgerust met de juiste hulpmiddelen en informatie, zodat hij effectief kan zijn op het werk. Wij willen dat iedereen zich welkom en geaccepteerd voelt om wie hij is, ongeacht zijn achtergrond, overtuiging of beperking. Dit is de focus van ons diversiteits- en inclusiebeleid. En precies daarom hebben we de tip om slimmer te werken van onze  Claudia van Heelsbergen  laten vertolken in deze video. Zo leert écht iedereen om slimmer te werken. Geloof ook jij als werkgever in de kracht van inclusiviteit? Benieuwd wat wij voor jouw organisatie kunnen betekenen op het gebied van inclusiviteit? Geef ons een belletje op 0183-512 253 #inclusiviteit   #diversityandinclusion   #microsoft365 ... View more