Golin is growing its partnership with AutonomyWorks, a company that employs individuals with autism, in honor of World Autism Awareness Day.
The Interpublic Group agency began working with the organization in 2022 on a pilot program that integrated people with autism into the workstreams of Golin client businesses. The initiative included work on two accounts within Golin’s healthcare practice and one within its consumer practice.
AutonomyWorks associates have supported the agency and its teams over the last year and a half by taking on assignments including media monitoring, social community management, project routing and reporting, according to Golin.
As a result of the work and the integration of eight associates, the Interpublic Group agency is working to grow its partnership so that AutonomyWorks members can bring their specialized talents to more client accounts and sectors, the firm said in a statement.
“Our pilot set out to service very technical, detail-oriented healthcare business at that time, and we were overwhelmingly impressed with the quality of work and collaboration the AutonomyWorks team brought to our business,” said Golin North America co-president Cori McKeever. “We’ve since grown the accounts and sectors they help us to support, and we’re thrilled to continue expanding that partnership, servicing our clients in better ways and raising awareness for the autism community in the process.”
Golin is the only PR agency to partner with AutonomyWorks.
The partnership is one of several ways the firm is advancing its diversity, equity and inclusion commitment, Golin said. The agency’s 2024 DEI priorities aim to raise awareness for neurodiversity and mental health. Golin recently launched its sixth employee resource group, Thrive, for employees who identify as neurodivergent.
AutonomyWorks is a Chicago-based organization that employs individuals with autism and other disabilities who use their specialized skills to provide operations support to businesses around the world. Its clients and partners include Razorfish, iCrossing and Reddit, among others.
“Golin has helped AutonomyWorks create jobs for autistic workers,” said AutonomyWorks founder and CEO Dave Friedman, via email. “Every day we see how these jobs transform lives. Of course, jobs provide income, but they also build purpose, confidence, and independence.”
Golin reported a revenue increase of 11% to $355 million globally and 13% to $225 in the U.S. in 2022, according to PRWeek’s 2023 Agency Business Report.
IPG’s Specialized Communications and Experiential Solutions segment, which houses Golin, in addition to The Weber Shandwick Collective and Current Global, registered mid-single-digit growth on an organic basis in Q4 and for 2023.
This story was updated on April 2 with additional quotes.
This story originally appeared on PRWeek US.
