By Eric Norman, TeamHealth Chief Human Resources Officer
Celebrate Diversity Month
Started in 2004 to recognize and honor the diversity surrounding us all, Celebrate Diversity Month is celebrated in April. By recognizing differences and similarities during this month, we can gain a better understanding of each other and develop a deeper appreciation for the value of diversity at TeamHealth.
Diversity and Inclusion at TeamHealth
Diversity and Inclusion isn’t new to TeamHealth. During the past five years we launched our Women in Leadership Group and our Veteran’s Employee Resource Group. We also have departments like our Enterprise Information Technology team who have a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) committee in place. In 2020, TeamHealth launched a 30-member Diversity and Inclusion Committee with executive sponsorship by Leif Murphy, TeamHealth President and Chief Executive Officer; Dr. Jody Crane, TeamHealth Chief Medical Officer; and myself. The committee, chaired by Dr. Stan Thompson, TeamHealth Chief Clinical Officer, LifePoint Group, meets monthly and has helped us make significant strides already.
But, what do we mean when we talk about diversity?
The way we define diversity today is very different than it was just ten years ago. In 2010, the definition sounded something like this: the composition of the racial and ethnic minorities in your workforce. Today, our view of diversity is much more comprehensive and includes: race, color, ethnicity, nationality, religion, socioeconomic status, veteran status, education, marital status, language, age, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical ability, cognitive skills, and personality traits. We’ve come a long way in describing what makes us unique.
Many studies have evaluated the importance of diversity in the workplace. One of the most widely read was published by McKinsey & Company in 2015, 2018 and 2020. These studies make a clear and compelling business case for diversity in the workplace:
- Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.
- Companies in the top quartile of gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to experience above-average profitability than peer companies in the fourth quartile. This is up from 21% in 2017 and 15% in 2014.
- Companies in the top quartile for ethnic and cultural diversity outperformed those in the fourth by 36% in terms of profitability in 2019, slightly up from 33% in 2017 and 35% in 2014.
- Diversity increases employee satisfaction and reduces conflicts between groups, improving collaboration and loyalty.
- Diversity fosters innovation and creativity through a greater variety of problem-solving approaches, perspectives, and ideas making employees more engaged in the mission of the organization.
- Workplace diversity increases job and life satisfaction particularly for women and members of minority groups when the workforce is “diverse enough.” For minorities the boost in satisfaction kicks in when representation exceeds 15% of the workforce.
Diversity is important.
We’re making progress through our Diversity and Inclusion committee at TeamHealth by developing four D&I subcommittees focused on:
- Benchmarking
- Education
- Patient Experience and Clinical Outcomes
- Communication and Change Management
We also delivered the first in our series of Diversity and Inclusion trainings through the compliance training process, educated leaders on implicit bias, conducted representation analysis and benchmarking for our administrative and clinical staff and launched an internal Diversity and Inclusion page including a calendar to celebrate diversity through the recognition of holidays and important events.
We are a diverse and unique group of individuals that come together to fulfill the special mission of TeamHealth. Our mission is centered on the delivery of exceptional quality patient care by highly qualified and talented clinicians, supported by team members that work diligently every day to make sure our clinicians can practice at their best. Our mission is embodied in our special culture – we serve, we’re resilient, we’re persistent, we’re innovative, we’re compassionate, and we act with integrity. Being at the forefront of diversity and inclusion will not only reinforce this special culture but propel us to be the best company in healthcare.
Please join me as we take the month of April to celebrate diversity and ask yourself: What can I do to foster greater diversity and inclusion?
To start, view the moving video, “Inclusion Starts With I,” from Accenture to learn more about how the lack of inclusion feels.