From unfortunate circumstances, positive outcomes may arise. These past couple of years has been anything but easy for the American populace. From the accusations to the violence, one truth that came to light was the in-proportional representation of African Americans in the corporate sector. Humankind has the fortunate aptitude for learning from past mistakes. Learning from this, corporations are adjusting and reevaluating how they conduct their business and their recruitment process. Successfully implementing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion shows to positively affect employee morale and the company’s net profit.
We are in conversation with Rex Everett. Coming from a unique perspective shaped by over 40 years of operational and business development experience, Rex explains how he and his team successfully implemented DEI at Team Health.
One of the current topics everybody talks about is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Still, many companies don’t know where to start or how to pull through. You mentioned a successful DEI implementation at Team Health. Can you talk to us about how DEI can work?
“We had a not-so-good experience with one of our mid-level providers. Due to this experience, our company had to take a step back and seriously look at what we are doing about DEI in our space. We planned to get structured internally first and then bring in an expert who would guide us according to what has worked in the past. So we formulated the DEI committee chaired by one of our African American physician leaders. Since then, we’ve built several legs, including an educational leg, a research leg, a patient care leg, and a communications leg. The DEI program kept growing from there to form different resource groups, which work to support, maintain, and track progress relative to DEI and how well it is being implemented. It also works to help navigate and mentor underrepresented groups to grow within our company. But, more importantly, the overall scope of it has been helping our providers understand their patients.
“In our program, we educate our providers about implicit bias and how it affects the practice of medicine. Due to the scope of their experience, providers may not know to ask specific questions to people of color, which in turn affects how the data is shown.
“Two years in, we can already see the success of our efforts. We still have room to grow; however, we’re just bringing on a DEI director, which will help move us in the right direction.
“Our approach was successful because it was a business approach to a problem instead of an emotional one. Corporations are focused on profits. You’re in business to make a profit, even in the healthcare world. We’re delivering quality care, but at the end of the day, if we’re not making a profit, we won’t be able to serve our community. The data has shown that companies with a diverse workforce and a diverse leadership structure outperform companies that do not. They outperform them in terms of quality of service and economics significantly. While simultaneously improving and making healthcare more accessible, DEI also helps corporations grow, make a profit, and meet their margins. It helps them deliver the service of a product they choose to provide. The impetus for DEI does not stem from emotion or a political one where people would push back but from a corporate perspective, highlighting the profit gained in implementing DEI. In our hospital, we are looking at how to take care of the underserved while still making a profit.
“Being profit-driven is not a bad thing, especially when the outcome favors those who are normally underserved. With profit being the impetus, DEI will always stay at the forefront and will always be a topic of the mind, not just at the executive level but at the board level. We live in a country that is driven by corporations and economics. If it’s driven by that vehicle, then it’s more palatable to the decision-makers of a corporation when talking about the increase in profit than what is morally correct. Appealing to people’s natural incentives accomplishes more in the long run. In this case, the natural incentive of a corporation is to make a profit. Successful DEI helps ensure that.”
Interesting points, Rex.
