One Company’s Path to Diversity

Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) truly believes in the importance of showing respect toward one another, embracing our differences and valuing our unique backgrounds. Our journey of diversity and inclusion (D&I) progresses every day as we strive to build trust and challenge each other to move outside our comfort zones. Creating and maintaining an environment where our employees are confident and bring their true authentic selves into the workplace each day is ingrained in our culture.

We believe that when there are different perspectives around the table, you increase the opportunity for innovative ideas, and that can lead to better business results; this is why we know we must attract the best and brightest talent from all backgrounds and cultures. HCSC’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) and Talent Acquisition team work together to create recruitment strategies for target demographics that include people of color, people with disabilities and veterans. CDI and Talent Acquisition aim to increase awareness of HCSC employment opportunities within these communities. To do this, they partner with non-profit organizations, student organizations and other community partners to maximize outreach.

HCSC fosters strong learning and development programs internally, to assist our employees in understanding the value of a diverse and inclusive culture. This year, CDI established an ongoing program entitled CDI Unleashed. This quarterly program offers an opportunity for employees to engage in dialogue that takes a deeper dive into many of the traditional and non-traditional topics of D&I. Our first program of 2018 featured speakers who provided a guided conversation around the impact that racial and social justice issues have on a company’s talent base, customers, clients and vendors and why those issues are relevant.

Every year, all HCSC employees are required to undergo mandatory diversity and inclusion education. In these specially designed courses, we take the opportunity to build on previous learnings and address topics that help develop cultural competence and cultural agility. One such offering is the Executive Cohort that is assigned to all leaders at the vice president and above levels. A recent cohort explored the impact of unconscious bias on a high performing culture. Participants were assigned pre-work that served as a basis for discussion during the session, where they learned characteristics of unconscious bias and its effect on their roles as leaders in the organization. Attendees left the cohort with a greater understanding of and practical steps for addressing hidden biases.

The CDI also developed a set of Meetings in a Box for employees to use to help address challenges such as unconscious bias, generational differences in the workplace and other common diversity and inclusion topics. The Meetings in a Box modules feature pre-packaged content with slides, videos and a facilitator guide. They empower leaders to guide their teams through thought-provoking conversations around D&I to gain a deeper understanding of the topic at hand and hear the different perspectives of their colleagues.

The aforementioned strategic activities, along with many others, help us ensure a sustainable future where we better understand our members and serve our communities. As a diverse and united front, we can connect to our customers, learn and grow as individuals and positively impact our business objectives.