There are myriad ways in which a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can support your workforce – and by extension, your patients – as well as the local and regional communities you serve.
A truly diverse workforce knows and understands its patient population, as well as its colleagues, and how to embrace their personal and cultural differences. From the CEO suite on down, they are capable of making decisions that positively impact patient experiences and quality of care.
Benefits of an Inclusive Workforce
An inclusive workforce contributes to many benefits to your organization, your team, and your patients, including:
• Improvements in holistic care and patient satisfaction, as every team member gains a better understanding of people’s diverse needs.
• Increased employee engagement and morale because people feel more respected, heard, and valued. Long term, this leads to a higher staff retention rate and also enhances your reputation and employer brand.
• Stronger relationships with the community you serve, as they see you reflecting their diversity.
• A more robust spirit of innovation and creativity, brought about by diverse perspectives being involved in day-to-day operations, as well as problem-solving and decision-making.
How to Build an Inclusive Workforce
Key strategies for building an inclusive workforce include:
• Developing clear anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies with easily accessible reporting mechanisms.
• Offering flexible work options to accommodate people’s diverse needs.
• Providing regular training on bias recognition and mitigation.
• Encouraging open dialogue about DEI concerns.
• Providing a safe space for employees to share their DEI experiences and feedback.
• Conducting pulse surveys to assess your employees’ perception of DEI at your organization.
• Holding company leaders accountable for upholding DEI and putting it into practice day to day.
• Allocating resources to support DEI initiatives.
• Treating every potential threat to DEI seriously, including investigating and addressing all related complaints.
As you communicate your commitment to DEI, be sure to:
• Ensure diverse representation in all your communication. Include images, stories and examples that reflect various staff and their roles. This may include focuses on ethnic communities, various age groups and genders, LGBTQ+ identities, and physical abilities.
• Use respectful language. Strive to create a welcoming message at all times. Avoid any language that could stigmatize or marginalize anyone based on their identities, conditions, backgrounds or experience.
• Tailor your messages. Effective communication makes an audience feel like it was designed specifically for them – as it should have been. As you customize communications, consider the recipients’ cultures, identities, languages, experiences, and backgrounds.
Among the best ways to ensure your commitment to workforce DEI is to work with the right staffing partner. As part of our innovative member-owned co-op business model, AlliedUP has DEI embedded into our operating philosophy, principles, and practice. We’ve based our business goals and vision around this commitment – and it remains strong and unwavering as we forge ahead in the new year.
As you build your inclusive team, contact us to tap into our extensive network of nursing and allied health professionals to fill your most important openings.
