Case Studies

Setting Goals to Increase Diversity in Leadership

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Barnes-Jewish Hospital
St. Louis, MO
1,305 Beds

The Problem
Barnes-Jewish Hospital created the Center for Diversity and Cultural Competence in 2006. One of the center’s goals is to ensure that the professional, management and senior leadership teams reflect the diverse community they serve.

The Solution
A diversity council, which reports to the hospital’s executive council and board, was established in 2007. The diversity council’s recommendation to recruit and retain 25 percent or more individuals from diverse backgrounds in professional and management positions was approved and incorporated into the strategic goals of Barnes-Jewish Hospital. As a result, specific metrics were established to track the number of underrepresented minorities who currently hold professional and management level positions through recruiting efforts and promotions, or who are emerging into leadership roles. To ensure a diverse pool of qualified candidates, new hiring processes were implemented, such as engaging a consultant with expertise in diversity recruiting, using certified diversity internet recruiters, utilizing minority search firms, recruiting though community organizations and social networking. Outcomes were reported on a dashboard, enabling the executive leadership, board, management and staff at large to monitor progress in reaching this goal. Understanding how many minorities apply and interview for an open position allows the council to develop strategies for recruitment, retention and succession planning.

The Result
Barnes-Jewish Hospital conducts an annual employee engagement survey. Diversity scores on this survey increased by a statistically significant percentage, raising the overall employee engagement from 2008 to 2010. The diversity component of the employee engagement survey reflected an overall improvement in areas such as respect and support of a diverse workplace, and efforts by the organization to become more diverse. Recruitment, promotion and retention of staff from diverse backgrounds in professional and management positions increased from 10 percent in 2006 to 18 percent in 2011. Although it acknowledges there is more work to be done, Barnes-Jewish Hospital has implemented a framework for measuring progress and the tools to implement changes.

Contact Information
Brenda Battle
bab3098@bjc.org

This case study was originally featured in the HPOE guide: "Eliminating Health Disparities: Implementing the National Call to Action Using Lessons Learned," published February, 2012.

Additional Resources

Webinars December 13th, 2017

Equity of Care Webinar SeriesPart 2: Aligning Diversity and Inclusion, Community Engagement, Busi......

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Webinars November 20th, 2017

Equity of Care Webinar SeriesPart 1: Aligning Diversity and Inclusion, Community Engagement, Busi......

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Webinars November 17th, 2017

Transportation and the Role of Hospitals This AHA webinar on “Transportation and the Role of Hos......

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