Diversity in the healthcare workforce is a topic of great importance and a topic that has been studied and shared for many decades. Being able to bring a wide breath of perspectives and expertise to the table allows employers to not only make more thoughtful decisions and improve social outcomes within the workplace, but also improve patient outcomes and satisfaction levels as well.
As it relates to gender and racial diversity, if done correctly, the results of having a diverse organization can be highly advantageous. ProvoCollege states that having higher levels of diversity can lead to outcomes such as higher employee morale and better care for diverse populations, while lower levels can lead to communication breakdowns, limited perspectives, and bias. In particular, a study by McKinsey and Company found that gender and racially diverse companies are more likely to perform better than companies that aren’t by 15% and 35%, respectively. Furthermore, if diversity does not take priority within a healthcare organization, ill effects are liable to take place not only within the organization, but the overall society at-large. A report by The Sullivan Commission discusses this consideration, by stating that a lack of diversity is a primary cause of disparities in health access and outcomes within the nation, perhaps even outweighing a lack of health insurance.
There are many methods that can be leveraged in order to enforce a diverse employee experience internally. Foundation Strategy Group (FSG) specifically notes having:
- Diverse employees that feel included
- Strong leadership that understands why race matters
- An organizational structure that is connecting equity to its business goals
Technology can be a way to enforce and support a diverse population to achieve its max potential, especially due to reducing implicit bias from manual processes and decision-making (i.e. recruiting, hiring, staffing, scheduling). In-particular, UKG offers a number of solutions that can support healthcare organizations with this journey.
Tactical Ways to Increase and Maintain Diversity Through UKG’s Products:
1. Promote Merit-Based Hiring
Solutions such as UKG Pro™ and UKG Ready™ can allow healthcare organizations to build efficiencies into their recruiting and hiring practices. While UKG Ready Talent Acquisition allows for sourcing, tracking, and evaluating talent to build an optimal workforce, candidate matching capabilities contained within UKG Pro can mitigate potential biases that could present themselves during the recruiting process. Upon appraising applicants, employers are provided several capable candidates to follow-up regarding next steps within the hiring process. This allows even more candidates to be reviewed and evaluated equally for the position based on their qualifications, on top of reducing a manual hiring process.
2. Provide Equitable Scheduling
Providing employees the ability to self-schedule and swap shifts allows equal access to upcoming opportunities for work, as well as build engagement and inclusion among their counterparts.
Moreover, by setting appropriate scheduling rules within UKG Dimensions™ and UKG Ready, you can build fairness into the system when shifts are filled. For instance, if a nursing manager constantly called a person that they are not only familiar with in order to cover a shift, inherent bias could prevail – hurting inclusion by leaving out other key employees that could be up for the task. Scheduling automation could enforce rules based off conditions, such as seniority and availability.
3. Pay Equity
A Pay Equity Dashboard within UKG Pro can be utilized in order to review potential imbalances among the workforce when considering various criteria (i.e. gender, ethnicity, etc.). The information provided can aid management and healthcare organizations when working to remove any potential disparities, while working to create a more equitable workforce.
4. Accurate Gender Self-Identification
UKG Pro Gender Options functionality can allow employees to self-report on their preferences. This allows gender-neutrality to be considered, as well as build-in additional accuracy when considering information provided. Furthermore, this feature could also be utilized when working to meet self-designation compliance measures and requirements.
5. Gain Insight into the Employee Voice
UKG Pro Perception tool’s employee voice surveys can be leveraged, such as UKG’s “Equity at Work Pulse Survey” and “Diversity and Inclusion Experience” (DEI) surveys, in order to understand employees’ feelings as it relates to DEI efforts. The information yielded from such surveys should be utilized not only in order to promote employee listening and understanding, but also in order to organize future activities and track progress.
Diversity is a very important topic that warrants continued conversations within the healthcare industry, as it enforces social good, as well as organizational growth in the long-term. By adopting and/or modifying UKG’s solutions, you can ensure that your staff’s potential as a diverse workforce is maximized to its fullest potential in order to ensure a superior patient experience.
Want more information? Reach out to a UKG representative by filling out a short form or calling +1 800 255 1561 to learn how our products can help your organization effectively meet its short- and long-term goals.
