It is important to create a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy plan in healthcare, which will help to establish a workplace environment that is inclusive for all. It is not just a matter of ensuring that targets are met; it is about creating a culture where everyone can contribute their ideas, be valued and be involved in the decision-making processes.
When diversity and inclusion is promoted and implemented in healthcare organisations, the quality of the services and the outcome for the patient will improve, employee satisfaction, engagement, motivation and productivity will increase.
How can you create a broad strategic plan for Diversity and Inclusion that addresses healthcare staffing?
Creating a Diversity and Inclusion plan is to assess your current position and your desired future state.
Assess your current state
It is necessary to gather quantitative and qualitative data on the demographic characteristics, staff experiences, perceptions, and outcomes, as well as the organizational policies, practices, and climate.
This information can be collected through surveys, interviews, focus groups, audits, benchmarks, and other such means.
Here are three ways to develop a Diversity and Inclusion strategy that supports healthcare:
- It is important to evaluate your organisation’s current state of diversity and inclusion, including company practices, policies, and employee demographics. This will assist in identifying areas that may require improvement to enhance the achievement of the intended goals.
- Develop concrete and quantifiable goals for diversity and inclusion for healthcare workforce. These should be in line with the overall organizational objectives and should address the key issues of the healthcare sector.
- Formulate ideas on how to entice and acquire qualified candidates for the healthcare sector. This may involve, for instance, outreach for recruitment, cooperation with diverse organizations, and development of non-stigmatizing job advertisements and application procedures.
To make effective Diversity and Inclusion plan for staffing in healthcare industry, it is first necessary to assess the existing practices of biases. Next, adopt progressive recruitment practices, provide equal employment opportunities, and foster a diverse organizational culture.
Setting of goals and objectives
Taking into consideration the data and findings made in the assessment, you can identify specific, measurable goals and objectives for your Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Smart goals must always be relevant to the organizational vision, mission, and values and the needs and expectations of the staff and stakeholders. Your objectives should be SMART: SMART goals which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
For instance, you may have a mission to enhance the diversity and equality of underrepresented employees, and a target to raise their leadership positions by 10% in the next three years.
Using accurate data prevents the setting of unrealistic diversity targets or targets that cannot be measured against industry standards. The information can be used to analyse performance over time so that organisations can modify their approaches to ensure the highest levels of diversity and inclusion.
Develop your action plan
Your action plan should describe in detail the strategies, initiatives, activities and resources that you will need to employ in order to close the gaps and capitalize on the opportunities that have been identified in the assessment.
It is necessary to define who will be responsible for each of the action points and to set the timeframes and cost estimates for their implementation. It is also important to ensure that your action plan is also a bit dynamic since you may have to alter it depending on the feedback or outcome you get over the course of the plan.
Like anything else that a healthcare organization is seeking to enhance, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy efforts require sufficient and deliberate planning. Engage participants from different areas of the organization. All will contribute a different view and will assist in getting the rest of the organisation involved in the task. Develop a chain of interactions.
These may be face to face, or through electronic means such as emails or conference calls. Make sure there is an understanding of expectations or tasks to be completed, “you do this by when”.
It is important to note that the plan may have to be revised from time to time. The healthcare industry is never stagnant, and this means that there has to be changes in the plans that have been made.
Communicate and engage
The most effective approach to Diversity and Inclusion planning must involve the participation of all stakeholders in your organization, right from the management level to the employees at the working level.
You must share your Diversity and Inclusion Strategy vision, goals, objectives and action plan, and show your employees and other stakeholders why this is important and how it is advantageous for all parties.
It is also important to involve them in the execution and assessment of your Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and seek their opinion, ideas, and feedback. There are many methods of communication and participation, for example, newsletters, webinars, workshops, forums, committees and networks.
Even if the action plan developed is perfect, it will not amount to much if it is not implemented including getting the employees onboard. The Diversity and Inclusion strategy, therefore, will most probably not work. It is about feedback/evaluation in addition to education here and this is about two-way communication.
Such an approach may provide more comprehensive information and outcomes while at the same time engage employees in the process of promoting Diversity and Inclusion strategy within the organization.
Establishing a Friendly Atmosphere for Every Patient
Making the patient experience as positive as possible entails paying attention to how the patient feels about the service being offered, regardless of their colour. In order to do this, there is the need to ensure that healthcare providers are educated on the cultural differences of the patients they are attending.
This cultural understanding enables them to deliver care that is culturally sensitive and relevant to the patient’s cultural standards. For instance, if a patient and a physician cannot understand each other due to language barriers, having language services such as interpreters will enhance the communication processes.
It is important to recognize that there may be certain particularities within the population that require individual approaches to their healthcare. By identifying and fulfilling these specific concerns, healthcare professionals would be better placed to offer relevant and suitable interventions which would ultimately benefit the patient.
Monitor and evaluate
It is necessary to develop key performance measures that directly relate to your goals and objectives, and gather and process data on a consistent basis. You should also do some form of review or audit every now and then to check how efficient your action plan is, and the difficulties encountered or the achievements made and the lessons to be learnt.
You should use the data and insights from the monitoring and evaluation to celebrate your achievements, reward your staff, present the results and enhance your Diversity and Inclusion Strategy plan.
Conclusion
The implementation of a sound diversity and inclusion plan is crucial for any healthcare company that seeks to be successful. As this goes beyond mere policies on paper, there is a need to constantly engage and educate people to bring about change for the better.
Organizations should emphasize the importance of diversity to ensure respect, innovation, and teamwork within the company. This not only is advantageous to the employees but also improves the quality of patient care by fulfilling the various demographics.
The cultural transformation toward diversity and inclusion in the organization is the way forward toward a healthier future in health care.
