Reference no: EM133294435

Aligning a Workforce with a Diverse Customer Base

Delivering quality health care is difficult enough, given the complexities of technology, government regulations, evolving scientific and medical understanding, and the variability of human performance. It becomes even more daunting when you add the challenges of communication among medical staff and between patients and their caregivers, which often takes place under stressful circumstances. Those communication efforts are challenging in an environment where everyone speaks the same language and feels at home in a single cultural context-and they're infinitely more complex in the United States, whose residents identify with dozens of different cultures and speak several hundred languages.

The Oakland-based health-care system Kaiser Permanente has been embracing the challenges and opportunities of diversity since its founding in 1945. It made a strong statement with its very first hospital when it refused to follow the then-common practice of segregating patients by race. Now, as the largest not-for-profit health system in the United States, Kaiser Permanente's client base includes more than 10 million members from over 100 distinct cultures.

At the core of Kaiser Permanente's approach is culturally competent care, which it defines as "health care that acknowledges cultural diversity in the clinical setting, respects members' beliefs and practices, and ensures that cultural needs are considered and respected at every point of contact." These priorities are woven into the company's organizational culture, structure, and business practices.

Delivering this standard of care requires a mix of skills and knowledge that range from an awareness of medical issues of concern to specific cultures to language fluency (and translation skills in more than 100 languages) to the awareness needed to handle cultural traditions and values in a sensitive manner. Kaiser Permanente's Centers of Excellence in Culturally Competent Care at facilities around the country are a good example of the effort the company makes to serve its diverse clientele. Each center focuses on one or more cultures prominent in a given locale, with a particular emphasis on improving care outcomes for population segments that have historically been underserved.

The company believes that effectively serving a diverse client base requires an equally diverse staff. As Bernard Tyson explains, "The rich diversity of our organization reflects the diversity of the people we serve each and every day." Nearly half the executive team are women, for example, and people of color make up nearly 60 percent of the company's workforce.

The company's success at attracting and supporting a top-flight workforce is reflected in the many employment-related awards it has won. In addition to being acknowledged by numerous diversity-related organizations, Kaiser Permanente has been recognized for being a military-friendly employer, as one of the best places for information-technology professionals, and as a top employer for healthy employee lifestyles.

In addition to helping the company communicate more effectively with its customers, the strategic emphasis on diversity and inclusion is good for business. Its target market segments also happen to be among the country's fastest-growing demographic groups, and Kaiser Permanente's ability to connect with these audiences gives it an important competitive advantage.91

Questions

1. In addition to its employment-related awards, Kaiser Permanente has also received dozens of awards for the quality of the health care it provides to clients. What are the implications of such recognition on the quality of work life at the company?

2. Would health-care professionals require a different level or different type of support from their employers than professionals in other industries? Why or why not?

3. What is the significance of Kaiser Permanente being recognized for having one of the best employee wellness programs in the nation?