11 Tips For Increasing Ethnic Representation
Boosting minority representation within healthcare's executive ranks - which is at a dismal 1 percent, according to the American Hospital Association's Institute for Diversity in Health Management - is still an "easier said than done" initiative for most organizations. But the case for diversity couldn't be stronger from a "right thing to do" community perspective as well as a performance bottomline measure, according to Walter E. Johnson, who recently left his post as the president of the Institute for Diversity to head up Eagle Group International, a Chicago-based consulting firm specializing in diversity.
"The big misconception about diversity is that it is looked at as being a fad or an affirmative action or EEO [Equal Employment Opportunity] plan of the '90s. Diversity has to be a process not a program and should be woven into the organization throughout," said Johnson.
So what's keeping healthcare from following the executive diversity leads of other industries like the military and consumer goods, may be to a myriad of reasons, namely:
- absence of a conducive corporate environment for diversity;
- low talent pools of qualified minority candidates;
- geographic barriers;
- perception that a minority candidate might not "fit" well into corporate culture;
- low awareness among minorities of executive/management career opportunities in healthcare;
- low exposure to management via mentoring programs, internships and non-proactive HR hiring practices; and
- overall fear of bringing attention to the diversity problem and addressing the negative image implications.
Jump-starting Diversity Initiatives
Making diversity a part of your corporate "fabric" doesn't have to be an overwhelming, embarrassing or overly complicated process, says Johnson and Howard T. Jessamy, an executive search consultant with Witt/Kieffer. Once a company acknowledges its diversity problem, half the battle has been won.
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Making Diversity Work At Your Organization
To put your diversity initiatives in fifth gear, Howard Jessamy, a consultant with Witt/Kieffer, a Bethesda, Md.-based executive search firm with an aggressive minority placement track record, recommends: |
Johnson's firm consults with healthcare organizations on incorporating diversity into the corporate process-from its hiring process to the promotional practices. Johnson says that his firm differs from other diversity consulting companies because of its healthcare emphasis.
Using a blend of market research, internal/external surveys, analysis of the corporate culture and HR strategy, Johnson's firm of seven executive healthcare pros develop a series of recommendations and reports on how to launch and maintain successful diversity.
His advice includes:
Bridging the Employment Gap
Having a 6 percent minority placement rate might not seem like much for Witt/Kieffer to highlight. But if they're healthcare executive appointments, that percentage is unusually high, according to Jessamy, who personally landed minorities in half of the executive positions he placed last year.
Witt/Kieffer, which analyzes data on its healthcare executive placements to how often minorities are hired in the industry found that among the 370 executives it placed in 1996, 3.3 percent were African-American, 1 percent were Hispanic,.6 percent were Asian-American and approximately 1 percent were other.
Although the numbers seem bleak, minority career opportunity - especially in managed care, long-term care, physician practice management, and hospital systems - are booming, according to Jessamy. He offers three tips for minority candidates: