When Humana began its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) journey, the focus was on caring for a culture of belonging for our employees.
While a culture of belonging that supports all employees in reaching their full potential is still at the heart of our work, over the years, our scope has expanded because we know that celebrating what makes each of us unique, actively seeking out diverse perspectives in business decisions and ensuring equitable opportunity and access for employees and our customers fosters innovation, improves quality of care, and ultimately leads to better health outcomes. As the scope of our DEI initiatives expanded beyond caring for our employees, we felt it was important to have insight into the DEI work of other companies across the country as we strive to achieve industry-leading outcomes. We decided to participate in benchmarking with leading DEI measurement organizations including Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility, Fair 360 and Disability:In. Although we are honored by the recognition and awards we have received for our efforts through benchmarking participation, the real reason we participate is the value the results hold in shaping the success of Humana’s DEI journey.
Humana participates in benchmarking because it allows us to see our work in a larger context alongside peer companies in healthcare and other sectors. Beyond comparing our work to other companies, benchmarking provides objective feedback on success and opportunities for improvement. Results and recommendations from benchmarking exercises are shared with Humana’s leadership and partners throughout the company who execute our DEI strategy. Sharing benchmarking results helps individuals and teams connect their work to real outcomes and provides a roadmap for prioritization of work moving forward. External evaluation and transparent sharing also reinforce company-wide engagement and accountability for achieving our DEI goals because people have proof that their contributions are driving real change.
Feedback on performance is only as useful as the actions that are taken to make improvements, and so we are intentional in using benchmarking results to continuously shape and refine our strategy. As Humana’s Office of DEI works with our Executive DEI Council to shape our workforce goals and strategy each year, the results serve as a guide for areas of new or increased prioritization. Some actions we’ve taken as a result of benchmarking feedback include:
- Including efforts toward meeting DEI goals in leader annual performance evaluations
- Equalize access to promotional opportunities advancement of from the senior management (associate vice president) to VP level by expanding our successful sponsorship program to grow our impact.
- Providing leadership development opportunities through our network resource groups to help grow and retain high-potential talent and expand their visibility to be identified for elevated roles.
- Expanding external partnerships focused on workplace practices and culture, including board placement processes to ensure diverse representation in community organizations and leadership development opportunities for top talent.
- Connecting with companies who lead in supplier diversity to learn best practices that will enable us to expand our diverse vendor partner relationships and spend.
Participation and membership in organizations that conduct benchmarking also provides year-round access to their expertise and resources, which supports continued learning and growth that keeps pace with the quickly evolving field of DEI practices. It is also a space for connection – where we can form brand and industry agnostic partnerships with other companies and DEI practitioners, share best practices, and pressure test our strategy and ideas.
Benchmarking participation is one of many ways Humana demonstrates its unwavering commitment to advancing equity in healthcare, since collecting necessary data and information for these submissions requires significant time, effort and multi-team collaboration. We are sending a clear message that we are committed to advancing equity and putting health first by staying curious and open to learning how to best meet the needs of those we serve. To learn more about how Humana achieves this, read our most recent Impact Report.
Carolyn Tandy is senior vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Humana