OR Manager November/December 2021 - 8

Human resources
Continued from page 7
ter
for
leadership for
Leeds School of Business
at University of
Colorado Boulder, and
author of the book, Inclusify:
The Power of
Uniqueness and Belonging
to Build Innovative
Teams. Johnson's reStefanie
Johnson,
PhD
search and experience with many organizations,
including Kaiser, Catholic
Health Charities, and Pfizer, point to
two basic human needs-uniqueness
and belongingness-as essential factors
in achieving inclusivity. Too many
organizations focus only on belongingness,
which ignores the uniqueness
part of the equation. " We like to be
different; that's part of the human experience, "
Johnson says. " But we don't
want to be distinctive alone, we want
to feel like we belong. " By addressing
both human needs, OR leaders can create
an inclusive environment (sidebar,
" Uniqueness and belongingness " ).
The bottom line is that people want
to feel comfortable in the workplace.
" I tell staff that we spend more time
with each other than with those we sit
around the dinner table with, " Dawson
says. " It's important that the workplace
is a place that people enjoy coming to. "
Education
DEI education should start with leadership
and flow down to staff. Initial
training typically includes information on
unconscious biases, which are based
on associations, not sexist or racist attitudes
that shape behavior. " We are unThe
business case for diversity
Per a 2020 McKinsey & Company report:
Gender diversity
Companies in the top quartile for gender
diversity on executive teams were 25% more
likely to have above-average profitability
than companies in the fourth quartile.
+25%
55
44
Bottom quartile
Top quartile
Ethnic diversity
Companies in the top quartile were 36%
more likely to have above-average profitability.
+36%
59
43
Bottom
quartile
Top quartile
*Defined as the share of revenues
that companies have generated
from enhanced or entirely new products
or services in the most recent 3-year period.
A 2017 Boston Consulting Group study
shows that diversity promotes innovation
revenue*. Companies that reported aboveaverage
diversity in the leadership team also
reported innovation revenue that was 19
percentage points higher than companies
that reported below-average diversity in the
leadership team, which translated into 9%
higher operating margins. The study authors
noted that even small changes in diversity
can spur higher performance.
Companies with belowaverage
diversity scores
26%
average
innovation
revenue
Companies with aboveaverage
diversity scores
n=1,681
45%
average
innovation
revenue
aware of how our past experiences influence
our impressions, " Johnson says.
For example, people tend to picture an
image of a woman when they think of a
nurse because most of the nurses they
have encountered have been women.
" Biases are made in your head, not
your heart, " Archer says. " We all have
unconscious biases, not just certain
people. " Learning about unconscious
bias helps leaders identify their own
biases. " It allows us to remove barriers
we may have had about hiring people
who look different than us, " she says.
Education needs to be ongoing.
Texas Children's Hospital holds monthly
15-minute huddles on DEI topics. This
type of discussion can lead to new
insights. For example, leaders might
realize they thought a nurse with no
OR experience would not be a good fit
based on a past negative experience
training someone. To facilitate the process,
Archer says, leaders share first.
Since implementing the huddles, Archer
has seen more staff feedback related to
why they feel candidates they interview
would be a good fit with the team.
At Luminis Health, education topics
have included nonverbal communication,
communicating with people
who have accents, bullying awareness,
and cultural differences. The leadership
council also dedicates time for DEIrelated
topics, such as how to manage
microaggression.
A creative tool Luminis Health uses
to help people learn is Coming to
the Table (CTTT), a national
initiative
founded to address issues of racism.
The organization broadened the focus
to include diversity issues in general.
CTTT helps build understanding by
creating an environment where dialogue
is welcomed and encouraged.
" It's about being open and honest,
and having a safe place to talk, "
says Nia Wright, MSN, MHA, RN,
CNOR, senior nursing director of surgical
services and executive sponsor for
the cultural diversity and workplace ad8
OR
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OR Manager November/December 2021

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