2008 Best in Class: Board Diversity - nonprofit/government
Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to diversity and inclusion permeates the entire organization and starts at the top. Fifty percent of Kaiser Permanente’s Board of Directors are minority individuals (seven of 14 people). This significantly exceeds the Commission’s nonprofit and government membership minority board average of 18.7 percent.
Kaiser Permanente’s high level of board diversity is sustained through strong policies, procedures, and an overall corporate culture that signals the value of diversity and inclusion to Kaiser members, employees, board directors, and the public. The organization’s board orientation and training process, employee policies, recruitment strategies, and internal and external communications all reflect the value of diversity as it relates to member service and culturally competent patient care. The Diversity Best Practices organization stated that Kaiser Permanente represented the “next generation [of] diversity governance and trend-setting advocacy.” Effective strategies include:
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Linking the board’s diversity goals to Kaiser Permanente’s overall strategic plan via the National Diversity Agenda. The agenda is a tangible demonstration of Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to the cornerstones of culturally-competent quality care, diverse membership growth, and an inclusive, high-performing workforce – each of which are central components of the strategic plan.
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Consistently keeping diversity and culturally competent care at the forefront. Two key standing board committees that support diversity issues are: Quality and Health Improvement, which supports initiatives aimed at improving culturally competent care and linguistic programs that provide foreign language resources for communicating with Kaiser Permanente members, and Community Benefit, which approves grants and donations that support research and education initiatives focused on diversity issues. This committee also participates in the selection of the annual David Lawrence Community Service Award. This award recognizes Kaiser Permanente employees who volunteer in their communities and have developed successful community programs that serve the uninsured and diverse populations.
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Ensuring that all new board members receive an orientation on diversity goals and that the Governance, Accountability and Nominating Committee reviews diversity goals annually. Additionally, Board members are encouraged to participate in the annual Kaiser Permanente Diversity Conference. This event features national diversity experts and thought leaders from inside and outside of the organization presenting on topics related to diversity and culturally competent care.
“Kaiser Permanente values and celebrates differences among our employees, leadership, vendors, and those we serve. We recognize that effective diversity management is not only a key business strategy, it is integral to respecting people and inspiring them to perform to their highest ability. Recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and a diverse supplier base contribute to our own growth and vitality, and enhance our efforts to provide culturally competent medical care to our increasingly diverse membership.”
Patricia D. Kennedy Scott, president, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio