Managing diversity in healthcare
DEALING with people can be a difficult task given that by their very nature, they are multifaceted speaking to different approaches required when handling them. IGI Global defines diversity as the variety of experiences and perspective which arise from differences in race, culture, religion, mental or physical abilities, heritage, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and other characteristics. In health care, it refers to when the medical and administrative staff of a healthcare facility represent a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. Diversity is crucial to delivering quality care as it allows health care providers to administer thoughtful, equitable, and consistent care strategies.
Studies have shown that diverse patients see themselves within the healthcare workforce, and are more likely to trust their healthcare provider. They are also better able to communicate their condition, more likely to understand and follow their prescribed treatment, and more satisfied with their healthcare. Patient populations are not homogeneous given that they come from various backgrounds, including language barriers, so it's essential to have a diverse healthcare staff that can be relatable to every patient.
From a diversity management viewpoint, diversity is primarily valued as an internal resource to inform work practices and policies with the aim to enhance public organizations’ overall performance (Groeneveld & Van de Walle, 2010). But often we have seen people who, when they think of diversity, think of ethnicity, gender and race. This is because diversity speaks to the uniqueness of certain human qualities within or outside the circles to which we belong. Medical practitioners should embrace diversity as it ensures better care for diverse populations.
But the healthcare staff should not be more diverse than the patient base they are treating to ensure that no matter who walks through the door, there is someone on staff who can identify with them, communicate with them, and better serve their individual needs. A commitment to diversity also helps when recruiting new healthcare workers and administrative staff because it allows you to cast a wider net to attract new talent and while offering a stronger hiring proposition for candidates who may consider working at your facility. Given these aspects, it is imperative to understand how these dimensions affect performance, motivation, success, and interactions with others, not only in health care communities but in workplaces.
How then do organisations manage diversity?
Bakerly Edu notes that managing diversity means acknowledging people's differences and recognising these differences as valuable. This enhances good management practices by thwarting discrimination while promoting inclusiveness. But good management alone does not necessarily help one deal effectively with a diverse workforce. Diversity has many dimensions thus there is no one size fits all solution to challenges that come with a diverse workforce. Healthcare workers can strive to create a culture of diversity in the workplace by creating an in-house diversity committee or action team. They can also come up with training programmes that encourage cross-cultural understanding.
HR Morning acknowledges that a diverse and inclusive workplace is one that includes and embraces employees from a range of backgrounds and life experiences, helping them receive equal opportunities and achieve their potential. Although there is no uniform to handling diversity, various scholars have argued that successful diversity management means creating an environment where all employees can flourish. This entails understanding that everyone’s life experiences are unique, require adaptations and benefit the business.
Below are some considerations to successfully manage a diverse workforce:
Keeping an open mind
Before a business can understand the benefits of employee diversity, it needs internal changes, and therefore, an open mind. Changes in ways of thinking or working practices help an organisation attract more diverse employees and, most important, persuade them to stay. This also applies to the patients that an organisation carters for. In a bid to promote diversity in the workplace, healthcare management needs to consider updating its policies, identifying unconscious biases, and explaining the benefits of diversity to existing employees and managers.
Communicate policies clearly and in writing
Policies, procedures and safety rules should be able to overcome any barrier including cultural or language among others to ensure that everyone understands them. If employees or patients are unaware of regulations, they are likely to break them or feel unsupported leading to disengagement, lower productivity and decreased revenue. Management could start by enhancing policies through a tool that analyses their language. It can spot common, but problematic, phrases like “sportsmanlike” instead of “sportsperson-like,” for example. Running text past these tools and updating it accordingly creates a deeper sense of inclusion in the workforce and patients, improving engagement among healthcare stakeholders, gender diversity and even the number of qualified health care providers you attract to a role.
Get leadership involved
Employees usually look up to management and a company’s leadership team creates the tone for the rest of the business. Thus for diversity to thrive within the health care workforce, leaders must be exemplary. On the other hand, providing diversity training that helps them tackle their unconscious biases will also help because they will be able to notice areas for improvement in the business’s diversity and inclusion practices.
Tackle unconscious bias
Unconscious bias refers to the hidden biases everyone has and acts on subconsciously. Everyone has different biases depending on their upbringing, community or workplace culture and these can be changed regardless of how long someone has held those biases. Creating awareness is thus key cemented by unconscious bias training.
Treat everyone uniquely
Researchers have found that here are more unique experiences in the workplace than ever. It also means that employees’ needs and expectations are more varied than ever. When you treat every employee as an individual, you’re more likely to make them feel valued like they belong and want to stay to make a difference. The same applies to the patients that the health care workers interact with on a daily basis. /p>
Webber & Donahue, (2001) note that that most transgender employees feel unsupported by their managers and in the workplace. Asking every employee what their gender pronouns are and listing them on employee profiles is a simple step to make them feel seen and accepted in the workplace.
Listen to peoples’ needs
Compassion and empathy are important for diversity management and promoting diversity in health care spaces. Just because you have not experienced a situation yourself does not mean you cannot contribute towards the solution. It is important to ask employees what they need and actively listen to their answers, particularly if they come from a different background than your own. They may have suggestions you had not considered before that will help you adapt the workplace to make it more appealing to diverse backgrounds. In conclusion, it is always important to bear in mind that people like to connect with health care providers that they feel understand them as individuals. The industry should thus aim to engage and well engage a diverse workforce. This can allow organisations to tap into more market areas, enabling them to infiltrate a wider area, increasing productivity and inevitably increasing finance. There have been arguments as the racial and ethnic demographics continue to evolve toward a more diverse population, it will be increasingly becoming vital for healthcare workers to acknowledge, respect, and uphold diversity in their approach to care delivery.
References:
Bakerly people and culture, Managing Diversity in the Workplace, University of California, 2023
Compass one healthcare, Benefits of a Diverse Workforce for Healthcare Organizations, 2022
IGI Global, diversity and leadership, 2023 ISBN: 9781622473665
HR Morning: How to effectively manage diversity in the workplace, April 2023
Webber, S.S. and Donahue, L.M. (2001) Impact of Highly and Less Job-Related Diversity on Work Group Cohesion and Performance A Meta-Analysis.
Washington University, School of business; Diversity-in-healthcare-workforce, 2021