Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 21, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 37 BUILDING A DIVERSE & INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE HarvardPilgrim.org Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is a mission-driven organiza- tion — improving the quality and value of health care for 3 million customers in New England and beyond. Our diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategy and approach focuses on readiness, engagement with employees, members, our partners and in communities throughout New England. At Harvard Pilgrim, DE&I is a business strategy as well as a People strategy. It's an integral part of our business and how we define ourselves. Our approach to DE&I allows us to value differences and create value through those differences. With this in mind, we have identified Inclusion as a core organiza- tional value and business strategy that differentiates Har- vard Pilgrim Health Care. We are proud that our focus on DE&I has given us regional and national recognition. Our efforts in DE&I have resulted in many consecutive years of being voted one of the best places to work. It has also garnered Harvard Pilgrim a 100% rating on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index which measures elements of DE&I for LGBTQ+ employ- ees and customers. Our efforts have been met with pride in the workplace and advocacy leadership roles across Con- necticut and the region. Harvard Pilgrim remains steadfast in its commitment to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace as an ongoing priority, proven by its organizational structure and implementation of several initiatives that are in place today. To activate our commitment, we created a dedicated DE&I team in 2008. The team's goals are to fully integrate DE&I into all aspects of the business, and develop and implement value by creating DE&I strategies that strengthen the com- pany's mission, core values and top priorities. We are proud of the inclusive work environment and cul- ture we have created. An example is the variety of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that are supported by the DE&I Team and Harvard Pilgrim's Leadership Team. These groups are fully funded groups focused on diversity representa- tion within the organization. The groups are open to all that identify with the mission/vision of the group and allow for employees with a shared interest to collaborate, help shape our culture, and support our DE&I efforts. The groups that are currently actively involved in DE&I efforts include the Black Leaders' Forum, Women's Development Group, O.P.E.N. (Out. Proud. Engaged. Network), Latino Leaders in Action, My Members Wellness and the Young Professionals Network. In response to the social and racial unrest across the globe, a cross-functional team at Harvard Pilgrim, led by DE&I and our executive leadership, came together to initially provide support to employees and create a platform for employees to share their personal perspectives and engage in healthy dia- logue. Several initiatives are successfully in place today as a result of this collaboration with plans to continue developing initiatives to support our employees' and further strengthen our overall commitment to our member and employee expe- rience. A few key examples are: • Creation of an internal information and education portal for employees on social and racial issues • Experiential learning and development opportunities such as Healthy Conversations, an opportunity to provide an inclusive, safe and respectful forum for employees to share perspectives, offer guidance, and engage in healthy dialogue • Monitoring the impacts to employees and their families through surveys conducted to assess employees' feedback specific to how Harvard Pilgrim is supporting employees' needs regarding COVID-19 support and social and racial justice impacts • Engaging and leveraging our workforce for innovation and solutions through crowdsourcing where employees can provide their ideas on how to make our company and communities even more inclusive, supportive and equi- table • Implementation of "Voices of Harvard Pilgrim," a social media initiative that provides a platform for employees to share their perspectives across our social channels on a variety of topics • Organizational and leadership development opportu- nities regarding the topic of social and racial justice to empower leaders and employees to have difficult con- versations around social and racial impacts with a goal to offer resources, tools, information and safe forums for development and collective healing Harvard Pilgrim will continue to build a workforce that is inclusive and diverse, where our employees continue to feel valued and empowered. A workforce that reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. By having diversity, equity and inclusion embedded into the values of Harvard Pilgrim and lived out every day by our employees, we are cre- ating an even stronger, better and healthier organization. Cynthia Ring Chief People Officer Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

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