Internal Diversity Initiative Award Finalist
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA), the state’s largest health insurer, is a place where a person can contribute immediately, grow their career and give back to the communities of Massachusetts. For more than 75 years, the not-for-profit BCBSMA has been a leader in health care and in corporate citizenship by engaging its workforce in a shared commitment to excellence and social responsibility.
BCBSMA values creativity and innovative thinking, and nowhere are those attributes needed more today than in the ever-changing landscape of health care. The organization is committed to an internal culture of health, working tirelessly to enable its associates to achieve holistic health – physically, emotionally, and financially.
The D&I strategy at BCBSMA has been embedded in all parts of the company through a special management training program, along with initiatives, to support internal talent development. By extending a D&I vision to other leaders within the company, the D&I Council led BCBSMA’s Executive Management Team (EMT) through an engaging, thought-provoking diversity education session. This education provided each leader with the tools necessary to make D&I an integral part of the way they work and to build the management skills needed to create higher levels of associate engagement and productivity. More than 600 additional leaders are set to participate in an extended version of the same session.
BCBSMA creates a culture that values workplace D&I, a culture that welcomes the unique experiences and viewpoints of every employee. They do so by combining a strong corporate diversity infrastructure, robust community diversity efforts, and a leading-edge supplier diversity program. Having a strong mix of associates with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that operate to their fullest potential is essential to the success of the overarching BCBSMA strategy.
The D&I Strategic Plan is tied directly to the BCBSMA 2014 Strategic Framework and is intended to be infused into all components of the business, particular areas of emphasis include: empowering associates, leading change, enhancing D&I, promoting healthy living, evolving the culture. The D&I Strategic Plan fully integrates D&I principles and practices into the business planning process, day-to-day operations, and evaluation methodology through four areas of focus: talent, innovation, market, and community. Additionally, BCBSMA sponsors and provides access to numerous programs that support diverse groups, trains associates, educating them in different cultural practices, worldviews and cross-cultural skills, and maintains supplier diversity.
To measure success, BCBSMA utilizes an annual report, which showcases all of the D&I accomplishments that happen throughout the year. In 2013, 2,100 associates were noted as participants in D&I education, which aided in the company receiving five awards for D&I commitment from their external community partners. Additional initiatives were also put into place, including employee Diversity Dialogues, Women@Blue (an internal conference in which a dynamic group of leaders within BCBSMA speak to associates about career development), the launch of Black/African American, LGBT and Women Employee Resource Groups (ERG), the beginning of Blue Express (a program encouraging new skill development).
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