VISN 4Diversity Recruiting Challenge

Team Coast2Coast Andrew Kohn, Joanne Newborn, Brian Renaud, Carrie Requist,

Shimir Varia

Current Recruitment Practices

• Apply through Federal Government’s USAjobs.gov

• Recruit top physicians & nurses

• Diversity focus only on persons with disabilities

• VA’s “Diversity and Equal Opportunity Employment Program Evaluation” 2007

Diversity Recruitment Issues

On-site Audits

Assessments

Improvement Action Plans

VA’s Goals of Diversity

• Create a Diverse Workforce

• Cultivate a Flexible and Inclusive Work Environment.

• Facilitate Outstanding Stakeholder Relations.

Legal Implications

• Protected Classes

Gender

National Origin

Disability

Political Affiliatio

n

Age

GeneticInfo

Color

Race

Religion

Retaliation

Parental / Marital Status

SexualOrientation

VeteranStatus

Diversity is Good Business

• Reduces attrition and retains top talent

• Increases operational efficiency• Reduces time lost to conflicts• Ties VISN 4 more closely with its

clientele• Supports VISN 4 marketing and

outreach

Changing Demographics

• Higher percentage of minorities in highest poverty schools

• More children are speaking languages other than English at home

• Lower non-Hispanic/white segment of students in public schools

Need for diversification

• Globalized patient and labor market population

• Mergers and alliances

• New business strategies

Current Diversity Initiatives

• Employee Diversity Training

• VA Diversity Award

• Strategic Outreach Recruiting

Recruitment

• Create a Diverse Pipeline

• Partner with Colleges

Compensation & Incentives

• Tie Diversity to bonus program

• Diversity target for hiring managers

Annual Reviews

• Assess employees on Diversity• Employees as examples of

“living diversity”• Examples:• Part of diversity recruiting• Learning a new language• Cultural training

Conclusion

• Heading the Correct Direction

• Demonstrated Operational Capability

• Diverse Workforce = Diverse Ideas