Many corporate diversity efforts won't have a lasting impact because they fail to penetrate the culture of the organization. Candi Castleberry-Singleton, chief diversity officer at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, calls such initiatives "bolt-on" because they involve attaching diversity recruiters and diversity trainers to companies and slashing those people and programs in tough economic times.
Her strategy, instead, is to develop a "built-in" climate of inclusion "that is not dependent on one or two people. ... It has to be part of the organization at its core."
Ms. Castleberry-Singleton, 43, arrived at UPMC earlier this year from Motorola, where she was vice president for global inclusion. She previously worked for Sun Microsystems and Xerox Corp.
Two decades in the corporate world has provided her with plenty of perspective on successful inclusion versus traditional diversity programs that often disintegrate, she said.
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"Bolt-on diversity is not sustainable; built-in inclusion is."
A lack of diversity in the workplace results primarily from "unconscious favoritism rather than conscious exclusion," she said. "It's easier to select from our own social network."
Inclusion happens when we "cast the net farther in our network."
At UPMC, where her challenge is to promote inclusion for 48,000 employees, Ms. Castleberry-Singleton is launching the Center for Inclusion in Health Care. The effort will focus on inclusion through four channels: the company, the culture, the customer and the community.
The plan for the company involves a strategy of talent acquisition and development that includes career and leadership training. "It becomes a thread of all your learning, not just a stand-alone program, not just filling in a box saying, 'I've been to diversity training.' "
Inclusion in the workplace culture means "ensuring every employee is treated with dignity and respect and has the opportunity for professional growth and development. You create an environment where they think it's a great place to work."
Steps to achieving that culture, she said, include surveying employees to determine "what they think is working," and holding focus groups "to ensure we stay fresh on issues."
To fully include its customers, she said, UPMC needs to create awareness of different economic, health and religious backgrounds among patients, and provide quality care and information about healthy lifestyles to all recipients.
Community inclusion "is the one I'm most excited about," said Ms. Castleberry-Singleton. That effort includes "promoting health careers and economic development" with organizations such as the Bidwell Training Center and a $100 million pledge to Pittsburgh Promise -- a program that will provide college aid to Pittsburgh Public Schools graduates.
Management at UPMC "has been extremely receptive to the vision," said Ms. Castleberry-Singleton.
She has an advantage being the first chief diversity officer at UPMC, she said, "because it's fairly new. We're introducing them to something. We're not rehashing, so they're not thinking 'another one of those.' Many more people are receptive to hearing what it is."
At Motorola, for instance, where Ms. Castleberry-Singleton succeeded another vice president for inclusion, "People had already heard it, so maybe they were not opening their minds, hearts or ears."
To introduce the Center for Inclusion to UPMC's thousands of workers throughout the region, Ms. Castleberry-Singleton will launch a series of road shows beginning Oct. 29 with a presentation for workers at the hospital's hub in Oakland.
"You can send a mass e-mail to a corporation, but for facilities that are serving patients 24/7, you have to show up and be there in person. And you always miss someone, so you keep going back."
First Published: October 12, 2008, 8:00 a.m.
