PBN Diversity & Inclusion Awards 2019
HEALTH CARE: CVS Health Corp.
AS ONE OF the nation’s premier health innovation companies serving more than 100 million patients and customers each year, CVS Health Corp. knows all about working with people with unique backgrounds and needs.
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In fact, it’s the company’s business.
“The company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is not a standalone objective; it is deeply rooted in our purpose of helping people on their path to better health,” said David L. Casey, CVS vice president of workforce strategies and chief diversity officer. “Our strategic approach to managing diversity touches every aspect of the business, from maintaining a diverse workforce and inclusive culture, spending nearly $2 billion with more than 3,000 small and diverse businesses in our supply chain, and offering products and services that meet the needs of all of our customers, patients and communities.”
Seeking to engage all colleagues in the process and enable every business function to deliver on near- and longer-term goals, CVS utilizes a four-pillar framework for its Strategic Diversity Management program. Those aspects are workforce representation, inclusion and belonging, talent systems and marketplace diversity.
“Developing a diverse, highly trained workforce that reflects our customers and the neighborhoods in which they live is a win-win for CVS and the nearly 10,000 communities we are privileged to serve,” Casey said. “Diversity management is not simply a function of department or title; every colleague can lead from where they are.”
‘It’s humbling and gratifying to see the energy and passion coming from our colleagues making meaningful contributions to our diversity-management strategy.’
David L. Casey, CVS Health Corp. vice president of workforce strategies and chief diversity officer
According to Casey, more than 22,000 CVS employees currently participate in the company’s Colleague Resource Groups. The groups offer colleagues the opportunity to voluntarily come together with others who share or support a particular affinity, identity, focus and/or constituency. In addition to offering leadership development, mentoring, networking and education opportunities, the groups also provide insight and advice to CVS leadership.
Cara Svoboda has been with CVS for 14 years, and has been a Colleague Resource Group program adviser for the past year.
“I am extremely passionate about the work we do in Strategic Diversity Management here, but especially the CRGs,” said Svoboda, who first got involved in CRGs in 2013 after working for more than eight years as a pharmacy technician. “The SDM team helped me grow as an individual through development opportunities, such as taking on leadership roles, going to workshops, attending conferences and learning the art of networking. I’ve also been able to learn so much about different cultures, religions, and people in general.”
In the last four years, CVS has hired nearly 7,000 colleagues with disabilities. Last year, in association with the National Consortium of State-Operated Comprehensive Rehabilitation Centers, CVS opened simulated storefronts and pharmacies at rehabilitation centers around the country.
Additionally, CVS has partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor to create a registered apprenticeship program for pharmacy technicians and plans to hire 8,000 registered apprentices by 2022.
CVS’ innovative and inclusive programming has dramatically changed the company.
“CVS Health has evolved so much over the past decade, I don’t think I ever could have expected to have the level of impact we have been able to have over that time frame,” Casey said. “To engage in work that has a direct impact on our ability to serve more than 100 million people a year and empower more than 295,000 colleagues is more than I could have ever hoped for. It’s humbling and gratifying to see the energy and passion coming from our colleagues making meaningful contributions to our diversity-management strategy, regardless of where they sit in the organization. The issues can be complex at times, but quite frankly, I consider myself lucky to be able to do it.”
