Fostering a culture of inclusion is part of the fabric of who we are

Advancing inclusion and diversity builds stronger, healthier communities

A year like no other

A year like no other

At Humana, associates across our company demonstrate every day how committed they are to making this a great place to work. Given the roles we play in helping millions of Americans live healthier lives, we know that – to do our absolute best – we must have a workplace that thrives in part because every person can bring their whole self to work to do their best work.

We’re proud that our vibrant, diverse culture and environment of inclusion is one of our greatest strengths. This past year, maintaining and strengthening that culture has not been easy. Far from it. The shifting dynamics and challenges brought on by the global pandemic, tested us all. At times, it seemed just getting daily work done was an accomplishment.

That said, because of the dedication of so many of our associates, we made meaningful progress within our company over the course of 2020 — starting with aligning on core commitments for building cultural competency and setting enterprise-wide shared accountabilities. We continue to hold ourselves accountable with our metrics-driven approach and by assessing the cultural competency skills of our entire enterprise.

To strengthen our culture, one important action we took was expanding participation in Disrupting Everyday Bias training for leaders, deepening awareness of personal biases and exceeding our 80% leadership completion goal by achieving a 94% completion rate.

Created to offer our associates places to connect, our Network Resource Groups continue to enhance the associate experience. Now, more than 30% of our associates actively participate in at least one of our nine award-winning Network Resource Groups (NRG). Ranking No. 1 in DiversityInc’s “Top Companies for Employee Resource Groups,” our NRG leaders and teammates help us advance diversity of thought and proactively contribute to innovative, insightful business decisions that benefit our ever-changing, diverse members.

Growing diverse talent within our workforce remains a top priority. In December 2020, we became a founding partner of the OneTen Initiative, committing to a shared goal to train, hire and advance one million Black Americans into family-sustaining jobs over the next 10 years. The launch of OneTen is a meaningful step that enables the delivery of our Human Care strategy. This, coupled with targeted recruitment efforts to attract and promote diverse talent, reinforces our commitment to diversity and inclusion at every level of the organization.

Diversity is a strong suit for us — in fact, we were ranked by DiversityInc as the 13th most diverse company in the country (a 35-spot jump from 2018). This is especially meaningful since we know diversity of our workforce enables us to identify and empathize with our customers, which helps us to design and deliver simple, personalized experiences.

While we’ve made progress, we must continue to evolve our efforts to advance positive change. Our associates demand it, our customers demand it, and we know we must continue to build on the efforts we have in place today in order to be the company we want to be tomorrow.

Given our diverse, engaged and capable talent, Humana is well positioned for long-term sustainable success — in part because of the work our associates are doing to make Humana an employer of choice. Thanks to our teammates for their dedication and commitment to making Humana a place where every one of us can bring our whole selves to work each day — to do our best work.

All my best,

Bruce Broussard signature

Next: our commitments

Our commitments to accelerate inclusion and diversity

The challenges of 2020 highlighted areas of strength and opportunity for us to improve the way we work and show up for one another, our communities, and those we serve, and reinforced the importance of inclusion and diversity as a business imperative. We set our intentions to accelerate our efforts and advance cultural competency through a series of commitments.

Commitment: continue to build a Listening, Learning, and Acting culture

The Office of Inclusion & Diversity engaged external thought leaders through a series of learning opportunities for associates in the second half of 2020. As experts in inclusion and diversity, thought leaders provided space for associates to engage on complex issues and inspired new ways of thinking. The Inclusion & Diversity Thought Leadership Series launched with a two-part training session on allyship that inspired our organization to embrace and enhance allyship throughout the enterprise. Associates learned simple everyday actions to support an inclusive workplace. Additional topics explored during the Thought Leadership Series included communicating across cultures, navigating difficult cultural dialogue using an intersectional lens, and shifting from politically correct to culturally competent.

Beginning in August 2020, the 21-Day Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge gave leaders and associates the opportunity to learn about bias, culture and equity through a series of themed challenges. Designed to create effective social justice habits in everyday life, the self-paced experience takes participants on a journey to better understanding of the challenges to achieve racial equity and social justice. Much like changing a lifestyle habit, developing and implementing social justice habits takes time and dedication. The 21-Day Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge provides the learning framework to change habits.

The social unrest and awakening to systemic racism in 2020 influenced our organization in tangible ways. The challenging and often heartbreaking events of the year reinforced the importance of inclusion and diversity, and shaped two important topics — Courageous Conversations and Allyship. With associates leading the way, we moved from safe spaces to brave spaces in conversations, and learned what it means to be an ally. Executive leaders held several large-scale and small group listening sessions, in addition to a series of Courageous Conversations led by the IMPACT Network Resource group. The sessions laid bare where progress can be made in addressing complex issues like bias and microaggressions in order to foster a safe and inclusive environment where everyone can fully be themselves.

Courageous Conversations amplified the importance of allyship for associates who support and advocate for underrepresented groups of people whose identifies they may not identify with personally. Being an ally plays an important role in creating a culture that supports and recognizes people in varying demographic groups. Through collaboration with Humana Network Resource Groups, the Office of Inclusion & Diversity developed ally toolkits, which outline meaningful information and offer tangible steps and team activities on how to foster ally growth and inclusive behaviors. In addition to a general ally toolkit, each of Humana’s Network Resource Group launched ally toolkits in 2021.

Allyship is an ongoing investment of time in supporting others, holding ourselves accountable when mistakes are made, and being prepared to modify the approach towards allyship as needs change. Being an ally is the practice of emphasizing inclusion, and allyship is a critical activity that contributes toward a more inclusive culture and equitable workplace.

Commitment: advance diversity inside our organization

At Humana, we understand that inclusion enables a meaningful work environment where individuals from varying backgrounds, cultures, race and ethnicity feel welcome. Celebrating diverse backgrounds and creating an environment of inclusion is at the heart of Humana, and we are committed to advancing diversity inside our organization. In July 2020, our leaders, including the Management Team collaborated to identify and align on action plans for high-potential Black and Hispanic associates, in their respective business segments, including opportunities for professional development, mentorship, and greater visibility in order to better discover and reveal talent in our internal pipeline.

Together with Talent Acquisition, the Office of Inclusion & Diversity recruits professionals from organizations across the country that share our commitment to diversity. Continued partnerships with the Management Leadership for Tomorrow, The Consortium, National Black MBA Association, Prospanica and the YMCA Black Achievers fortify our recruitment efforts. Through the Disability Hiring Program, Mature Workers Initiative, and Veterans Hiring Initiative, we connect with several sources for recruiting, like the National Army Reserve, the Wounded Warrior Project, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AARP, the Age Friendly Foundation, and many more. Our partnership with Catalyst supports our continued efforts to build workplaces that work for women.

We continue to cultivate national partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with the addition of Howard University and Kentucky State University in 2020, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions including Arizona State University, Florida International and the University of Houston. Strengthening our pipeline for diverse talent, these partnerships expose our leaders to students of color in internships and full-time career opportunities at Humana. Coupled with significant investments, including a $1.3 million grant to Simmons College from the Humana Foundation to close the online learning gap, these intentional recruitment initiatives accelerate diversity within our organization and give a competitive advantage to meet the needs of our members.

Commitment: address social and health disparities

“We are at a pivotal moment in our country’s history, and it will come down to the actions and commitments we make today that will position us for a better tomorrow,” said Bruce Broussard, President and CEO of Humana. “Caring for each other and respecting differences is who we are as a company, and we do not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind. At the core of our values is serving the communities in which we operate. The mission of our company has taken on particular significance in our hometown of Louisville that is reeling from the devastating loss of Breonna Taylor, protests and ensuing tragedies. This is a community that is already suffering the impact of COVID-19. There is a lot of work and healing to do to rebuild physically and emotionally.”

Our commitment to inclusion and diversity extends beyond the workplace to address pervasive social and health inequities in the communities we serve.

Explore Dr. Olayiwola’s framework to address health equity

Next section: Associate experience