Centene is one of those companies, which attracts the industry’s most driven workers. In an interview with The HR Digest, Adewale Soluade explains how he is future-proofing Centene through DE&I initiatives — and how he sees them as the path toward growth and advancement for the historically underrepresented talent groups.
The HR Digest: What programs do you have in place/or are considering implementing at Centene to help your employees deal with mental health issues, burnout and related challenges?
Adewale Soluade: At Centene, we understand the critical role we play in transforming healthcare and improving the health of our communities for members and employees. For us, this means focusing on the whole health of the individual, from physical health to emotional wellness. In addition to the mental health and emotional wellness resources, including counseling sessions and stress management toolkits offered to our employees through our Employee Assistance Program, our DEI Office partners with Centene’s Behavioral Health group to deliver targeted programs such as “Real Talk: Mental Health Across Generations.” Through these programs, we leverage our experts’ insights and experience to support our workforce in addressing life stage-related nuances to successfully manage mental wellness and how we can support others and manage issues with our own mental health. We also utilize our employee networks to deliver programs that impact employees individually as well as those who serve as caregivers to loved ones.
What initiatives are you most proud of at Centene?
Our DEI strategy and related initiatives are constantly evolving and responding to the world and context in which we live. However, I am most proud of the initiatives my team delivers that create an even more inclusive and equitable workplace for all our employees. Our Employee Inclusion Groups reach nearly 12,000 employees across our organization and have been instrumental in advancing initiatives such as our enhanced parental leave policy and caregiver benefits.
We implemented a leadership accountability framework related to our organizational culture, which includes specific DEI behaviors and people leader skills tied to operating plans and performance measures. Not only are we committed to pay equity, we also strive for equitable representation at all levels of the organization.
We strive for diversity of slate along with diverse interview panels to ensure we continue to make progress. In 2021, we achieved diversity of slate for 64% of director and above positions. We intentionally created spaces that allow us as an organization and colleagues to hear the voices of historically under-represented communities through our “Courageous Conversations at Centene” series.
Simply said, I am most proud of everything we do to care for our people.
“Companies must be intentional and authentic about bringing everyone to the table and expanding the table, if necessary, because it’s the ordinary privilege that each of us have that allows us to be powerful allies for those that might not share that privilege.”
How can companies commit to truer diversity and make progress without disenfranchising men and women who come from a privileged section of the society?
There is a statement attributed to Emma Lazarus, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” I’ve always believed that diversity is about the full spectrum of our shared humanity. That belief has guided how I approach the development of DEI strategy and initiatives. Unfortunately, I believe the word “privilege” has been corrupted. Almost all of us enjoy privilege in some way, shape, or form whether by virtue of race, gender, socio-economic status, physical ability, or other dimension of diversity. Yet this doesn’t negate the fact that some have to struggle more than others or have challenges to overcome in order to get to a place where they have access to equal opportunity. Companies must be intentional and authentic about bringing everyone to the table and expanding the table, if necessary, because it’s the ordinary privilege that each of us have that allows us to be powerful allies for those that might not share that privilege. It takes an intentional look at processes, practices, and systems by all to be able to say, “is it possible that this is a barrier to someone?” or “is this unintentionally creating an unfair advantage for someone?” Ultimately the goal must be an equitable environment for all.
With so many challenges and priorities, how do you decide where and how to put your attention?
Just like the rest of our organization, my team is always looking for ways to advance our work and drive further impact. Beginning at home, we listen very closely to our employees. The qualitative and quantitative data gleaned from our employee surveys helps us understand the employee experience across the lifecycle and develop responsive strategies.
Our DEI dashboards also play a critical role in the refinement of our enterprise DEI strategy, which our team evaluates at least twice a year. External benchmark surveys help us to annually review our policies, practices, and benefits, which are then measured against best-in-class, recognized and recommended policies and practices.
While we are deeply appreciative to have been recognized as Top 50 Company for Diversity, a Best Place to Work for People with Disabilities as well LGBTQ+ employees, amongst others, because of these benchmarking surveys, the true power for us comes in the insights we receive from participating. They allow us to sharpen our focus on not just being a best-in-class organization for DEI, but becoming a best-practice creating company.
What do you think are the X factors that will separate the most successful DE&I leaders in the coming years?
Looking to the future, I believe successful DEI leaders will continue to make immediate impact on the cultural health of their organizations through their ability to conceptualize, incubate, build, and advance DEI in such a way that it is seen as a strategic imperative that creates competitive advantage for their organization. They’ll be innovative leaders who can analyze and leverage data effectively to tell the DEI story along the employee lifecycle, streamline strategic initiatives, and possess the ability to lead cross-functional efforts. Critically, they will be agile–able to move from highly strategic to tactical–while clearly communicating the alignment of DEI with organizational business and talent priorities to all levels of their organization.