Talent mobility for accelerating diversity at leadership levels: A pilot study
Abstract
Mayo Clinic is committed to reskilling and upskilling its workforce and to creating a strong, diverse leadership pipeline to advance its ‘Bold. Forward.’ strategy. In alignment with this commitment, the Mayo Clinic Shared Services Organization (MCSSO) launched a pilot offering staff the opportunity to work in a hybrid role and build new skills and connections. Pilot participants split their time equally between job roles in which the professional skill sets required were approximately the same. The pilot involved six MCSSO departments and six candidates (three pairs) from the participating departments. Staff were recruited for three roles: senior project manager, senior business analyst and call centre representative. Each of the three pairs worked in a hybrid assignment for six months. Candidates were offered opportunities to network with each other, MCSSO senior leaders and other diverse colleagues. Pilot evaluations were conducted at 0, 3 and 6 months with candidates and their supervisors. Additionally, benchmarking with external organisations allowed learning from advanced talent mobility and leadership diversity programmes. The evaluations highlighted that 50 per cent of the candidates were promoted by the end of their hybrid assignment. Most of them engaged in new projects, cross-trained and gained valuable insights, skills and expertise. Candidates and supervisors valued the opportunity to network with senior leaders and cross-functional colleagues. The pilot and external benchmarks emphasised the importance of a formal ‘talent mobility programme’ to build and sustain a diverse leadership pipeline. It is crucial to be intentional and bold with hybrid and mobility opportunities for intersectional candidates, under-represented groups and staff committed to equity, inclusion and diversity. All candidates and supervisors wanted the pilot to be expanded and operationalised. We believe that these early experiences, results and lessons on preparing diverse talent for leadership levels in the organisation are broadly transferable to other healthcare and non-healthcare organisations.
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Author's Biography
Janine R. Kamath Janine (Coelho) Kamath is executive director, Mayo Clinic International. Previously, she served as chair, Department of Management Engineering and Consulting, and is an assistant professor of healthcare systems engineering in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Before joining Mayo Clinic, Janine was a manager at two large pharmaceutical companies. At Mayo Clinic, she has advanced and led multiple strategic initiatives on digital and platform environment, operations optimisation, international business growth, equity, inclusion and diversity (EID), care model transformation, core process engineering and quality, affordability and service. Janine is engaged with various national and international leadership and governance committees. She has a passion for entrepreneurship, diverse talent growth, learning and driving results through empowered high-performing teams. Janine is the board chair and president emeritus of the Association for Internal Management Consultants. She serves as a course director and has presented at national and international conferences and educational programmes. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and authored book chapters and a book on the legacy of management engineering and consulting at Mayo Clinic. Janine participates in professional and community organisations and academic institutions, including college and high school student education and mentorship programmes. She has received multiple awards and professional commendations.
Sarah R. Dhanorker , MS, MHA, is a manager in the Strategy Department. She is an assistant professor of healthcare systems engineering, assistant professor in healthcare administration at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB) and a Disciplined Agile Scrum Master (DASM). Sarah has over 18 years of experience leading clinical healthcare initiatives in business operations, administrative transformation initiatives, clinical quality, patient safety improvement, electronic medical record implementation, EID and several enterprise strategic initiatives. In her current role, she provides leadership to project and programme managers, supporting various projects at all Mayo Clinic sites, and leads the Project Management Office (PMO) Council at Mayo Clinic. Sarah also provides leadership support for department professional development and is responsible for innovation, coordination and standardisation within the Enterprise Portfolio Management Office (EPMO). Sarah completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science and earned a master’s degree in health services administration from Florida International University. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and has received several awards, including Mayo Clinic Teamwork awards and the 2015 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award.
Citation
Kamath, Janine R. and Dhanorker, Sarah R. (2023, December 1). Talent mobility for accelerating diversity at leadership levels: A pilot study. In the Management in Healthcare: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, Volume 8, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.69554/MRIY5207.
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