CORPORATE PROFILE
Blue Cross Blue Shield

	LEFT: Fredi Shonkoff, Sr. VP of Corporate Relations; Karen Thompson Yancey, Dir. of Program Mgt. Delivery of BCBS Information Technology Division.
	Blue Cross Blue Shield employer profile

For any company looking to expand its customer base in Massachusetts, understanding how to leverage diversity is a strategic necessity. "Right now, the only demographic growth in Massachusetts is with the immigrant population," says Fredi Shonkoff, senior vice president of corporate relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. "We need to pay attention to all the potential new members out there, and make sure that we are prepared to serve them, and reach out to them."

The company is currently sponsoring cultural assessments, with the help of focus groups of employees and potential customers, to understand how to improve their marketing and service to emerging markets. "Our definition of diversity is very broad," says Shonkoff. "We are looking at promoting primary diversity, which consists of the things that you can see, such as race, age and gender. Then there are the things you can't see, such as religion, sexual preference, the way people think and operate. Our diversity initiative goes from working with our physicians, to our suppliers and vendors, to our own employees. We try to encompass all of this into a culture of inclusion."

Is diversity worth all the effort and expense? Karen Thompson-Yancey, director of program management delivery in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' Information Technology division, says an emphatic "yes." "A company with a commitment to diversity is not only going to attract someone like me, it will also attract a diverse customer base. I have worked with other top multinationals, but their commitment to diversity was really just lip service. Being a part of a true diversity initiative, where people are committed to making diversity be a part of the corporate culture, makes this an exciting place, and I want to come to work every day. People can sniff out what is real and what is not. That's why I stay here."

ALSO:
Creating a culture of inclusion
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