It’s easy to get cynical about the current national push toward diversity, equity and inclusion. I know I do.

While not politically correct, one wonders, why not just hire the best person for a particular job – and let issues of race, ethnicity and gender figure themselves out in the hiring process? Should not the quality of the hire — evidenced through resume, personality and other more intuitive screening factors — trump arguably more superficial aspects such as skin color and sexuality?

Well, it turns out, whether or not you believe the hype, DEI and related issues of environmental stewardship and governance are more than buzzwords. They have implications for corporate America, and translate to cost savings, stronger operations and more positive images that can affect which employees companies attract.

Walking the talk

Just ask Sachin Jain, MD, CEO of the SCAN Group, a not-for-profit healthcare organization based in Long Beach, CA, that provides Medicare Advantage, primary care and other programs. The company recently released its first ever Environmental, Social and Governance report, which touts its progress in creating a more inclusive culture for employees.

“Most of what I’m proud of is our incredible employee base who … I think lives and breeds our mission of keeping seniors healthy and independent, and what I would say is that their ingenuity, their creativity, their vibrance as a group of people is really reflected on the pages of the report,” he told McKnight’s Home Care in a new podcast.

Jain cited the company’s first LGTBQ+ Medicare Advantage product and work with homeless older adults as points of pride.

Home care’s good governance initiatives

SCAN is not the only firm that is realizing the benefits of being a good corporate citizen. BAYADA this week also released its first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance Report.

“We are now incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into our business practices, which is a natural extension of The BAYADA Way and our core values of compassion, excellence and reliability,” BAYADA said in the report. “We believe that proactively evaluating ourselves through an ESG framework will strengthen relationships with our workforce, clients, business partners and the community.”

Among its achievements: It renovated some administrative buildings to minimize the company’s environmental footprint and recorded serious DEI gains on its board of directors and event participation.

“Recognizing sustainability as a company value will have a continuous positive environmental impact, reduce company costs and help to ensure a better future for our clients, employees and communities,” BAYADA said.

So even if you don’t necessarily believe that acting like a good company will get you anywhere, trust in the successful examples of SCAN and BAYADA to show you the benefits.

Then fake it ‘till you make it.

Liza Berger is editor of McKnight’s Home Care. Email her at [email protected].