Steven Standley is Senior Vice President of System Services at University Hospitals. He oversees non-medical operations including construction, supply chain, food services, the mail room, printing and laundry services.
One of his goals is to move minorities into leadership roles in non-medical positions and ensure supplier diversity.
UH spends roughly $800 million on goods and services each year. Standley wants to keep as many of those dollars as possible in the local community and provide more jobs and opportunities to smaller vendors.
He recently recruited Margaret Hewitt, an African-American architect, to join UH as a vice president and oversee the hospital’s fi ve-year $700 million construction project.
When Standley began the search for an individual to fill the vice president of construction position, he made clear his preference for minority applicants. UH had spent six months fi nalizing a master plan for a commitment to diversity, and Standley was anxious to get the wheels of inclusion into motion.
“I was looking for a qualified, very sophisticated leader, but I also wanted a minority in this position. It wasn’t about symbolism. It was about addressing the lack of diversity in our senior management. It was an opportunity to get more diversity and the right person into the job,” Standley said.
Tracking and ensuring supplier diversity is a new focus for UH. When Standley joined the system in 2000, the hospital had won several awards for diversity, mainly in the area of employment. The focus on the supplier diversity piece was lagging.
Although its diversity spend has increased 300 percent in three years, it was in 2007 that UH created a full-time position dedicated to supplier diversity. Reporting to Alan Wilde, V.P. of Supply Chain, the position is responsible for identifying minority vendors and preparing them to bid on sourcing opportunities. It is also charged with making the business case for supplier diversity throughout the system and at insuring UH has the appropriate tools and resources to support its supplier diversity program.
“We look at what we are now buying out of state that we can buy from companies in Northeast Ohio. It’s not about the numbers. It’s about economic impact, the access. We package bids in a way so smaller minority and female-owned firms can win business,” Standley said.
In 2006, UH joined the City of Cleveland’s contractor assistance program. UH found the program attractive because it streamlines the contractor review process for developers and connects minority and female businesses with area development activities. It also provides support for UH initiatives to increase the purchase of goods and services from local suppliers and provides job training.
Dramatic changes began to take place in 2003 when Thomas Zenty, III took the helm as President and CEO. Zenty was the driver behind diversity initiatives and directed the organization to revamp its internal structure and begin centralizing supply chain operations.
UH is a different hospital system than it was two years ago, and diversity growth is now incorporated into the performance measurements of every senior-level manager.
“Whether you want to do it for the right reasons or whatever, the bottom line is, this way gets the job done,” Standley said. “Our system ensures diversity is at the forefront of everything we do. It’s a part of every decision we make.”
Another area of concentration for UH is in creating programs that prepare young people for the workforce. In addition to construction oversight, Hewitt will keep a watchful eye on a flagship apprentice program still in the developmental stage.
The hospital has committed $500,000 in seed money to the initiative and is also encouraging its major contracting firms to participate in its mentoring projects.
“It is absolutely priceless for students to see the inside workings of one of the larger construction companies,” Hewitt said. “Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, the program offers young people the opportunity to see the inside of that wheel and learn how that wheel works.”