Together, we’re better
Our vision at Medline has always been to be an employer of choice by creating an inclusive environment where all employees are valued and celebrated. Simply put, we want everyone to feel welcome and respected when bringing their unique and authentic selves to work each day.
When our guide post is inclusion, Medline is equipped to deliver on our promise of developing innovative solutions at the best cost to make health care run better.
Strengthening our foundation to advance diversity and inclusion (D&I)
In 2021, we engaged a cross-functional group of leaders at the vice president and director level through a task force that helped define our mission and vision, and establish our direction. The chart at right outlines the steps we identified as the roadmap for our journey. We began by spreading awareness through the creation of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)—voluntary, employee-led groups that foster a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Our impact, by the numbers
6
Employee
Resource Groups
1,200+
Employee
Resource Group
members
Partnered with
12
diverse student
organizations
Over
3,800
employees
participating
in D&I events
8
leadership
panels hosted
in 2021
25
culture and
learning events
Building an inclusive culture through employee engagement
At Medline, our inclusive culture is a result of the talent we’ve acquired through recruitment, onboarding and career development. To continue fostering this environment, employees can engage in our employee resource groups, cultural awareness events, DEI training and more. Here are some examples from 2021.
Growing Employee Resource Groups
ERGs help build community and a sense of belonging at Medline. They offer a dedicated space to build stronger connections, as well as cultural, educational and outreach activities. They also help us with employee recruitment, retention, development and engagement, while helping us identify blind spots in our initiatives through diverse perspectives.
In 2021, we created five new ERGs to join our Black Employee Network.
Each ERG has an executive sponsor, an HR advisor, two co-chairs, and a board made up of a cross-functional group of employees. There are 1,200+ participating employees across the six groups, and we intend to launch a seventh ERG—Disability Awareness and Action Alliance—in 2022. Leaders at the highest level are enthusiastic executive sponsors of these groups, and members are not only people who identify with the affinity of the group, but also allies.
Asian Pacific American (APA)
The APA ERG seeks to build an inclusive platform for Medline employees to learn and engage in open dialogue about Asian Pacific American cultures and topics, grow their network, feel comfortable speaking up, and promote professional and personal growth for all.
Black Employee Network (BEN)
Medline’s Black Employee Network seeks to create and nurture an inclusive culture that supports the proactive recruitment, retention and professional development of the Black segment of Medline’s workforce while improving the holistic representation of Black people throughout Medline’s workforce and leadership through culture and social awareness.
A Latinx Medline Alliance (ALMA)
ALMA seeks to attract, retain, engage, empower and celebrate Hispanic and Latinx diversity to enhance Medline’s success.
LGBTQ+
The LBGTQ+ ERG seeks to support the personal and professional growth of all employees, promoting an affirmation of the unique identities that make up the LBGTQ+ community through recruitment, retention, professional development, networking, mentorship and accessing resources.
Women (WERG)
The Women’s Employee Resource Group celebrates the voices of women to educate and empower all employees to achieve their full potential, fueling the future growth of our business and communities.
Medline Veteran Engagement Team (M-VET)
M-VET seeks to champion a supportive network for current and former service members and veteran advocates by sharing experiences, perspectives and resources.
Hosting cultural awareness events
ERGs have created dynamic programming and learning opportunities, including month-long heritage and cultural celebrations with guest speakers, videos and panel discussions featuring Medline employees who share their personal stories, book discussions, and educational and developmental events. Some of the most well-attended events include the Women in Leadership Panel, in which women across Medline shared experiences and advice as well as the Stop Asian Hate Panel, which addressed the uptick in hate crimes targeting the Asian American community.
Implementing trainings to advance diversity and inclusion
Events organized by our Employee Resource Groups are a primary source of D&I education at Medline. In addition, in 2020 and early 2021 we held training for managers called “Connecting with Others.” We also held a pilot program around senior leadership trainings, pivoting to provide more practical solutions in 2022.
Growing diverse leaders with targeted coaching and mentoring
Skill Enhancement and Employee Development Program (SEED)
We created a development program for high-potential women and people of color at the manager level and above. The program, which included seminars and mentorship, aims to increase exposure and development of up-and-coming talent. Together with an assigned mentor, each of the 23 participants created a focused and specific development plan for their professional growth. In addition, an executive coach led four sessions that covered topics such as executive presence, dealing with conflict and change management. SEED is sponsored by two senior executives for employees in the Sales and Product Divisions, two areas of the business that need diversification.
McKinsey Black Leaders Academy (BLA)
We sponsored 50 Black leaders across various functions at Medline to participate in two programs—Black Leadership Accelerator, for up-and-coming talent, and Black Executive Leadership Program, for VP-level and above. These programs helped participants learn about business strategy, problem solving, critical thinking and business acumen from McKinsey consultants, executive presenters and peer coaches.
Teaming up for campus recruiting
Our Talent Acquisition team is committed to bringing young, diverse talent to Medline. Investing in the value that these candidates offer continued to be a focus during 2021.
Expanding our reach: Career fairs and summer internships
Our Campus Recruiting Team emphasizes partnering with diverse student organizations and attending diversity-focused career fairs. During the 2020-2021 school year, we partnered with 12 student organizations at the high school and collegiate levels to promote opportunities for people in demographics that have been underrepresented in healthcare. The Campus Team is making an intentional effort to ensure all candidate slates for hiring managers include gender and racial diversity.
Partnering with the United Negro College Fund
In 2021, we partnered with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to provide scholarships and internship opportunities for students that attend historically Black colleges and universities. We hired seven UNCF interns in Product Management and Finance. Medline’s Black Employee Network partnered with the Campus team to provide mentorship to our UNCF interns, as well as participated in a welcome reception and a feedback session at the end of the internship. Five UNCF interns received offers to join Medline following their graduation.
Working with Handshake
We continued our investment in Handshake, a networking site for college students and alumni to find jobs. The platform allows us to broaden our reach to schools across the nation and targeted candidates who want to live in the Chicagoland area. It also helps us strengthen our diversity recruiting initiatives by targeting specific candidates.
Partnerships to advance D&I in our communities
Addressing social determinants of health
We believe every person deserves the opportunity to lead a healthy life, but many people do not have an equal chance because of their social and environmental conditions. These conditions are known as social determinants of health—and COVID-19 shed light on these inequities and lack of support systems like never before. Almost all of our grant recipients and volunteer opportunities work to address social determinants of health so that all people can achieve their full health potential.
Prioritizing inclusive skin and hair care
When Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital leadership was looking for skin and hair care products to meet the unique and diverse needs of their acute care patients, they turned to Medline for help.
Looking ahead
We’re proud of the progress we’ve made to advance diversity and inclusion in 2021, and we’re excited about what’s in store for 2022. With a growing team dedicated to this work, here are a few of the projects that we’ll tackle:
- To better understand our population and inform our strategy moving forward, we will launch a self-identification campaign where, if desired, employees can share additional demographic data that is not traditionally collected
- We’re introducing a seventh Employee Resource Group, Disability Awareness and Action Alliance, with the opportunity to add additional ERGs in the future
- We’re building upon our diversity and inclusion-focused employee training curriculum to further enhance our culture
- We intend to create measures and targets around our D&I initiatives
- We’ll continue the collection of employee feedback to improve our culture and expand our D&I efforts
Stories celebrating and championing diverse voices
Medline and CURAD® partner with illustrator and artist advocate Kendra Dandy
A Philly artist lends her designs to a new line of “fashion forward” adhesive bandages—adding color and flair to classic offerings.
Medline celebrates Pride
Medline employees reflect on their personal experiences and what it means to them to celebrate Pride.
The Black Employee Network celebrates Black History Month
Celebrating Black pioneers who forged a path in healthcare and helped move America forward.