News Press Releases

Developing and Retaining Talent at Quest Diagnostics

DGX | November 1, 2023

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 1, 2023 / Quest Diagnostics

Originally published in Quest Diagnostics Corporate Responsibility Report 2022

2022 highlights

Quest employees completed over 1 million hours of training, an average of over 24 hours per full-time employee
Nearly 1,000 employees received tuition reimbursement totaling $3.3 million
Over 1,100 leaders have participated in a formal leadership development program, either offered through Quest or an external partner
Our employee engagement survey score of 75 surpasses the healthcare industry average

Quest strives to create an engaging place to work, one that enables employees to build their careers through impactful learning and growth opportunities while promoting our core cultural values. Equipping employees with an understanding of the standards, practices, and policies that are critical to us is fundamental to employee development. In 2022, we invested in learning and leadership development opportunities intended to foster career growth at all levels of the enterprise. We also implemented new channels throughout an employee's tenure to gather feedback and enhance the employee experience.

Creating leaders at all levels of our organization

We approach learning and leadership development with our "Engage. Learn. Apply." strategy, which aims to provide employees with impactful learning experiences tailored to their specific needs.

Enterprise-wide opportunities

We ensure that employees have learning opportunities at their fingertips through our learning management system, EMPower Learn. It offers a robust menu of training videos and learning playlists that allow employees to choose the content that serves them best.

Our Education Assistance Program continues to provide our employees with unique opportunities to advance their knowledge. Employees may be reimbursed 100% for eligible tuition expenses, up to $5,250 annually for undergraduate and relevant graduate programs.

Frontline leadership

We prepare new supervisors and managers through Manager Essentials, our 6-month curated curriculum. After completing this curriculum, employees are eligible to participate in LQSMCore, LeadingQuest Supervisor & Manager Core, our 12-month program for supervisors and managers. It's comprised of 3 units focused on leading self, leading others, and organizational leadership. By the end of 2022, nearly 50% of our eligible frontline leaders graduated from or were participating in our frontline leader development programs.

Mid-level leadership

Our Leadership Coaching Program is a 1:1 experience that engages high-potential managers and directors. Participants indicate that this program has helped them to communicate with and support their direct reports more effectively.

Executive leadership

In 2022, we designed fit-for-purpose offerings to develop senior leaders and the executive pipeline in a customized way.

An assessment program allowed us to create a success profile for senior leadership roles on our Executive Leadership Team. Together with a "360" interview process, Hogan assessment, and a day-long strategic executive simulation, we now have consistent and rigorous methods to measure the strengths, capabilities, and personality traits required for success at this level of leadership. Participants in the program are provided with feedback reports, as well as coaching debriefs, that result in robust development plans tailored to individual needs regarding the skills necessary for success. We are in the process of tailoring this offering to current and future VPs/GMs.

To empower and support leadership team members in their new or expanded roles, we have invested in executive coaching. This involves tailored onboarding, personalized assessments, 360 feedback, a full-day alignment- and synergy-building session, individual development plans, and a designated leadership sponsor who provides ongoing advice and guidance. Early assessment indicates increased team cohesion, enhanced strategic focus, strengthened interdepartmental relationships, and more impactful communication.

We also launched Financial Acumen for Business Leaders for current and future general managers. The program helps expand knowledge of finance concepts as well as their application to Quest-specific reporting and practices.

"We meet our colleagues where they are, offering fit-for-purpose learning opportunities to accelerate individual growth and impact."

TOVAH STROUD, Exec Dir, Operational Excellence and HR Strategy

Stronger employee experiences through listening

Understanding the sentiments of our employees is important at both the local and enterprise-wide level. Throughout 2022, we continued to leverage insights from our employees through new and established pulse surveys. These insights drive actions that improve overall employee experience, engagement, and retention. Life-cycle surveys are offered to new hires as well as to employees joining Quest through acquisitions and voluntarily exiting employees. Managers hold team-level discussions to explore survey results and collaboratively agree on actions to take. At the enterprise level, results inform decisions around culture priorities and learning and development opportunities.

Stay Interview Program

We recognize the need to interact with employees as individuals to understand their unique needs. The Stay Interview program was introduced to establish a new way for managers to engage proactively with employees to build trust and more meaningful connections. The program creates a foundation for more individualized conversations. These discussions help leaders learn specific actions they can take to improve the employee's experience and build intent to stay with Quest. Managers who conduct more Stay Interviews have higher team member retention than those who conduct few or none.

Quest certified 20+ Stay Interview program coaches
~1,500 people leaders were trained, with a focus on patient-facing team leaders
~14,000 Stay Interviews were completed and documented

Prioritizing employee well-being

Benefits that support the whole person

Quest is committed to providing strong benefits to our employees. Mental health is a core part of ensuring that employees can be at their best, both at work and at home. That's why we are collaborating with Spring Health to provide all our employees and their dependents on the Quest medical plan with access to high-quality and affordable mental health support. More than 10,000 employees and their family members have already accessed this important resource.

"I've battled depression and anxiety for years and have been struggling with health and family issues. I was quickly connected to a Care Navigator who helped get me started, and even scheduled a doctor appointment for me to explore my options. I'm seeing a therapist who has given me strategies to feel better and am using the Moments exercises."

- Technical Laboratory Senior Specialist

Personal insights to improve health

Quest's Blueprint for Wellness is a comprehensive health assessment that is available to all employees, as well as their spouses/domestic partners. Blueprint for Wellness provides participants with a report they can review with their primary care doctor, or with another physician virtually, to receive guidance and discuss next steps to address potential health risks.

"Blueprint for Wellness indicated I was at risk for heart disease. Participating helped me create a plan for better health and I couldn't be more grateful. I've made it a mission to take better care of myself which has also improved my energy and mental health. I can be a role model to my loved ones to do better, be better, and feel better."

- Lab Support Technician