The numbers at Froedtert Heath are impressive. Twenty percent of total construction hours went to minority and women businesses enterprises as did 17 percent of construction spending subject to inclusion, and 20 percent of spending on architecture, engineering, and consulting services. But for the facility planning and development team, what’s behind those is even more impressive — a journey toward diversity and inclusion that is still underway, according to an article from Building Operating Management on the FacilitiesNet website.

“We were only successful after years of trying and getting expert advice,” said John Balzer, vice president of facility planning and development at Froedtert. “But then it snowballed.”

Diversity is an important issue for facility managers, Balzer said. “All you have to do is look at the world around you and understand the makeup of the world today. That isn’t going to change. Our philosophy has been we want to look like the community we serve.”

The department’s diversity effort was built on work done across the Froedtert Health organization, which views diversity as a business priority. “The more we can reach out and connect with the community we serve, the better our ability to effectively serve that community,” Balzer said.

Read the full Building Operating Management article.