Partnership Aims to Nurture a Diverse Workforce
With more than 8,600 team members, Moffitt Cancer Center is both a prominent health care provider and major employer in the Tampa Bay area. With that comes a responsibility and dedication to ensure the cancer center’s workforce reflects the communities it serves.
Last year, Moffitt launched a collaboration with the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, known as CDC of Tampa, to diversify its workforce pipeline and build engagement with the community.
This collaboration, whose service area includes East Tampa, aims to build connections for workforce development and health education for its residents, explains Cathy Grant, vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Moffitt.
“Together, with our community partners by our side, we are nurturing a workforce that embraces the unique perspectives, talents and experiences of all,” Grant said. “Collectively, we forge a path forward, ensuring that health care not only meets the needs of every individual but also celebrates the strength and resilience of the communities we serve.”
In 2023, CDC of Tampa and Moffitt hosted the collaboration’s first “Hiring Hour” event. CDC of Tampa prescreened the candidates for a few of Moffitt’s open positions across the cancer center. Key areas included environmental services, food services, facilities and clinical operations. In preparation for candidate interviews, CDC of Tampa provided the participants with soft skills coaching. Members from Moffitt’s Talent Acquisition team then interviewed candidates at the CDC of Tampa’s East Tampa office.
The effort paid off. The team hired more than 40% of the candidates on the spot, reports Liza Bryant, director of Talent Acquisition.
“This was a creative way and great model for increasing the diversity of the workforce talent pool,” Bryant said.
Moffitt plans to continue this type of effective outreach as it expands its workforce to meet the growing health care needs of the community. In addition to the workforce pipeline, Moffitt and CDC of Tampa have plans for conducting health and education screenings to scale the collaboration.
