Being Intentional in Building an Innovative IT Culture

An innovative culture occurs when an organization values and supports its employee’s curiosity, creativity, and empowers them to make decisions.  It doesn’t happen by accident, and it doesn’t happen without being intentional with your culture.  CareSource’s IT Team understands this and has put a focus on evolving and building an innovative IT Culture by focusing on four key elements: Evaluating the Current Culture; Fostering a Mindset of Innovation; Modeling and Rewarding; and Valuing Diversity.

Evaluating the Current Culture

It’s important to understand where you are to get to where you are going.  Earlier this year a cross functional group of over 100 IT leaders participated in a series of collaborative working sessions to discuss the current culture openly and transparently as a basis for understanding where we are and where we want to go.  The collaborative working sessions have continued and have helped identify where there are opportunities for the culture to evolve.  An innovative culture at CareSource is part of the IT Strategy and everyone has a part to play.

Fostering a Mindset of Innovation

CareSource believes that every member of the IT team is an innovator and leader with unique talents and technical expertise that can be maximized in a collaborative setting. CareSource’s IT personnel are empowered to bring new ideas and technology to the table to either succeed or learn from the experience.  Innovation isn’t a single solution to a problem, but instead a mindset each person must have every day.  Innovation isn’t always visible through a single event or solution, but rather built on small decisions that are identified, discussed, and implemented.  Every member of the IT team is encouraged to think creatively as they focus on creating technology solutions to enable business success.

Modeling and Rewarding

To encourage innovation, CareSource IT implemented a quarterly recognition program.  The Heart of Technology Award recognizes IT employees who champion and demonstrate a commitment to our IT pillars in support of the IT vision - “Driving innovative solutions to revolutionize health care.” Nominations to the Heart of Technology Award are recognized by their peers and awarded by our employee-based, Heart of Technology Committee.

Valuing Diversity

CareSource values diversity! Valuing diversity goes beyond ethnicity and gender and requires us to look for individuals with different industry experiences, different career paths, ages, education, and a variety of lived experiences.  We pursue diversity and cultivate equity and inclusion at all levels.  Employees are encouraged to learn from each other because we understand innovative thinking happens when there is a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. 

The Chief Information Officer for CareSource, Devon Valencia, shares what leadership is doing to build an IT culture of innovation.  

“Leadership is about building an environment for my team to create and do amazing things that they never thought they could do.”

Devon Valencia, Chief Information Officer for CareSource

Thanks to these innovative efforts, CareSource’s IT organization has delivered critical results that drive the organization’s strategy delivery high quality, cost-effective healthcare to our members.