HR Pulse - Spring 2008 - (Page 15) [HR LEADER] Jeff Payne F rom electronic warfare officer to health care HR professional isn’t exactly a typical career path, but it worked well for Jeff Payne. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force ROTC program at Clemson University and served for six years as a crewmember on a B-52G aircraft, achieving the rank of captain. After leaving the Air Force in 1984, he joined Macy’s Atlanta division as an operations manager. “When I realized I was more interested in the maintenance supervisor’s career path than in the number of light bulbs to order, I knew I needed to move into human resources,” says Payne. Fortunately, he found plenty of opportunity in making that career move. Given the high turnover rate inherent in retail, there was a lot of activity in the Macy’s HR department. Payne says he gained invaluable experience there, working in a wide range of assignments until he was named director of HR and operations for the Columbia, S.C., store. When Macy’s filed for Chapter 11 in 1992, he decided it was time to get out of the retail industry and into something he considered “more stable.” Payne became director of HR at Baptist Medical Center Easley in South Carolina, part of Baptist Healthcare System (BHS), which later merged with Richland Memorial to form Palmetto Health, now the state’s largest health care system. Payne transferred back to Columbia to become a corporate-level HR director for the new organization. Making an Impact in South Carolina Soon after moving into health care, he joined the South Carolina Healthcare Human Resources Association (SCHHRA) and was appointed to the board as one of its state regional representatives about a year later. He served in a variety of board positions, including president. Asked what he’s particularly proud of from his tenure with SCHHRA, Payne points to his efforts to help strengthen and leverage the organization’s relationship with the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA). South Carolina is a small state, and SCHHRA only has about 100 members, which translates into limited funds and manpower. Over time, Payne worked closely with the SCHA liaison who suggested ways that SCHA could help SCHHRA. Results of this fruitful collaboration included: • A SCHHRA page and electronic newsletter on the SCHA Web site • SCHA’s assistance in developing a new logo and marketing strategy for SCHHRA • SCHA’s support for SCHHRA’s conference logistics • Coordination in marketing seminars and learning sessions for health care management across the state. In 2001, Payne had his first opportunity to participate in ASHHRA on a broader level when SCHRRA sent him to the annual national chapter leadership conference in Chicago. “I was wowed by the experience. The leadership conference was great, but ASHHRA itself was impressive because the focus was entirely on health care HR issues,” he says. “I thought, ‘This is cool.’ It helped open my eyes to possibilities for our profession.” After that experience, he started attending ASHHRA national conferences, incorporating the themes in South Carolina’s state conferences to help expand educational opportunities for SCHHRA members and bolster the linkage between national and state initiatives. 15 HR Pulse Spring 2008 “While I didn’t start out with a love of advocacy work, what I found really exciting was the opportunity to mobilize the committee.” Energizing the Advocacy Committee At the leadership conference, Payne volunteered to serve on any committee. He had set his sights on the education committee but was asked to join the labor and legislative committee instead. He signed on and later that year participated in the committee’s annual visit to Washington, D.C. Payne describes himself as “not highly into politics,” but he says he sees the value of making connections in the Capitol and the necessity of getting health care HR voices heard by legislators and policymakers. “Our Hill visit was exciting, but I didn’t feel it was as focused as it could be,” says Payne. “Committee members were making cold calls to representatives’ offices, and there wasn’t any particular strategy other than raising awareness about ASHHRA.”
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