HR Pulse - Summer 2008 - (Page 13)

[PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE] An Industry of Choice Dear Health Care HR Colleagues: I selected “Leading with Passion and Purpose” as the theme for the 2008 annual conference because I strongly believe that health care HR professionals must be energetic, enthusiastic leaders who are strongly committed to developing people and stafﬁng an organization with individuals who deliver high-quality patient services. By pursuing our work with zeal, we keep everyone—the C-suite, managers, and all employees—motivated and focused. Being purposeful means assuming responsibility for the development and implementation of business solutions that yield improved employee engagement, patient service outcomes, quality outcomes, and ﬁnancial success. It means planning and driving a strategy that ensures retention, and developing our future workforce, including the leaders of tomorrow. At ASHHRA, we talk a lot about getting a seat at the strategy table. I think that most of our CEOs, COOs, and boards want us there because they understand our role in building and sustaining a productive workforce—a health care organization’s most sizable and valuable investment. If we’re not at the table, I believe it’s because we’re not making it evident that we want to be there and that we have the ability to design, champion, and drive business solutions with our executive colleagues. Demonstrating with passion and purpose, enthusiasm and results, will get and keep us there. In this HR Pulse, we focus on issues related to developing the workforce, which is one of the many areas where we as HR professionals have a very visible way of exhibiting our value. Creating a pipeline of quality health care workers is one of the most pressing challenges we face today. To be successful, we must develop strategies and implement programs that retain our top talent, attract the best and the brightest of the next generation, and constantly focus on development of our staff—measuring our outcomes and results every step of the way. In short, we are responsible to make health care an industry of choice and our organizations’ employers of choice. The cover story contains a special report from the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Commission on Workforce for Hospitals and Health Systems titled In Our Hands: How Hospitals Can Build a Thriving Workforce. In 2002 the report outlined a blueprint of strategies to help hospitals handle the shortage of health care workers. Our ASHHRA Board of Directors recently revisited the progress made in this critical area. Turn to page 22 to ﬁnd out where we’ve made signiﬁcant strides and what opportunities still are available for improvement. Also featured in this edition is Mercy Health System, an award-winning workplace that seems to be doing many things right for patients and employees alike. We hope that Mercy serves as an inspiration in your efforts to create and maintain environments where health care workers can thrive as you “Lead with Passion and Purpose”! Best regards, Jeanene Martin, M.Ed., MPH, SPHR ASHHRA 2008 President 13 HR Pulse Summer 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Pulse - Summer 2008

HR Pulse - Summer 2008 Contents Pulse Points Executive Director's Letter President's Message HR Leader Profile: Carol Bank, SPHR Special Report: Building a Thriving Workforce Creating A Best Place to Work Employee Morale Don't Set Up Your Managers to Fail From Tedious Task to Strategic Process Employer-Assisted Housing Changing the Paradigm of Nurse Recruitment Workforce Recognition: Simple Gestures Go a Long way Advertisers' Index

HR Pulse - Summer 2008

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