HR Pulse - Summer 2008 - (Page 29)

Partnering: Best place to work. Mercy considers employees at every level of the organization to be “partners” and focuses on fostering an entrepreneurial spirit in each individual. The organization recognizes the importance of providing employees with opportunities and support. 4. Cost: Long-term ﬁnancial success. Mercy employees share responsibilities for identifying innovative ideas for growing system-wide revenue; decreasing expenses and waste; increasing productivity; maximizing economies of scale; and continuously implementing suggestions to improve effectiveness. “I am very proud that being a best place to work is one of the pillars of our strategy,” says Harris. “My role is to foster that whole concept and make it come alive.” While Harris may be entrusted with advancing Mercy’s third pillar, she’s quick to point out that creating and maintaining an awardwinning workplace is not just an “HR thing.” “Being a best place to work has to be owned by everyone—HR cannot be the only advocate. Everyone in leadership has to believe in it as a key strategy and so do employees,” she says. At Mercy, that belief is evident at the top, and Harris credits President and CEO Javon R. Bea’s emphasis on servant leadership as the inspiration for that pillar. “Servant leadership is a philosophy built on the idea that leaders are here to serve their employees, who we call ‘partners’ at Mercy,” says Bea. “This philosophy turns the traditional pyramid on its head, so that the senior leadership team is at the bottom of the structure. The closer you are to our patients, the higher you are in the hierarchy. At Mercy, the leader’s primary task is to remove the barriers in the way of our partners, so they, in turn, can serve the needs of their patients.” All In the Family The organization goes beyond fostering a family-friendly atmosphere in terms of beneﬁts and programs that support employees’ work-life balance. “Treat each other like family” is a stated value at Mercy. “This is a very family-oriented place,” explains Margot Harris, a women’s health care clinic nurse practitioner who joined Mercy eight years ago when she graduated from college. “Javon Bea grew up in a large family himself, and it shows in how he leads the organization. The message from the top is that everyone here is important to our mission, whether you’re a physician, a cafeteria worker, or in housekeeping.” From Bea’s standpoint, creating a sense of family simply makes sense. “We spend more of our waking hours with our fellow partners at work, and we support each oth- 3. er on both a personal and professional level. The family atmosphere that we foster makes it fun to come to work. Mercy is committed to maintaining this value of ‘treat each other like family,’ regardless of how big we grow,” Bea explains. And growth has been a watchword at Mercy under his stewardship. Since he came on board in 1989, the organization has undergone a transformation from a stand-alone hospital into a vertically integrated health system with a 12-fold increase in gross revenues. As most organizations grow, the culture changes and employee satisfaction tends to decline. Yet despite Mercy’s exponential growth, it has managed to keep employees happy. In fact, morale keeps improving. Employee Satisfaction Survey Retention Rate Turnover “Feeling Valued” 2002 88% 13.5% 74% 2007 93% 7% 83% Here are just a few of the beneﬁts and programs that contribute to the high rates of employee satisfaction: • Flexible work arrangements: Nearly 30 percent of employees have an “alternative” work arrangement, which includes ﬂextime, job sharing, telecommuting, work-to-retire, weekends-only work schedules, pool work, work-from-home options, ﬂoat positions, and ﬂexible full- and part-time schedules. • Concierge services: Representatives dedicated to serving employees are available onsite, online, and via phone, to take care of dry cleaning, gift purchasing/wrapping, lunch delivery, grocery shopping/delivery, onsite oil changes/car care, event tickets, vacation planning/reservations, and more. • Continuing education and career development: Employees are eligible for $2,500 in tuition reimbursement and work-related classes, and they can participate in a career mentoring program (with an additional $1,000 beneﬁt) that provides one-on-one coaching and advice on career advancement. Mercy also offers specialized training in leadership development and culture of excellence training. • Discounts: Employees receive discounts and free memberships to wellness classes and smoking cessation services, plus reimbursements for health club memberships. 29 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

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.