The mission of any good hospital is to deliver terrific care to patients. At the JFK Medical Center near Palm Beach, Fla. the process begins with delivering great services to employees. It's a simple concept: If the hospital provides work/life balances and allows employees the chance to learn and grow on the job, then patient care will naturally come about. Switch the industry and substitute "customers" for "patients", and the story is the same. Show that you care and your employees will respond, both to the employer and the customers.
Inspired and driven from the top by CEO Phillip D. Robinson, the smart treatment of the hospital's workforce begins with open and frequent communications. Robinson holds quarterly "Town Hall" meetings with all 2,100 employees over five days, discussing operating issues and soliciting wide-ranging employee suggestions on virtually every issue except wages. Robinson has also implemented an array of work/life benefits, ranging from onsite day care to a soon-to-open charter school. According to Joyce Cumiskey, the nursing staff coordinator, these provisions show employees that "the hospital wants to know what we're thinking and that they care."
Many of the programs at JFK, which has been widely recognized for its enlightened workplace approach, are beyond the reach of smaller employers. However, some programs would be feasible for a small workplace with some leadership imagination and sensitivity. At JFK, employees have access to dry cleaning pickup and delivery, onsite car washing and detailing, and postage machines. The cost to the hospital is nothing apart from the time it takes to do some creative partnering with local businesses. "Our employees work long hours," says Beth Brill, vice president of human resources and a master at striking deals. "I'm trying to make their lives easier."
Removing or minimizing employee hassles and concerns leads to greater dedication and bonding among employees. Bulk purchasing discounts on food and small-package shipping are passed along to employees. For those workers who have family issues, such as a sick parent or child, JFK provides a beeper. The cost is $5 a month per beeper, but the hospital likely saves in the long-run on a loss of productivity from distracted employees running to make phone calls. Just as important in helping people balance work and life is the Employee Relief Fund, which provides no-interest loans of up to $500. Employees support the fund themselves through twice-a-year raffles and bake sales.
Not only does JFK help employees maintain their equilibrium, the hospital also assists workers in jumping ahead. JFK's $1,800 tuition reimbursement program may not be affordable for smaller employers, but there are other elements to the Career Exploration Program that can be adapted. The quarterly program meetings focus on generating interest among entry-level employees to fill much needed positions such as operating room, lab and radiology technicians. Information on job descriptions, personality profiles and salary ranges are available, and interested employees are encouraged to shadow fellow mentors. If there seems to be a fit, the hospital steers the employee to a local community college for a career assessment.
None of the hospital's programs are purely altruistic. Rather, they are designed to build loyalty, enthusiasm, productivity and, ultimately, high patient satisfaction. The challenge is "to keep it all fresh and alive," Brill says. "This has to be part of a company's culture. You can't jump on the program of the moment." To measure the success of these programs, Brill is constantly surveying employees and patients for signs. There are two key indicators she looks at in particular. There's the "happiness index," the number of new hires who come from employee referrals, which is always the best and least expensive way to build a workforce. JFK's happiness index is 47 percent. Another indicator is the "coming home rate" or the percentage of former JFK employees who return to the hospital from what they thought were greener pastures. The coming home rate at JFK is 14 percent. In the end, happy employees, happy patients and a happy employer make for a winning workplace at JFK.
Company: JFK Medical Center
Website: www.jfkmc.com
Industry: Healthcare
Location: Atlantis, Fla.
Number of employees: 2,100
Sales: N/A
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