CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System President and CEO Chris Karam started with the organization 25 years ago as assistant director of cardiac rehabilitation services at a sister facility in Shreveport, La. Pam Kennedy, regional vice president of human resources at the 312-bed facility began 23 years ago as an accounting clerk who did not have a bachelor's degree.
They're emblematic of those who have benefited from the 94-year-old health center's training and career development programs, in which employees spend an average of 65 hours a year—the Leadership Development Institute for managers and directors, a mentoring program that provides one-on-one guidance and encouragement toward professional goals and a “school-at-work” program that prepares entry-level associates for continuing education and more advanced roles.
Of the 47 new positions created and 313 open positions filled in the past fiscal year, 70% came through internal hires. And associate satisfaction at the Texarkana, Texas, facility rose from the 90th percentile last year to the 94th percentile this year, according to Press Ganey.
“We really do try to grow people,” Karam says. “We are all recipients of that opportunity to grow internally, and that's why we're passionate about it.”
View the ranked list of the 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare for 2010
View the ranked list of the Large Employers categoryThe organization's work to attract and retain the best talent has landed CHRISTUS St. Michael in the top 10 of
Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work in Healthcare all three years the contest has been held. This year, CHRISTUS placed second overall and is No. 1 in the large-employer category, those with 1,000 or more employees.
The ability to provide training and advancement opportunities to employees were key differentiators among larger companies, according to a comparison of those in the top-100 list vis-a-vis all employers undertaken by
Modern Healthcare partner Best Companies Group.
Asked if they're given the chance to explore opportunities, 65% of total respondents agreed, compared with 75% of those who worked for companies on the list. The results showed similar gaps on questions such as whether expectations for advancement are clear,
71% vs. 79%; what the company says about advancement can be trusted, 69% vs. 79%; and whether good work is rewarded with raises, 62% vs. 72%; and/or promotions, 59% vs. 69%.
Karam says CHRISTUS' appeal as a place to work starts as soon as interviewees venture onto its 130-acre wooded campus, enter its 15-year-old facility and are immediately greeted by potential co-workers.
“It's a very peaceful environment. The thing we hear repeatedly is that our culture is different here,” he says. Staff members take visitors “to places if they're looking for directions. That sets the stage for a great conversation when we're trying to recruit people.”
CHRISTUS pays its 1,579 full-time employees an average of $66,000 for exempt employees and $32,000 for nonexempt ones, covering 100% of life insurance and long-term disability premiums, more than 75% of health, prescription drug and vision premiums, and more than 50% of dental.
Karam figures those numbers are competitive, if not top-of-scale. “We're going to pay you a fair wage,” he says. “We won't be the highest; we won't be the lowest. That sets the stage. And then it becomes an issue of culture. Do they feel comfortable?”
Most people do, he says. Among the intangibles are seven associate-driven service teams, with 10 employees each, that focus on associate loyalty, patient-family loyalty, communication, rewards and recognition, leadership development, standards and activities. “Each has a mission and a charter,” says Jennifer Wright, organizational effectiveness manager. “It's an opportunity to pull them in and hand the keys to them. Pretty much 90% of their ideas have been implemented.”
Communication is another issue that defined companies on the list. Among all large companies that applied to be Best Places to Work, 73% of respondents reported that financial information is communicated well, compared with 83% of those who made the list, while 85% overall understood their organization's long-term strategy, compared with 92% of listed companies.
Leaders at CHRISTUS keep communication flowing by taking time to make sure “rounding,” which has system executives getting feedback from workers during monthly visits, produces meaningful two-way feedback, Wright says. “They take 10 or 15 minutes” per employee, he said, “and get a status of where we are, go over tough questions so we're consistent and transparent, and share those tough questions and answers.”
“A lot of organizations round. I sometimes wonder, ‘So what makes us special? Why are we different?' ” says John Phillips, regional chief operating officer. “What makes it different here is that leadership, many years ago, set the tone for … senior leaders, directors, managers to have that meaningful conversation, to have a natural conversation, to connect and to build that connection.”
That ongoing rapport helps the organization get through potentially controversial policy changes—such as going tobacco-free as a campus. And though the tough economic situation reduced volume 11% last year and has required employees to adjust their hours based on patient volume, layoffs have not been necessary, which helps everyone.
“Stuff like that is scary,” Phillips says. “When you have a strong foundation, through rounding and these other initiatives, it allows for us to do some of those other, more difficult things without having a negative ripple effect.”
Repeated Best Place to Work designations from
Modern Healthcare have definitely influenced meeting agendas at CHRISTUS, Karam says.
“It's challenged us to rethink what we do,” he says. “There's many conversations about, ‘Is this how a Best Place to Work would do it?' It's elevated expectations of associates and demands on leaders, which is healthy.”
