Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • MORE +
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Labor
September 26, 2019 10:06 PM

Family-Friendliest Award: Open communication leads to a family-friendly workplace

Eric Bradach
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Beach Cities Health District’s WorkWell Committee

    Beach Cities Health District’s WorkWell Committee plans its next wellness challenge.

    It’s no secret that an individual’s work and home life impact one another. So for the Beach Cities Health District—a community-based healthcare organization in Redondo Beach, Calif., with a focus on preventive healthcare and wellness—open and consistent communication to ensure its staff’s well-being is a top priority.

    Along with 15 vacation days after one year of employment, BCHD staff also receive 12 weeks of paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child. But it doesn’t stop there. The health district also offers affordable camp programs for employees' children.

    “It’s important to walk our talk. As a preventive healthcare center, we let everyone know we’re a family-friendly environment,” said Megan Vixie, chief engagement officer. Twice a year, supervisors sit down with employees to not only discuss their career goals but also their work/life balance. “They try to understand and make sure the workload isn’t an additional burden on their life. We are family first, we just need to know about those problems.”

    In addition to the paid time off, staff also receive adoption assistance, including reimbursement of agency and travel fees and legal assistance. And for nursing mothers, BCHD has dedicated space for regular pumping for those without a closed office space and store milk in communal refrigerators.

    BCHD prides itself on giving staff the flexibility they need to dedicate time to family and self-development. It provides educational assistance, such as up to $4,000 in tuition reimbursement for staff working a minimum of 30 hours per week.

    That’s a benefit Vixie knows firsthand. When she was a volunteer service coordinator in 2007, she returned to school to receive her master’s degree in public administration and the health district was more than accommodating.

    “They worked with me in terms of timing, schedule, balancing hours,” she said. “I was able to use the health district for projects, which was also super helpful.”

    Regular communication and checkups between leadership and staff are always beneficial. But as a wellness-focused organization, BCHD wants to provide staff with tools to help themselves find that work/life balance on their own.

    “Some might bite off more than they can chew, but we must be consistently aware of their state of mind,” Vixie said. “We want them to be at their most productive but not stressed, so we offer training and education workshops so they’re aware of work/life balance and don’t become overworked and burned out.”

    Flexibility and communication with staff are necessities for any employer trying to create a family-friendly work environment. At Talent Plus, a global human resources consulting firm based in Lincoln, Neb., leadership knows that if they stay true to those principles, it will lead to happy and productive associates, said Cydney Koukol, chief communication officer.

    With the proliferation of technology enabling work from anywhere at any time, Koukol said people can work more but they need to work smarter. Working from home is not frowned upon by managers. In some situations, like a looming snowstorm, or when the employee needs to be at home for personal reasons, it’s encouraged. “Just communicate with the team when you need that time away,” she said.

    Talent Plus offers summer and after-school programs for children of employees, too. And along with lactation facilities for new mothers, they are also given supplies for a breast pump in a gift bag on their desk when they return to work.

    Staffers at Talent Plus, shown here gearing up in their Cornhusker colors, host a tailgate each year at the start of the football season to raise money for one of its social responsibility partners.

    Those principles help lead to a healthy work/life balance at the firm, which is why a recent survey found that 99% of its associates said they can balance their work and family life, according to Koukol.

    But a work/life balance doesn’t mean the two are separate. Immediate family members are always invited to company events, such as a lunar eclipse party this January.

    Talent Plus’ benefits also reflect its family-friendly principles, Koukol noted. From day one, employees receive unlimited sick days—which can also be used if a family member is ill—and after the first year, they receive unlimited vacation and personal days.

    Those unlimited vacation days don’t hinder the company’s productivity, though. Koukol said it only leads to employees taking more long weekends. In one instance, an associate’s son was training to become a chef in Europe, so they took a long weekend on short notice to visit him. The same holds true for unlimited sick days. Staff members can’t be productive if they’re worrying whether a sick child is doing well.

    “If someone comes to you and says their son is in the nurse’s office at school, we ask, ‘Why are you still here?’ ” Koukol said. “We want them to take the time they need so they can come back and be fully present. It’s about having a caring culture.”

    Best Places to Work in Healthcare 2019

    More from Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    Health systems redefine training to re-energize employees
    Healthiest Award: A stress-free workforce is a healthy workforce
    Millennials Award: An adaptive workplace for a rapidly progressing workforce
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    alma medical center-main_i.png
    MyMichigan nurses vote to strike, joining other healthcare workers across the state
    Nurses Strike Mt Sinai Jan 9 7.53.JPG
    Nurses at 2 NY hospitals ratify contracts
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • MORE +
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing