Communication, Trust, Integrity
Create Healthy Environment

Top ten employer emphasizes credibility.
By Betty Hintch

Griffin Hospital has developed a workforce strategy that is brilliant, yet simple. Treat employees with respect and offer consistent and honest communication, and the organization will be rewarded with worker loyalty, engagement, and the willingness to provide customer service above and beyond expectations.

Bill Powanda, VP of the Derby, Conn.-based hospital, who has responsibility for HR, explains that the hospital's emphasis on creating an exceptional patient experience and on employee communication, has made Griffin one of the most sought after healthcare employers in the area.

Griffin Hospital ranked fourth on Fortune magazine's 2006 "100 Best Companies to Work For" list, the highest ranking achieved by a hospital. Griffin has been named on the list for seven consecutive years and is the smallest company in terms of revenue and number of employees.

Human Capital: What HR-related strategies help Griffin tackle some of the unique workforce challenges presented by the healthcare industry?

Bill Powanda: For a very long time, we have been committed to open and honest communication with our employees. We share critical information with our staff on a regular basis. A clear example of our commitment to communication is our annual state of the hospital meeting. At this meeting, Patrick Charmel, our CEO, presents the same information to employees that we cover with our board of directors.
Open communication about the hospital's finances, operations and strategies builds a trust relationship and a clear understanding of where Griffin will be in the future. In the Great Place to Work Institute survey of our employees, management was rated highest for its credibility factor. Management makes expectations known and presents a clear view of how to get there.

HC: Has such open communication ever backfired on you? For example, employees may perceive some weaknesses in the financial reports and become concerned about job security.

BP: We haven't had problems in that area. In fact, we have had the opposite experience which is that employees can cope if they know what they are dealing with - open and honest communication. Pat Charmel spends more time in the building than he does in his office. He is readily accessible by any staff member. We encourage any employee to talk to members of the executive staff and to Patrick about any issue. This commitment to communication permeates the culture and the way employees communicate with management and with each other. Employees believe that their work has special meaning here and that they make a difference. At Griffin, people look forward to coming to work and there is a unique collegial relationship.

HC: Please discuss the connection between your emphasis on customer service, employee satisfaction and the success of your hospital from a business perspective.

BP: First, we have a strong sense of ownership for the facility. Our North wing patient care facility won four of the top healthcare design awards, the only hospital facility ever to do so. Before we completed the design, we developed full-scale mock ups of all of the rooms. Then, we invited employees, physicians and board members to view them and offer their suggestions. Although this created more work for us and our architect, important details were noticed and improvements were made. When the building was constructed, employees saw first-hand that many of their opinions and suggestions were taken seriously and incorporated into the completed facility.
Griffin is the parent organization of Planetree, a not-for-profit organization that focuses on patient-centered care. Griffin Hospital is a member of the Planetree Alliance, a member organization of 103 hospitals including two in Canada and one in the Netherlands. In the Planetree model of care, the patient is placed first above all else. That model has created
tremendously high patient satisfaction results for us. Research has documented a direct correlation between patient satisfaction and employee and job satisfaction and we believe, with our industry leading patient satisfaction ratings, this is one of the major factors that puts us on the Fortune list. A passion for providing the best of care and for doing good things for patients, their family members and their colleagues permeates the entire workforce.

We also incorporate unique one-on-one learning experiences for new employees. About four to six months after employees join the organization, they participate in a two-day, overnight retreat. Employees stay at an austere convent conference center run by nuns with single spring beds, and they share rooms and bathrooms. There are no private televisions or telephones. Employees participate in a series of exercises designed to have them see the hospital experience through the patient's eyes. For example, at lunch on the first day, employees work with a partner to take turns feeding each other without talking, a truly humbling experience. Employees come back from the retreat understanding how scary and intimidating hospitals can be. We believe the retreat has been a major factor in our cultural transformation to be patient-centered and in developing our high level of patient care.

In addition, an employees' first day is spent in an orientation program about Griffin's culture, lead by senior executives. Patrick Charmel, our CEO, leads a two-hour presentation about our expectations for customer service. I follow with a presentation about the reality and challenges facing hospitals today. And, the vice president of patient care services covers the Planetree care model. In their evaluations, employees often remark on their appreciation to the senior executives who took the time to meet with them on their first day of employment.

HC: What are your expectations of your HR department in making your organization a success?

BP: From our experience, employee satisfaction is clearly not directly related to salaries and benefits. Our salaries are on average 5 to 7 percent below the seven hospitals we compete with, while our benefits are only slightly richer. Yet last year, we had 5,200 applicants for open positions. That is a strong message: Attracting talent is more about providing the culture and environment that people want to work in, rather than just salaries and benefits.

The second issue is credibility and trust. Both HR and the executive staff have to walk the talk. HR must put forth proposals, programs, and services that are backed up by commitment, resources and programs that reinforce the culture and values of the organization and then fulfill them in an extraordinary way.

Leadership has to start at the top of the organization. It is leadership that builds trust and integrity. If that leadership falters, the public and employees quickly see through phoniness, which destroys credibility and the image and reputation of the organization.

HC