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How Catholic Health Initiative Is Becoming the "Work Community of Choice"
Catholic Health Initiative (CHI) is a leading nationwide group of 67 hospitals. Its faith-based culture is grounded by shared core values and the strategic goal of becoming the Work Community of Choice in every market it serves.
The organization is less than 10 years old and has more than 60,000 employees. The CHI business strategy is focused on People, Quality, Performance, and Growth.
Since the healthcare industry is challenged by staff shortages, and quality leadership helps great people stay, developing leadership skills and practices was a priority for CHI. Some of its 67 market-based organizations (MBOs), hospitals operating as separate businesses, already offered some leadership training. "But there was no consensus," explains Human Resources Director Carol Keenan. "Our goal was to develop consistency of leadership across CHI."
Advantage partner Peg Ruppert tapped into the Advantage network to create LEAD (Leadership Education and Development), a customized leadership program suite for healthcare managers and executives. The initiative had a tall order to fill. "We needed to develop leaders who could model CHI’s core values, plus create alignment and engagement among their people in order to better serve customers and patients," says Ruppert. "Because CHI has such a strong values foundation, that needed to be at the core of the initiative." The initiative also had to be flexible enough for each MBO, from large medical centers to small rural hospitals, to use at their convenience and to tailor to their local market needs.
Crafting a Unique Leadership Initiative
Advantage and The Real Learning Company partnered with Keenan and Nancy Etzelmiller, VP of Human Resources, who gathered leaders from throughout CHI to help bring the suite to life. One was VP of People, Denise Dwight, who heads Human Resources at Roseburg, Oregon’s Mercy Medical Center. "This initiative truly was developed by CHI and MBO leaders throughout the organization; we all had input. And Peg was just phenomenal. When the design was completed, all of our suggestions had become a reality," she says.
Keenan recalls, "Lots of great customization ideas came from Advantage and Real Learning. The relationship with Peg and her team continues to be invaluable." Advantage partner Irv Stern and consultant Leslie Krehnbrink also played key roles during the six-month customization process.
The initiative’s cornerstone is Leading From the Heart, a custom values program from Real Learning that uses engaging, interactive learning techniques to help employees make the connection between their values and those of the company. Keenan explains, "We expect leaders to model our core values to their staffs, so we needed a process to help them do that."
Diversity MadeSimple by Root™, from Root Learning, builds the awareness to embrace thediversity inherent in every workplace. Dwight says, "Our people loved the diversity module. It’s relevant to everyone. Not only do you learn about our diverse world, you learn about the CHI environment and the widespread diversity of the people you’ve worked with for years that you never knew. It’s a time of discovery and great appreciation."
Real Learning’s Symphony and Audition help leaders think like orchestra conductors. These programs provide a system for analyzing, planning, and managing in a consistent manner; selecting the best performers for the job; and creating teams of aligned and engaged peak performers. CHI also added a goal-setting module that helps managers create a shared vision focusing on organizational priorities.
Keenan says, "One of the needs that our MBOs articulated was that managers have a better understanding of the healthcare business and the impact of their decisions on other parts of the business." Ruppert’s solution was Apples & Oranges, from Celemi, an interactive business simulation that builds an understanding of healthcare financials. This mastery is particularly valuable in an environment such as CHI’s, where strong clinical technicians promoted to management roles might lack traditional business backgrounds.
Advancing Toward the CHI Goal
Interactivity and engaging learning map methodology add zest and excitement to the entire suite. Dwight says, "LEAD is truly a unique initiative. When we went through our very first module, we had absolutely outstanding feedback. The suite also provides a wonderful overview for managers and leaders who have more tenure." Ruppert notes that the program mix and depth was carefully considered. "To help CHI keep the right people in the face of intense competition for patients and customers, we needed to create consistency in all of these leadership areas."
Dwight is certain that employing consistent leadership language and practices will raise skill levels and create better working relationships across departments throughout her MBO. Keenan expects to see increased employee engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty across the board, resulting in reduced turnover for the entire CHI organization. "And all of those impacts will translate into increased business results," she adds.
CHI routinely measures organizational drivers such as employee and patient satisfaction. "As we learn in the Symphony program, it’s up to employees to apply their training to the job," says Keenan. "But we measure these things, and we will watch for the impact the training is having."
"What makes LEAD so exciting is that it will improve all of our lives by enhancing our ability to do our jobs. We really do want CHI to be the place where people want to work in healthcare. LEAD is a way for us to advance very swiftly toward that goal."
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