Not-For-Profit category
Great River Health Systems
A Prescription for Success
Iowa — Since 1999, Great River Health Systems (GRHS) has worked to become the healthcare employer of choice in its region and has launched many workplace initiatives to this end. Through exceptional benefits, opportunities for growth and a safe, healthy work environment, GRHS provides employees with the resources necessary to meet the needs of patients and other customers, and to effectively manage their personal and professional lives. GRHS’s corporate culture is built upon an employee-developed customer service philosophy called EXCEL. Employees demonstrate the EXCEL values by “being Enthusiastically friendly, X-ceeding expectations, showing Care and compassion, displaying Energetic teamwork, and through Leadership and professionalism.”
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Employee Involvement
More than just a motto, EXCEL is the foundation upon which all employee policies, programs and activities are built. In addition to an EXCEL Task Force, comprising department representatives, that regularly meets with GRHS leaders to discuss employee concerns, present suggestions and plan activities, employees have many opportunities to participate in workplace and community outreach programs. Some examples include: GRHS’s preceptor program, which trains employees to help new staff members transition into the organization; Junior Achievement, a program that allows employees to serve as classroom volunteers on paid company time; Trading Spaces, a cross-training program designed to improve services and workplace relationships; and a program where employees paint houses for low-income community residents.
Health and Safety
Along with its strong commitment to patient care and customer service, GRHS is equally dedicated to helping its employees maintain good health. The GRHS Wellness Center provides a multitude of programs and resources, including free access to fitness and aquatics centers, ongoing exercise and nutrition counseling, an annual health risk appraisal and strong preventive health benefits that support self-care and the development of a healthy lifestyle. Even casual exercise is convenient at GHRS, with a lakeside walking path right on campus. Additional health and safety initiatives include ergonomic assessments, confidential medication regimen reviews for employees and their families and efforts to encourage non-punitive reporting of safety issues.
Employee Growth and Development
Education and training are an integral part of life at GRHS, with an extensive catalog of offerings that includes continuing professional education for clinical staff, leadership and customer service training, adult literacy courses and healthcare career seminars. Department budgets include funding for staff to attend conferences and offsite trainings and GHRS maintains ongoing educational loan, scholarship and tuition assistance programs for employees and their families.
Work-Life Balance
GHRS recognizes that employees have responsibilities outside of work and provides a variety of resources to help them manage these multiple demands. From adoption assistance, sick child care in the pediatrics department and a lactation room for nursing mothers to discounted homeowner’s and auto insurance, interest-free loans to help with the purchase of a personal computer and onsite shipping and laundry services, GRHS helps employees better manage the demands of their lives. A flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) policy allows employees to accrue PTO without limitations and use the hours, cash them in or donate them to a co-worker in need.
Employee Recognition
GRHS’s employee-centered culture fosters a positive work environment where both individual and group successes are acknowledged and celebrated. Recognition efforts range from formal programs such as the EXCEL Employee of the Year to “You Make the Difference” cards, which employees can use to spontaneously congratulate and thank their co-workers. Another coveted honor is the “Service Hero of the Month.” This award for performing an exceptional act comes with accolades including a sandwich special named for the employee in the GRHS cafeteria. Additional recognition efforts include an open house for leaders to learn new ways to recognize staff, increase motivation and encourage teamwork, a gain-sharing program that rewards employees who help the organization attain financial and patient satisfaction goals, and Stories from Our Heart and Soul, a collection of stories that exemplify the daily contributions, commitments, and sacrifices of GRHS staff.
The Bottom Line
Perhaps the most telling evidence of its commitment to employees comes from the people GRHS serves. In recent years, GRHS has seen dramatic increases in patient satisfaction with the quality of care and services they received; and in 2002, Press Ganey Associates presented GRHS with an award for improvements in patient satisfaction.
The workplace programs and policies implemented by GRHS have truly made it an employer of choice, with a turnover rate of just 12.8 percent in 2004, compared to an average of 18 percent for hospitals in Iowa and 17 percent nationally. Additionally, productivity is up, health insurance claims are down and accidents at GRHS fall below industry average in terms of frequency and severity. For employees of GRHS, a psychologically healthy work environment may be the best medicine of all.