How a Small Hospital Stays Competitive in the War for Talent August 7th, 2008

Yvon Martel

A common misconception about many types of HR software is that they are too expensive for smaller organizations. I hear this at times from smaller healthcare organizations, because while they are concerned about retention and meeting compliance requirements, they think that an online employee performance and talent management system will simply cost too much.

The reality is that employee performance and talent management software, designed specifically for the healthcare market, is accessible, especially when you take a minute to factor in the time savings and value it adds to critical items such as dealing with Joint Commission requirements. King’s Daughters Medical Center (KDMC) based in Mississippi, a 122-bed acute care general hospital is a great example of how smaller healthcare organizations can reap the many benefits of automating the employee performance and talent management process.

KDMC was competing with other area medical centers for skilled talent — making employee retention and employee engagement key priorities. The HR team recognized that individual goals needed to be aligned with corporate goals to help the organization drive ongoing quality improvements. KDMC selected a solution based on its flexibility and simplicity, as well as the ability to use competencies defined by the KDMC team.

Since rolling out the system, KDMC has immediately seen results. Days of manual data entry have been reduced to a few clicks enabling the HR team to focus more on strategic HR programs. Since implementing the system, KDMC estimates that it has shaved 30 to 45 days off the process of meeting Joint Commission requirements. The organization is now using the system to keep a keen eye on the competitive talent environment.

“We are working on succession planning now, thinking about how every employee contributes to the organization’s long-term success,” said Celine Craig, Director of HR, KDMC. “We’re working to tie employee and departmental goals to the overall organizational goals. Halogen is helping us show our employees that we’re invested in them, and that in turn is creating a culture of performance for the entire organization.”

KDMC is just one of the smaller healthcare organizations out there that has adopted online employee performance and talent management with solid results. To read more on small healthcare organizations and talent management, be sure to check out this story on Fayette County Memorial Hospital.

Email me with any ideas you may have for my healthcare spotlight column at info@halogensoftware.com.

Tags: healthcare, performance management, talent management

Practicing What You Preach - Why Corporate Koolaid Is A Good Thing August 6th, 2008

Donna Ronayne

HR Marketer’s Mark Willaman recently did a post on how companies need to use their own products and services. The post is definitely worth a read and gives some great non-HR examples including a “secret shopping” CEO doing his own research in the grocery store. Willaman’s point is that employees and organizations as a whole often fail to use their own products. It’s the classic Coke sales person seen driving around in the Coke truck drinking a bottle of Pepsi!

Yes, it is funny to picture, but the sad part is how very true it is, especially in technology companies. If you don’t use your own technology how can you improve it? Or believe in what you are doing? There’s a requisite level of passion that goes into building and constantly improving on technology. How passionate can you really be when you aren’t practicing what you preach?

At Halogen, we are strong believers in our technology and approach to talent management. Earlier this week I was reviewing my team’s quarterly objectives, and I was able to complete them using our employee performance management system in no time. Like most people, I have many other things on my plate, so being able to do this quickly and easily, while ensuring there was value, was outstanding. I know it sounds like I am drinking the old corporate Kool-Aid – but in this case, it is completely true. Otherwise, I wouldn’t take the time to write about it, because clearly, I have other things I could be doing.

Tags: employee performance management, HR, talent management