Implementing an Effective

Change Management Strategy

to Optimize Your Workforce

and Drive Savings

Session ID: 147

The Current State of Healthcare

Average Vacancy Rate

7.2%

Average Time to fill a Vacancy

85 Days

Average Turnover Rate

17.2% (CNA: 23%)

Average cost of Turnover (Bedside RN)

$57,300

(it’s not great)

Learning Objectives

• Identify the labor management challenges

most common at a large health system.

• Discover the management competencies

that are essential to create a culture that

embraces change.

• Learn the fundamental components of an

enterprise-wide workforce optimization

strategy.

About Mercy

• 5th Largest Catholic healthcare system in

the United States

• 36 hospitals; over 700 clinics & outpatient

facilities

• 11 Specialty Hospitals (Rehab,

Orthopedic, Heart, Children’s)

• 40,000 co-workers and over 2,100

physicians

• Service Area: Arkansas, Kansas,

Missouri, Oklahoma

• Outreach Ministries: Louisiana,

Mississippi, Texas

• Twentieth largest non-profit health care

system in the U.S.

Mercy West

Hospital

Managed Hospital

Ambulatory Facility

Urgent Care

LEGEND

Challenges

• Believe it or not, OKC is one of the most

competitive healthcare markets in the U.S.

• Economy, Thunder, Oil & Gas, rural state, &

wild wild west…Boom or Bust!!!

• Increased Overtime & Use of Core Staff as

Contingent Labor

• Staff not working to their FTE commitment -

Leakage

• No focus on incidental worked time above a

scheduled shift

• Local Market contracting directly with

Nurses at $50 - $60 per hour for 13 weeks

• Turnover Increased from 19% to 24% as

high as 40% in some areas

• Open Positions 650 plus & Vacancy Rate

Increased 11%

Planning for Success

• Year 1: Realigning resources

and standardizing processes

• Year 2: Focused attention to

advance strategies

• Year 3: Establishing a

sustainable environment

• Ultimately Regional Resource

Center for West

• Self Actualized from Workforce

Perspective

Labor Deserves to be a Strategic Initiative

Labor Deserves to be a Strategic Initiative

Enterprise Strategy

• Business Intelligence

• Core Staff Strategies

• Flexible Staff Strategies

• Enterprise Deployment

• Optimization / Predictive Modeling

Change is not Easy

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast, and

technology for lunch.”

Embracing Significant Change

Core to leading any significant change effort is

Organizational Alignment.

There is no substitute for having an entire

organization that has:

• Clear vision of goals

• Shared responsibility

• Personal accountability

Decisions Implemented Without Veto

“I don’t agree with

the changes

either…”

“My unit is

special, we’ll do

our own thing…”

“The ministry says

we have to…”

Success to Date

• Weekend 35% reduction in absence calls

• Contingency consolidation of PRN to float

pool

• Open shift incentive adoption

• Developing optimal core staffing levels

Success to Date: Vacancy Rate

5.1% 5.2% 5.3%

7.0%6.5%

5.2%5.8% 5.6% 5.5%

7.9% 8.1% 8.3%

10.3%

9.3% 9.3%

8.2% 8.1% 8.1%

Replacement Vacancy Rate Replacement Vacancy Rate Goal Total Vacancy Rate Total Vacancy Rate Goal

12.0%

10.0%

8.0%

6.0%

4.0%

2.0%

0.0%

Strategy

Progress

Success to Date: Recruiting & Branding

• Use online recruitment to promote the brand

• Utilize job boards and aggregators to drive

candidates to Mercy.net

• More attractive job postings (not descriptions)

• Social Media

• Implemented new applicant tracking system

• 40% increase in traffic in last 60 days

(Indeed/Simply Hired)

• Vacancy Rate reduced to 8.2%

• Turnover in OKC reduced from 24% to 18%

• Partnership with Nursing and Bayard to draft

posting (in progress)

• Expanding presence on Facebook, YouTube, etc.

Success to Date: Talent Journey

Strategy

• Continue to hire for Talent, Mercy, and

Criteria Fit

• Nurse Talent Center of Excellence

• Hire Nurse Talent Scout

• Lead OKC & West in Nurse Recruitment

& Retention

• Boomerang Nurse Hiring

• Revised Talent Plus Assessment

• New Leader Orientation 2-day immersion

• Nurse Leader Training-in Process

• RN Interview Guide

• 6% Market Adjustment

• Implemented Track 1.05 Program

Progress

Persistent Challenges

• Resource constraints

• Reimbursement Changes (volume to value)

• Surging patient volumes

Future State

• Integration about aligning parts

• Software automation with standardization

on progress and application

• High performing centralized &

regionalized resource management

center

• Enterprise float pool model for West,

Mercy, & Beyond…

Takeaways

• Labor optimization deserves to be a

strategic initiative

• Change is not going to be easy

• Culture is the most important element of

any initiative

Contact Information

Keith W. Minnis, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Regional Vice President

West Community – Human Resources

keith.minnis@mercy.net

Post inspiring moments from the

conference to the mobile app!

#AONE2016

Holly Holz

Director, Client Engagement & Optimization

Avantas

holly.holz@avantas.com