| September 11, 2009 | 46th Annual Conference Sept. 25-28, 2010 |
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President's Message Dear Members, Last month I attended the Healthcare Human Resources Association of Minnesota 2009 Fall Conference. The more than 150 participants had the opportunity to attend breakout sessions focused on strategic human resources practices, and we heard about health care reform from one of our state representatives. With the changing landscape of the health care industry, learning and networking is more important than ever. While attending this session, I was reminded that ASHHRA is a vibrant organization because of strong chapter leadership and 3,400 dedicated HR professionals learning and networking with each other. In less than two months, ASHHRA will host its 45th Annual Conference and Exposition. We expect to have more than 600 health care human resources professionals attending, along with an exhibit hall filled with many of our business partners. I'm pleased that we will have three exceptional keynote speakers—Buzz Aldrin, retired colonel and one of the first to walk on the moon; Jennifer James, motivational speaker and urban cultural anthropologist; and Kevin Lofton, president and CEO of Catholic Health Initiatives and former chair of the AHA board. All of our keynote speakers will help us with our leadership journey. This month, our 2009 IHStrategies /ASHHRA 2009 Compensation Survey Report is available to help you with your budget planning for 2010. The report has a leadership module and a staff module. With the uncertainty of the economy, up-to-date compensation data is critical to financial planning. Order your copy online at www.ashhra.org. I want to thank all of our members for their continued support. During these difficult times, our members continue to see value in education and networking, and our membership numbers remain stable. I'd also like to thank our business partners. Sponsorship support for our conference and other ASHHRA initiatives remains strong. With this level of commitment from our members and sponsors, ASHHRA will continue to lead the way for all of us to become more effective and credible health care leaders. We continually look for ways to serve you and provide up-to-date health care HR information. Your feedback is important to us. The board and I are privileged to serve you on your leadership journey. Best Regards, Dan Zuhlke Legal Workforce Compensation General HR Benefits Physicians Management & Leadership Legal An employee claims his chronic illness prevents him from working overtime. His supervisor refuses to accept the reason, and the employee uses. Who won this real-life case? Thousands of employees of the State Compensation Insurance Fund are exempt from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's furlough order and are entitled to back pay plus interest for the work days they've already missed, a San Francisco judge tentatively ruled today. Workforce According to a recent report, about 40 percent of U.S. companies enforce workplace bans on employees' using social-media Web sites -- and the number of bans is growing. Should your organization jump on the bandwagon? Or is there another choice? Amazing medical advancements are made almost every year and Americans are more health-conscious than they've ever been before. As a result, people are living longer lives. While that is unarguably a good thing, the combination of an aging population and new medical discoveries has created a huge demand for healthcare professionals. Healthcare credentials at any level -- from one-year Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) certifications to eight-year Medical Doctor (MD) professional degrees -- can now provide good pay, excellent benefits, and real job security for decades to come. Compensation People still become sick in a recession, but that hasn't kept the tough economy from squeezing America's hospitals, as the decline in nursing job openings indicates. A report released in April by the American Hospital Association, examining the impact of the nation's economic crisis on patients, hospitals and communities, found that the proportion of ED patients without insurance rose in early 2009, compared with the same period a year ago. Also, more patient care was being funded by Medicaid or other programs aimed at low-income residents; and fewer patients were seeking inpatient and elective services. Meanwhile, almost half the hospitals responding to the survey reported cutting staff since September 2008; 80% reported cuts in administrative expenses; and many reported cutbacks in subsidized community services such as behavioral health, post-acute care, and patient education. Workers in Honolulu's construction, health care and food preparation industries earn significantly more than their Mainland counterparts, according to a report released yesterday by a federal agency. The report did not make any adjustments for Honolulu's cost of living. The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzed 22 major occupational groups in May 2008 and found that workers in Honolulu earned more than the national average in 11 categories, and less than the national average in 11 categories. The average wage for all occupations in Honolulu was $20.54, slightly higher than the national average of $20.32. General HR Companies are facing daunting challenges in hiring, training, and retaining people. Globalization has increased the demand for talent everywhere, while the upcoming retirement of the baby boom generation is projected to shrink worker supply in the West. More than ever, employees are demanding a balance between their work and the rest of their lives -- a trend long present in the West but now prevalent in Eastern Europe, South America, and India. Companies have always struggled to measure and track their programs and activities aimed at improving people's performance and level of engagement. To try to get a better handle on how companies manage their people, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently surveyed more than 4,700 executives in 83 countries and markets and published a report based on its findings, "Creating People Advantage: How to Address HR Challenges Worldwide Through 2015". Executives told BCG they feel unprepared to face the massive challenges that confront them in managing talent. It happens to everyone now and then -- you wish you could unsend that e-mail that just left your computer. You won't need to worry again if you remember these four tricks. Check out the four most common (and most embarrassing) e-mail mistakes, and the best ways to avoid them. Benefits Jennifer Wulf scans a printout describing her health as she leaves a brightly painted recreational vehicle parked at Syngenta AG's seed-processing plant here. "I need to try to reduce stress and get more regular exercise," said Mrs. Wulf, a stocky, 35-year-old mother of two. She had just completed a free health screening that included measurements of her cholesterol, body-mass index, and blood sugar and fats. Mrs. Wulf doesn't work for Syngenta. Her husband is the assistant plant manager. The Swiss maker of seeds and agricultural chemicals recently launched a U.S. effort to improve the health of staffers' spouses and domestic partners, after noticing they had higher medical-insurance claims than employees themselves. Since March, Syngenta's Mobile Wellness Unit has screened 724 spouses at 52 of its 83 U.S. sites. BrightScope, a 401k ratings and analytics firm, announced that the company has raised $2 million in Series B funding, led by an angel investment from Jim Caccavo of Steelpoint Capital Partners. He is joined in the investment by a group of experienced operating executives as well as principals of several hedge funds and private equity firms. BrightScope will use the capital to build out its unparalleled database of 401k plan data and analytics, and further develop its robust suite of products and services. The company and its offerings enhance transparency of 401k plan performance and fees for plan sponsors, advisors and participants. Physicians The existing formula is simple. When vaccinating against influenza, inoculate those most susceptible to the disease's wrath. Such vulnerable types include the elderly (who are the most likely to die if infected) and infants (whose immune systems are not fully developed). This seems a reasonable policy, and it is the one that has long been promulgated by America's Centres for Disease Control (CDC). Only recently has it been extended to include children up to the age of 18, on the basis that they are more likely than other people to catch flu in the first place, through enforced socializing at school -- even though they are at little risk of dying from it. About three-quarters of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer have a friend or family member with them at their first visit with a surgeon. And that person plays a significant role in the patient's decision of what type of surgery to have, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study looked at factors affecting a woman's choice between a mastectomy to remove the entire breast or breast-conserving surgery, which involves removing only the tumor and is followed by radiation treatments. It found that when the patient, rather than the doctor, drives the surgery decision, the patient is more likely to choose a mastectomy. This proved to be the case among all racial and ethnic groups. Management & Leadership The major contribution leaders make to organizational life is to help the organization face and embrace new realities. The earlier new realities are detected, the greater the opportunity for organizations to turn these to their advantage. Astute leaders are continuously on the lookout for new realities. As we know, identifying new realities takes time, attention and insight. The key issue to bear in mind when we talk about "new realities" is the word "realities." Not fantasy; not hope; not imaginings. Reality! Leadership is less about your needs, and more about the needs of the people and the organization you are leading. Leadership styles are not something to be tried on like so many suits, to see which fits. Rather, they should be adapted to the particular demands of the situation, the particular requirements of the people involved and the particular challenges facing the organization. In the book "Primal Leadership," Daniel Goleman, who popularized the notion of "Emotional Intelligence," describes six different styles of leadership. The most effective leaders can move among these styles, adopting the one that meets the needs of the moment. They can all become part of the leader's repertoire. Current research suggests that the surging volume of available information -- and its interruption of people's work -- can adversely affect not only personal well-being but also decision making, innovation, and productivity. In one study, for example, people took an average of nearly 25 minutes to return to a work task after an e-mail interruption. That's bad news for both individuals and their organizations. There's hope, though. Innovative tools and techniques promise relief for those of us struggling with information inundation. Some are technological solutions -- software that automatically sorts and prioritizes incoming e-mail, for instance -- designed to regulate or divert the deluge. Others prevent people from drowning by getting them to change the way they behave and think. |
ASHHRA Mission ASHHRA leads the way for members to become more effective, valued, and credible leaders in health care human resources administration. As the foremost authority in health care HR, ASHHRA provides timely and critical support through ongoing learning and development, products and resources, and opportunities for networking and collaboration. Contact: ASHHRA |
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