JOURNAL11.pdf

The Health Care Manager Volume 34, Number 3, pp. 177–186 Copyright # 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Workforce and Leader Development Learning From the Baldrige Winners in Health Care

Edwin W. Arnold, PhD, SPHR; Jane R. Goodson, PhD; Neville T. Duarte, PhD

It is ironic that perhaps the only constant in health care organizations today is change. To compete successfully in health care and position an organization for high performance amid continuous change, it is very important for managers to have knowledge of the best learning and development practices of high-performing organizations in their industry. The rapid increases in the rate of technological change and geometric increases in knowledge make it virtually imperative that human resources are developed effectively. This article discusses the best learning and develop-ment practices among the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners in the health care industry since 2002 when the industry had its first award-winning organization. Key words: learning and development practices, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, management

practices, organizational change

MANAGERS IN THE health care industry face important challenges in workforce and leader development as they prepare their

organizations for continuous change while seek-ing to achieve a sustainable competitive advan-

tage in their markets. Health care organizations

striving to become facilities of choice need to elicit

high performance to operate effectively in an en-

vironment undergoing arguably the most signif-

icant changes in the history of the industry. As

managers endeavor to strengthen their organiza-

tions and position them for competing in the fu-ture, few strategies will be more important than

fostering employee learning and development for

continuous improvement and adaptation to change.

Author Affiliations: Department of Information

Systems and Management, Auburn University at

Montgomery, Montgomery, Alabama.

The authors have no funding or conflict of interest.

Correspondence: Edwin W. Arnold, PhD, SPHR,

Department of Information Systems and Management,

Auburn University at Montgomery, PO Box 244023,

Montgomery, AL 36124 ([email protected]).

DOI: 10.1097/HCM.0000000000000067

One instance of rapid change and growth in-

volves projected changes in the health care labor

force. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported

that there were approximately 145.4 million jobs in the United States in 2012, with the

number projected to increase to approximately

161 million in the subsequent decade, includ-

ing nearly 22 million in the health care and

social assistance industry.1

Significantly, the

health care and social assistance industry was

expected to add the largest number of jobs,

nearly 5 million of the almost 16 million projec-ted or about one-third of the national increase,

making it the largest industry in terms of jobs.2

This important increase in job opportunities

in health care will require industry organiza-

tions to select and develop a large number of

new employees, and the results of this effort

will be critical for long-run success. Managers

will have to orient and onboard a large num-ber of new employees while developing their

current workforces continuously to sustain high

performance and deal with rapid changes in

technology in the dynamic environment.

To meet the difficult competitive challenges

facing the health care industry today, managers

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

177

178 THE HEALTH CARE MANAGER/JULY–SEPTEMBER 2015

will need to establish a culture that fosters work-

force and leader development. The culture will

need to be reinforced with management prac-

tices that prepare people for implementing or-

ganizational strategies, including the need to

adapt to change. Emphasis on learning and d-evelopment will be a critical success factor for

health care organizations seeking to blend peo-

ple and technology for high performance.

An important question for managers in the

health care industry will be: What management

practices should be implemented to develop and

sustain workforce and leader development to

ensure higher levels of performance? To help address the question, this article provides ex-

amples of the best practices in workforce and

leader development in hospitals and health

systems using the framework of the Malcolm

Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA).

THE MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

History

The MBNQA was established in 1987 and

named after the former US Secretary of Com-

merce who had been a champion of quality and

competitiveness for organizations in the United

States. The MBNQA Program is located in the

National Institute of Standards and Technology in the US Department of Commerce. Organiza-

tions in manufacturing, small business, and ser-

vice industries were eligible to be considered

when the award was initially instituted; organi-

zations in health care and education became

eligible for consideration in 1998, and those in

nonprofit, including governmental agencies,

in 2007.3

There were 17 award winners in the health

care industry between 1998, when health care

organizations first became eligible, and 2013.

Health care accounted for 17 of the 69, or 25%,

of the MBNQA winners since the industry be-

came eligible, although a health care organiza-

tion did not win an award until 2002. From

2002 through 2013, health care organizations won 17 of 53, or 32%, of the Baldrige Awards

granted.4

Competition in health care has been

significant, as only 17 of the 397 health care

applicants since 2002, or 4.3%, won an award.

Baldrige Award interest appears to have been

quite high in health care when compared with

the other eligible industries because health care

organizations accounted for 51% of the total

applicants for a Baldrige Award from 2002

through 2013.5

The Table includes the MBNQA winners in the health care industry.

BALDRIGE AWARD HEALTHCARE CRITERIA FOR PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

The 2013-2014 Health Care Criteria for Per-formance Excellence

6 for industry organiza-

tions applying for the Baldrige Award include

leadership; strategic planning; customer focus;

measurement, analysis, and knowledge man-

agement; workforce focus; operations focus; and

results. An important component of the workforce

focus criterion is workforce and leader develop-

ment, which includes the learning and devel-opment system, the effectiveness of learning

and development, and career progression. This

article presents examples of best management

practices implemented by the MBNQA winners

to foster effective learning and development in

their organizations.

WORKFORCE AND LEADER DEVELOPMENT

The learning and development system

The MBNQA criteria for assessing the learn-

ing and development system in health care orga-

nizations include core competencies, strategic

challenges, and achievement of short- and long-

term action plans; organizational performance

improvement and innovation; ethical health care and ethical business practices; focus on patients

and other customers; transfer of knowledge

from departing or retiring workforce members;

and reinforcement of new knowledge and skills

on the job. (Note: To enhance the analysis, we

combined the criteria of ethical health care

and ethical business practices and focus on

patients and other customers into 1 criterion entitled ethics and patient centeredness.)

6

The following analysis presents examples of

the best management practices implemented

by the MBNQA winners to establish effective

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

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Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

Baldrige Winners in Health Care 179

180 THE HEALTH CARE MANAGER/JULY–SEPTEMBER 2015

learning and development systems in their

organizations.

Core competencies, strategic challenges, and achievement of short- and long-term action plans

The MBNQA award winners have emphasized developing and sustaining core competencies to

meet strategic challenges and achieve both short-

and long-term action plans. As a result, they care-

fully construct their learning and development

goals to reflect the strategic goals of the organiza-

tion. The following are some examples of their

successful efforts.

Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital7

analyzes core competencies, strategic challenges, and

action plans annually to develop learning needs

for all leaders and associates throughout the

hospital. Educational curricula are designed spec-

ifically to reflect these strategic needs. For exam-

ple, the hospital addresses the core competency

of building loyal relationships through the ‘‘Five

Fundamentals of Service, a PCA Enrichment Series, and Sensitivity Training.’’ They implement

similar specialized programs to address the strate-

gic challenge of recruitment and retention of

talent, including ‘‘Peer Interviewing, the Rota-

tional Nurse Residency Program, and All Aboard

Training.’’ Long- and short-term action plans are

supported with specific programs and training

emphases, including those aimed at leadership competencies to accomplish strategic plans.

At Bronson Methodist Hospital,8

under the

Strategic Performance Management System, edu-

cation and training initiatives also are tied to the

accomplishment of the organization’s action plans.

The hospital’s Workforce Development Plan

includes an annual educational plan that is devel-

oped during strategic planning and is designed to be aligned with the organization’s strategic needs.

Similarly, Baptist Hospital9

has a comprehensive

system for both short- and long-term education

and development to build core competencies,

meet strategic challenges, and implement action

plans. Through a corporate-wide leadership

development program, Baptist University, the

hospital trains and develops its leaders in key core competencies and skills needed to ensure

strategic success.

The development of leaders to meet the orga-

nization’s strategic challenges is also the focus at

Henry Ford Health System.10

It has a New Leaders

Academy that focuses on ‘‘system integration and

modeling the leadership competencies,’’ a Lead-

ership Academy that emphasizes ‘‘the strategic pillars and completing innovative improvement

projects,’’ and an Advanced Leadership Academy

with concentration on ‘‘higher-level leadership

competencies and completing strategic sys-

tem improvements with business unit CEOs

as sponsors.’’

Organizational performance improvement and innovation

Baldrige winners gear their learning and devel-

opment systems to improve organizational effec-tiveness through performance improvement and

innovation. All have some form of training that

provides employees and leadership with tools to

improve individual and/or team performance

and move the organization forward. As is the

case with most Baldrige winners, employees and

leaders at AtlantiCare,11

Advocate Good Samaritan

Hospital,9

Henry Ford Health System,10

and Poudre Valley Health System

12 are trained in per-

formance improvement processes early in their

onboarding with the hospital. Employees at all

levels are involved in the performance improve-

ment process and in the development of in-

novative strategies, including gathering best

practices information from organizations inside

and outside health care. These health systems train employees and leaders on the Baldrige

framework of performance improvement and

innovation. Poudre Valley Health System12

goes

even further to provide financial support for

employees to be trained as Baldrige examiners

to sharpen their skills in performance improve-

ment and identification of innovative best prac-

tices. Mercy Health Systems13

also utilize best practices to encourage performance improve-

ment and innovation and has developed a Best

Practice Sharing Program to support this effort.

While the specifics of the learning and de-

velopment programs vary, MBNQA winners im-

plement a system-wide learning approach to

performance improvement, innovation, and

change. They all focus on ongoing and continuous

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

Baldrige Winners in Health Care 181

improvement. Beginning with orientation, all

employees at SSM Health care14

are required to

participate in continuous improvement train-

ing designed to stimulate innovation and im-

provement in work systems. Likewise, North

Mississippi Medical Center15

approaches edu-cation and training as an intensive, system-wide

process, and employees are encouraged to pub-

lish innovative processes and improvement

methods so that ideas can be shared through-

out the organization. Other winners develop

specific initiatives to encourage performance

improvement and innovation. For example,

Schneck Medical Center16

has a simulation lab-oratory, and Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital

7

has workout sessions for employees to develop

innovative strategies. Henry Ford Health Systems,10

which focuses on performance improvement and

innovation across its learning and development

curriculum, developed ‘‘renewal’’ training to em-

phasize innovation and change management.

Future physician leaders also attend the Phy-sician Leadership Institute to learn to encourage

organizational improvement and innovation.

Baldrige winners train leaders, advisors, and

teams to lead and support performance improve-

ment and innovation. Leaders at Advocate Good

Samaritan7

receive specialized training in facilitat-

ing and sustaining change (Change Acceleration

Process Training). Henry Ford Health Systems10

uses a similar training, called Influencer training,

to prepare leaders to lead innovative change and

manage system-wide performance teams. A team

focus on improvement and innovation is practiced

at AtlantiCare,11

and consulting services are pro-

vided for teams to improve performance or en-

courage innovation. Southcentral Foundation17

also identifies performance improvement advisors who work specifically with projects that promote

improvement and innovation. At SSM Health

Care,14

managers and supervisors are trained

to reinforce employees’ use of performance

and quality improvement tools in their jobs.

Ethics and patient-centeredness

Baldrige winners recognize the need to create learning and development systems that empower

employees to make decisions that reflect the

highest level of ethics and patient centeredness.

All of the Baldrige winners train employees in

ethical health care and business practices and

institute continuous learning and development

in this area. In addition to training, Robert Wood

Johnson University Hospital18

has ethics and

diversity committees to ensure that these initia-

tives are integrated throughout the hospital. The MBNQA winners also ensure that learn-

ing and development initiatives promote the

value of the patient and other stakeholders and

hold employees accountable for excellence in

patient care. For example, SSM Health Care14

conducts competency assessments of patient

care that are reported to the board on an annual

basis. At Henry Ford Health System,10

new em-ployee orientation is focused on patient-centered

care. This emphasis is continued on the job with

assessments, training, practice, and demonstra-

tion of patient care. Leaders, including physicians

and other clinicians, are trained to communicate

more effectively with patients and can practice

these skills through interactive role play in the

‘‘Simulation Center.’’ Schneck Medical Center16

integrates patient care throughout the orga-

nization by developing organization and de-

partment plans that focus on its ‘‘patient first’’

core competency. An organization-wide training

program is developed according to this empha-

sis on patient care. Several Baldrige winners also

tie their individualized patient care efforts to

their diversity efforts, recognizing that care must be tailored to reflect the diversity of the patient

population.

Reinforcement of new knowledge and skills on the job

The MBNQA winners recognize the impor-

tance of utilizing current talent and multiple

methods in reinforcing new knowledge and skills on the job. A systematic approach to rein-

forcement fosters continuity in job performance

and contributes to organizational effectiveness

in the long run. The following are a few exam-

ples of how the award-winning health care orga-

nizations accomplish new knowledge and skill

reinforcement.

All of the MBNQA winners use mentor pro-grams and supporting organizational processes

to reinforce new knowledge and skills in the

organization. At Baptist Hospital,9

for example,

leaders who have demonstrated particular

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

182 THE HEALTH CARE MANAGER/JULY–SEPTEMBER 2015

competencies, as rated by their coworkers,

mentor employees in these areas. In addition,

the hospital considers reinforcement to be very

important in establishing and maintaining their

culture of learning, and a number of approaches

including performance evaluation and Baptist University sessions are used to reinforce learn-

ing. In Southcentral Foundation’s17

learning and

development system, employees learn from for-

mal and informal mentors as well as through

job shadowing and demonstration of compe-

tencies. The knowledge and skills required on

the job have been reinforced previously during

employee orientation, and mentoring is used during these early stages as well. When new

managers are selected, they participate in a

90-day program with individual learning mod-

ules that are led by current managers.

Other hospitals also utilize a variety of ap-

proaches to reinforce knowledge and skills on

the job. For example, Saint Luke’s Hospital of

Kansas City19

uses mentoring, coaching, and learning through observation during adminis-

trative rounds. Furthermore, their performance

management process reinforces training and

ensures that employees achieve commitments

and acquire appropriate knowledge. At North

Mississippi Medical Center,15

preceptors assist

new clinicians in developing job-specific skills.

Learning also is reinforced with written pro-cedures and information sharing regarding suc-

cessful, innovative methods. Likewise, Robert

Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton18

utilizes the direct observation of job incumbents

to reinforce development and maintenance of

skills. Employee application of learning from

education programs is enhanced by ‘‘just-in-

time’’ training in which the tools learned in education programs can be immediately applied

to projects in the workplace.

Nine of the award winners use formalized pre-

ceptor programs to encourage continuous learn-

ing and development on the job. Typically, these

programs involve assigning employees, includ-

ing physicians, to highly trained preceptors

who mentor employees as they apply new knowl-edge and skills. Such a process ensures that em-

ployees continue to learn and develop on the job,

contributing to organizational effectiveness in the

long run.

Transfer of knowledge from departing or retiring workforce members

The MBNQA winners each ensure that knowl-

edge is transferred from departing or retiring

employees. This management practice will be

especially critical in the coming years with the

impending retirement of millions of employees

in the baby-boom generation. Here are some

examples of how the award winners secure

knowledge retention when people leave the

organization.

Poudre Valley Health System12

utilizes several

approaches for making sure that job knowledge

is not lost because of departure of employees.

Their cross-training program, which gives em-

ployees opportunities to become proficient in

multiple jobs, includes job rotation, ‘‘secondary

job codes’’ to allow employees to do more than

1 job, and job placements on an interim basis.

Furthermore, it is the hospital’s goal to hire a

replacement prior to the exit of any employee,

allowing for on-the-job training from the incum-

bent employee. When their new Medical Center

of the Rockies opened and almost 300 employees

were transferred to the new facility, they imple-

mented a comprehensive staffing plan to allow

transfer of knowledge to occur prior to the change.

Similar to Poudre Valley Health System, Heart-

land Health20

retains the knowledge of departing

or retiring employees through cross training, de-

briefing meetings, and work shadowing. These

practices ensure that knowledge is retained and

transferred to new employees. Other Baldrige

winners gather information from departing em-

ployees during the exit interview process in

addition to cross training, mentoring, and other

on-the-job methods for transfer of knowledge.

For example, North Mississippi Health Services21

implements a formal exit interview to obtain

information from employees who are departing

the organization. Any helpful information ac-

quired can be incorporated into the mentoring

program for transfer to the new incumbent. Mercy

Health System13

also improved its exit interview

process ‘‘to more systematically retain knowledge

from partners departing from key positions.’’ The

partner assists in the development of a plan to re-

tain knowledge so that services can be maintained.

They may also participate in a ‘‘Work-to-Retire’’

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

Baldrige Winners in Health Care 183

program that allows them to work reduced

or flexible work schedules and locations. This

program allows the hospital to retain partners

and their knowledge for longer periods.

EFFECTIVENESS OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

All of the Baldrige winners utilize multiple

criteria for assessing the effectiveness of work-force and leader development efforts. In addi-

tion to using direct methods for measuring

effectiveness, all of the winners include perfor-

mance indicators and/or organizational outcomes

in their assessments. The following examples

demonstrate the extensive efforts that Baldrige

winners undertake to conduct comprehensive

analyses of their workforce and leadership development initiatives.

In addition to employee and leader evalua-

tions of training and development programs,

Sharp HealthCare22

statistically analyzes clini-

cal data, financial results, and other organi-

zational outcomes to gauge improvement from

its workforce development efforts. Individual

performance on action plans and variance from desired outcomes is analyzed to determine if

training and development efforts succeeded in

moving employee performance in the desired

strategic direction. Bronson Methodist Hospital8

also uses multiple levels to analyze education

and training effectiveness. They measure pro-

gram reaction and direct learning through

testing but also assess postprogram skills and organizational effectiveness.

More than half the Baldrige winners utilize

the Kilpatrick model to evaluate the effective-

ness of their training and development effort.

This is a specific method that assesses 4 levels

of effectiveness including reaction to courses

through participant feedback, measurement of

course learning through pretests and posttests, transfer of knowledge to performance or skills

on the job, and analyses of organizational or busi-

ness results. At the fourth level, most Baldrige

winners tie the effectiveness of their development

efforts to their strategic success. For example,

North Mississippi Medical Center15

ties its per-

formance indicators to their critical success fac-

tors of people, service, and quality; Henry Ford

Health Systems10

focuses on action plan accom-

plishment; and Baptist Medical Center9

ana-

lyzes its financial return on investment in learning.

CAREER PROGRESSION

While training employees to be successful in

their current position is a critical human resources

function, it is equally important for hospitals/health

systems to pay attention to the development of

employees across their careers. Career manage-

ment is not only a powerful employee motivational

tool, but it also ensures the long-term vitality of

organizational well-being.23

Section 5.2(c)(3) of the Health Care Criteria for Performance Excel-

lence framework requires hospitals/health systems

that apply for the Baldrige award to address how

they manage ‘‘effective career progression’’ for

their employees as part of workforce develop-

ment.24

While the field of career planning and

career management covers the complex inter-

action between an employee’s individual career goals and the organization’s career management

programs, 25

the emphasis will be on the orga-

nization’s responsibility for the effective career

development of its employees. In this section,

the variety of career management activities and

programs of the Baldrige winners are highlighted.

Every Baldrige winner reported having com-

prehensive career development processes in place, typically as part of its overall performance

management system. Employees are most likely

to be interested in the career opportunities

available in the organization through job post-

ing systems and career paths.25

Advocate Good

Samaritan Hospital9

has a 13-step approach to

career progression. Henry Ford Health Systems10

has well-defined career paths/ladders as do most of the other winners. Southcentral Foundation

17

uses specific tools such as progression check-

lists and promotion pathways that define the

competencies required to advance to the next

level. Some of the hospitals/health systems give

employees the opportunity to progress via mul-

tiple career pathways. For example, at Sharp

HealthCare,22

technical and leadership career paths are distinct for all clinical areas, whereas

at Schneck Medical Center,16

the nursing staff

may choose among leadership, research, or

clinical tracks.

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

184 THE HEALTH CARE MANAGER/JULY–SEPTEMBER 2015

Another factor that contributes to employee

motivation is when an organization has a clear

policy to hire internally, whenever possible,

and the majority of Baldrige winners indicate

a strong preference for internal recruitment.

SSM Health Care14

was proud of the fact that 49% of its executives and 1064 employees were

promoted from within in 2001. Similarly, more

than 80% of Saint Luke’s Health System’s19

Executive Council has been promoted from

within. Special attention is also paid to physicians’

career advancement at Heartland Health,20

Henry Ford Health Systems,10

Mercy Health

System,13

and Sutter Davis Hospital.26

Instead of leaving employees to their own

devices in managing their careers, the Baldrige

winners have a number of assistive programs

that employees can utilize when making career

choices. Baptist Hospital, Inc,9

offers career

coaching sessions. North Mississippi Medical

Center15

holds an internal job fair, which is

helpful for sharing career opportunities across departments. Career counselors are available

at Mercy Health System,13

and several other

winners have career planning programs, semi-

nars, and other related career guidance services.

Taking it a step further, Baptist Hospital, Inc,9

integrates information from the Baldrige Feed-

back Report in its career development activities.

Central to career advancement in health care is the extent to which a hospital/health system

provides educational assistance internally or

externally to help employees and managers

acquire critical skills necessary for effective pa-

tient care. There are numerous ways such sup-

port can be provided, but the most common

practice is tuition assistance to employees to

enhance their education. All the Baldrige win-ners provide scholarships and/or tuition assis-

tance in some way or the other. Notably, North

Mississippi Medical Center15

gives employees

the benefit of flexible scheduling and educational

leave; Bronson Methodist Hospital8

and Robert

Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton18

reward employees for advanced degrees and

certifications with special bonuses. A unique initiative by Heartland Health

20 allows students

to place scholarship dollars earned through

volunteering into an escrow account, which

they can later apply to a field of study in health

care. Poudre Valley Health System12

and

Schneck Medical Center16

strongly encourage

continuing education by sponsoring attendance

at various conferences related to an employee’s

discipline. Internally, Baptist Hospital, Inc,9

Henry Ford Health System,10

and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton

18 have

in-house universities that provide a wide range

of educational offerings.

In addition to the key programs discussed,

there are a few other initiatives that the Baldrige

award recipients use effectively to develop their

employees’ careers. Work enrichment arrange-

ments, which have been referred to as methods to reinforce and retain job knowledge and inno-

vative approaches, as well as reinforce perfor-

mance improvement and change, also broaden

employees’ perspectives across the health care

domain and create opportunities for employees

to transition to other areas to enhance their

careers. More than two-thirds of the Baldrige

winners use methods such as cross training, job shadowing, and job rotation that expand

job scope and responsibilities. Baptist Hospital,9

for example, practices ‘‘cross providing,’’ which

is cross training of employees so that they can

learn performance improvement and innova-

tive strategies in other departments. Advocate

Good Samaritan Hospital9

encourages job

shadowing as part of its ‘‘Look Before You Leap’’ program wherein registered nurses can

evaluate their choices before moving to another

program. Poudre Valley Health System12

created

secondary job codes that allow employees to

develop in other jobs while still in their cur-

rent positions. At Sutter Davis Hospital,26

even

volunteers are given the opportunity to be cross

trained, which often results in their employment at the hospital.

Succession planning is a formal process that

identifies employees who will be developed

to replace personnel in key critical positions.27

The process involves the identification of criti-

cal positions and associated competencies, the

assessment of employee interest and potential,

and providing professional development mech-anisms that meet the organization’s strategic

human resource needs. The advantages of establi-

shing a succession planning process include hav-

ing an adequate supply of competent individuals,

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

Baldrige Winners in Health Care 185

the ability to deal with organizational and environ-

mental changes, and providing career paths and

plans for employees, which aids in employee

retention and motivation. The imminent mass

retirement by ‘‘baby boomers’’ makes succes-

sion planning all the more necessary, and the Baldrige organization has recognized its impor-

tance by including it in the award criteria.24

Every Baldrige winner clearly identified suc-

cession planning as being part of its human

resource development strategy. Although suc-

cession planning should be implemented at all

levels in an organization, the focus, most often,

is on leadership development. As a starting point, many award winners begin by assessing lead-

ership potential systematically as part of their

performance management process. Formal as-

sessment methods such as aptitude testing, in-

terest inventories and/or skill-based testing are

used by North Mississippi Health Services21

;

leadership readiness self-assessment, manager

leadership readiness assessment, and 360-degree leadership assessment at Southcentral Founda-

tion17

; and a variety of psychometric assessment

tools such as Calipers at SSM Health Care.14

The next step in the succession planning pro-

cess comprises a variety of development activities

that enhance employees’ skill to enable them to

take on additional responsibilities and/or adopt

leadership roles. Leadership institutes/academies exist at many of the Baldrige winners includ-

ing AtlantiCare,13

Bronson Methodist Hospital,8

Henry Ford Health System,10

North Mississippi

Medical Center,15

and Schneck Medical Center,16

whereas the other winners have other forms of

intensive leadership development programs. Robert

Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton18

(founding member) and Heartland Health20

use the Healthcare Advisory Board Academy

Fellowship leadership development program.

Some leadership development occurs in partner-

ships with universities. For example, AtlantiCare11

REFERENCES

fully sponsors high-potential candidates to an

executive masters in business administration,

Mercy Health System13

partners with the Uni-

versity of Minnesota Masters in Health Adminis-

tration Program and the Notre Dame MBA

program, and Schneck Medical Center16

has an on-site program that grants managers and super-

visors the Certified Healthcare Manager from

the Indiana University School of Environmental

and Public Affairs. Advocate Good Samaritan

Hospital7

allows employees in nonsupervisory-

positions to attend leadership training programs

to gauge their potential and interest. Finally, all

the Baldrige winners have formal mentoring pro-grams to help protégés navigate through their

careers. The Career Mentor Program at Mercy

Health System13

includes financial assistance as

part of the mentoring, and the Diversity Mentoring

Program at SSM Health Care14

ensures upward

mobility for minority employees. In summary, all

the Baldrige award winners, in keeping with their

reputation for quality, pay particular attention to the career development of their employees and

invest considerable time and effort in succession

planning activities.

CONCLUSION

Managers in health care organizations today

seek continuous improvement in their work-forces and leadership in efforts to improve their

positions in the highly competitive health care

industry. To adapt well to continuous change,

they will need to stay abreast of the best man-

agement practices in the industry and implement

innovative approaches to improve the learning

and development systems in their organizations.

They also will need to monitor the effectiveness of their learning and development systems and

evaluate career progression with effective suc-

cession planning to prepare their organizations

for even greater challenges in the future.

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Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved