Tenet Healthcare Corporation is one of the nation’s largest investor-owned health care systems. In Florida alone, Tenet owns and operates nine hospitals with 10 sites of service in addition to a growing number of physician practices, and collectively employs more than 10,000 people. With such a large work force, Tenet has developed creative ways to handle the uncertain economic climate.
“Most large companies have focused on doing more with less,” said Kathryn Fisk, Tenet Florida’s Regional Director of Human Resources. “At Tenet, we are focused on doing everything we can to retain our talented employees by listening to their needs and developing programs to keep them feeling valued and committed to their work.”
Smart Business spoke with Fisk about HR strategies and how the culture of caring at Tenet has helped the company weather the impacts of the recession and overcome work force challenges that an uncertain economy can bring.
How has the current economic climate affected Tenet Florida’s HR priorities?
The economic conditions during the past several years have significantly affected most large employers’ priorities. In Florida, we have seen unemployment reach record numbers, and many people are moving out of Florida to seek jobs in other states around the nation. This out-migration of people has not been matched with an equal amount of people moving into the state. In fact, we are finding that many people are not willing to relocate to Florida to accept open positions due to the wavering economy and housing crisis. With this in mind, we are focusing our talent management strategies on developing our internal pool of employees to retain them and ready them for promotional opportunities within Tenet.
What programs have you implemented to reach Tenet’s work force goals?
Our programs have focused on retaining employees by keeping them motivated and committed to our organization. First, we’ve worked hard to create a culture of caring and transparency from the top down. From corporate to hospital administration, medical staff to auxiliary and support personnel, we encourage open communication. We listen to our employees and we make every effort to address their concerns and recognize their efforts through monetary and nonmonetary rewards.
We think of our company and its employees as one big family. When a family member is in trouble, each member buckles down and offers some level of support. To simulate this feeling of ‘family’ support at Tenet, we’ve created the Care Fund. This program encourages each employee to donate money to a general fund to help fellow employees that may have a family or health crisis and need extra funds to get back on their feet.
Since we are a health care delivery system, we also feel compelled to practice what we preach and create a healthy work force by rewarding those who participate in a wellness program. With this program, employees can earn points for healthy lifestyle behaviors that can equate to significant financial incentives and discounts on health plan premiums. A healthy work force is a more productive work force as well as a positive influence on the patients and communities that we serve each day.
