“If you build it, they will come.” When she quoted the movie Field of Dreams during a learning session spotlighting the award-winning Employer Assisted Housing (EAH) Program at Louisville-based Norton Healthcare, Melissa Nord could just as easily have said, “If you build it, they will come and stay!” As director of benefits for Norton, Kentucky’s largest healthcare system and the state’s third largest employer, she shared the creative process behind the program and its powerful impact on Norton’s retention efforts.

Under the program, as many as 50 eligible employees a year can qualify for a $5,000 forgivable loan toward the purchase of a home. In return they commit to staying at Norton, and staying in their homes, for at least four years. Once accepted, they also must complete a series of educational and counseling programs designed to prepare them for home ownership.

The EAH benefit is available to all eligible employees and participants are not limited to buying homes in specific parts of the community. So far, Norton loan holders have purchased homes in 26 of the 35 zip codes in Louisville metropolitan area.

Since May 2002, 144 employees have completed their Homeowner Education courses. Of these, 112 have successfully applied for and received the forgivable loan and purchased their first homes. More than 30 others were able to complete buying their own homes without assistance from the Norton program.

Most importantly, the EAH program has helped Norton foster employee loyalty, decrease turnover, and change lives. In an e-mail to Melissa after closing on her new home, one grateful employee wrote: “This is the best day of my life.” As Melissa concluded, “What more could you ask for?”

If you would like more information on Norton Healthcare’s Employer Assisted Housing Program, please contact Melissa Nord at (502) 629-8432 or Melissa.nord@nortonhealthcare.org.

Source: HR Pulse, Winter 2005

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First impressions are crucial — especially the first impression a new hire gets of your company. Studies show that a negative perception of your company during the first 60-90 days of employment can lead new personnel to look for a new job within the year. Here’s how to put your best foot forward:

• Start before the new person does. Stay in touch after he or she has accepted the position to answer questions or help in other ways. And make sure that the new person’s work space is ready for the first day of work.

• Designate a mentor or partner to show the new person around, make introductions, and begin training.

• Begin with the basics. People become productive sooner if they are firmly grounded in the basic knowledge they need to understand their job. Focus on the why, when, where, and how of the position before expecting them to handle assignments. Don’t drown them with too much information.

• Give the new person some responsibility for his or her own orientation. Offer opportunities for self-directed learning, under appropriate supervision.

• Keep the new person’s family in mind. A new job means adjustments for the whole family, especially if they’ve relocated. Do what you can to ease the transition and help them feel comfortable in the community.

Adapted from the Pryor Report

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There are numerous ways for you to build relationships with potential new hires, between great candidates and their potential peers, and between candidates and your organization overall. Some of these include the following:

• Return voicemails and e-mails promptly — whether from job candidates or employees.

• Listen to candidates when they mention interesting life experiences, hobbies, or accomplishments so that you can make appropriate introductions to talented potential peers.

• Ask your staff to interview top candidates. Give their opinion equal or greater weight than your own; seek the receptionist’s opinion of the candidate, too.

• Use a courier to deliver the offer letter tucked in a book on a topic of interest to the prospective hire.

• Block your calendar on the expected start date once the offer is accepted.

• Send benefits paperwork to the new hire for completion in advance of the first day.

• Meet with your staff to plan their roles in assimilating the new employee.

• Select a mentor or buddy for the new hire.

• Schedule a breakfast or other low-key get-together that includes the new hire prior to day one.

• Order all badges, nameplates, parking passes, welcome signs, etc., for delivery prior to day one.

• Clean and set up the new person’s work area.

• Schedule the new employee’s review of equipment operation and any necessary skills training.

• Ask your staff to plan a fun social event for sometime during the new hire’s first two weeks. Reward all employees for learning more about each other during this time of assimilation.

The addition of a new person should enhance the work experience for your existing employees. Your staff is the key to the new employee’s speedy assimilation. Even a great relationship with you cannot substitute for a poor relationship with peers. The new hire needs great relationships from the start to accelerate to full productivity.

Adapted from Manager of Choice, Davies-Black Publishing

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When Jennifer Shroeger took over as district manager, UPS’s Buffalo operation was losing thousands of part-timers a year. In short order, Shroeger cut those numbers by 600 workers-saving the company around $1 million in annual hiring costs. Here are some of the success secrets she shared with Fast Company magazine:

• Achieve a meeting of the minds. Many UPS employees sign on as part-timers hoping to secure full-time positions. But since full-time openings are rare, they become disillusioned and leave. Shroeger began querying candidates to make sure opportunities matched expectations.

• Create a livable environment. Shroeger and her team revamped the district’s warehouses by installing better lighting, upgrading breakrooms, and putting more PCs on the floor to give new workers ready access to training materials.

• Make retention a group effort. Schroeger created an employee retention-committee for each of the 20 operations and shifts across her district. The committees, composed of managers and hourly workers, offer encouragement, troubleshoot problems, and organize group social activities.

• Provide intensive training. Top-notch shift supervisors were recruited as trainers and assigned to shadow new workers during their first week to keep them from feeling so overwhelmed.

Adapted from “Handle with Care: How UPS Handles Packages Starts with How it Handles People,” by Keith H. Hammonds, in Fast Company magazine

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Professional Search Services

• Large national candidate pool
• Internet recruiting at www.mhaservicecorp.com
• Background checking service
• Low contingency fee

When you need a healthcare management recruiter, call Steve O’Connor at the Michigan Health and Hospital Association in Lansing, MI at (517) 663-5755. He’s the search consultant who produces this monthly newsletter and has hundreds of management candidates currently registered with his service. Most are open to relocation. You are also invited to browse his web site for more information on Professional Search Services at www.mhaservicecorp.com.

Available positions may include:

CEO/COO/VP • Dietitians • Finance • Food Service • Fund Development • Health Information Management • Home Health Care • Human Resources • Information Systems • Managed Care • Management Engineering • Marketing/Public Relations • Materials Management • Nursing Administration • Pharmacy • Physician Practice Administrators • Planning • Plant Operations • Quality Improvement • Rehabilitation Management • Risk Management • Social Work • Training and Development • Utilization Review

For more information contact:

Stephen O’Connor, SPHR, Senior Director
MHA Service Corporation
Professional Search Service

Corporate Office:
6215 West St. Joseph Hwy.
Lansing, MI 48917
(517) 663-5755
Fax: (517) 663-5897
E-mail Address: soconnor@mha.org

Regional Office:
24725 W. Twelve Mile Rd.
Southfield, MI 48034
(248) 356-7950
Fax: (248) 356-8543

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