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Shepherd of the Valley Looks to GROW
By Elise McKeownYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Employee turnover in the health-care industry is a problem that can be solved, says Jody Roman, director of human resources at Shepherd of the Valley. Her premise: "People will stay if they have a place to grow," she says. "We wanted to come up with a program that was going to allow our employees of all disciplines, whether they be dietary, housekeeping, nursing, a chance to have some sort of career ladder," Roman begins.From those observations, GROW was born. GROW -- the acronym for goals, responsibility, opportunity and win -- provides an education and career ladder to qualifying employees as it helps Shepherd retain its employees and offer quality care to its residents."She's created something interdisciplinary," says John Kerezy, Shepherd's marketing director. "You can do the program in dietary. You can do it in patient care. You can do it in many different areas within our organization."Hourly employees qualify for GROW program after a year's employment, score in mid-range or higher on their last performance appraisals and have their supervisor's' recommendation."We didn't want to take only the high [appraisal scorers]," Roman says, "but we didn't want to take people who aren't even doing their own job and ask them to do more." Of Shepherd's 625 employees, 250 were eligible for the program, and 120 enrolled."I like challenging things," says Pamela Cutlip, payroll coordinator and a GROW participant. "And it was stretched out over the year so you have time to do it on your own and at your own pace."Except those employed in the administrative department (they are taking a six-week computer class in place of one of the courses), each participant must complete nine courses. The courses fall into three categories: personal, general and departmental growth. "We didn't want them to just be better in their positions," Roman says. "We did want to provide departmental growth, but we believe as an organization that personal growth is very important."Stress management and related topics are the focus of personal growth while general growth covers subjects such as effective communication. The personal growth courses are the same for every participant, but departmental growth courses are geared toward the specific skills needed for an individual's duties and responsibilities at Shepherd, such as professional ethics for nurses and social workers. The courses, which employees must complete on their own time, are offered via live presentation and video. Each employee must complete a summary form for every course he takes."Basically, it's available to them whenever," Roman says. "It's a matter of them taking initiative to say, 'I need to watch that. I missed that one.' "Cutlip has seen one live presentation, on communication skills, thus far. "It was very general," she comments, "because there were a lot of different people in there with different jobs." This is necessary, she points out, because although she deals mostly with her co-workers other employees, such as nurses, work with patients and their families. This mix of professionals learning together allows employees to see "how other people view things," Cutlip observes.Learning through videotapes is a "commonly accepted method of continuing education for nurses and social workers and others in settings where you have a 24/7 schedule," Kerezy adds.Cutlip endorses combining live presentations and videos. "Some people are more hands-on," she offers. "Some people don't do well with tests or watching the video." With the GROW format, "you get a little bit of everything," she says.Those who finish the program, begun this year, receive a cash bonus. Part-time employees earn $375, those full-time $500. Then they are eligible for Level II, where the "career ladder" aspect comes into play.Level II, another year of training, leads to a promotion for the participants who complete it. The promotion -- to staff partner -- will come with a pay raise, the scope of those raises to be determined. A staff partner will be a mentor or the "lead person in their department," Roman says. Courses will cover communication, training, and orientation skills."We really want people to partner with our staff members," Roman says. "It's not always easy for them to go to their manager and talk about problems. So [the staff partner] is going to be that point person."The program was developed to be completed in two levels, Roman says, because "you need to be sure the people you put in that staff partner position truly can be that person. That's a tough job to have."The long-term care industry continues to expand, Roman notes, as does demand for qualified workers. "Organizations like ours have to make sure the good people stay," she continues. "You can't have an organization with that many employees who all have different needs and different desires and try to offer them the general employee benefit package. It doesn't work anymore. Everybody offers health care and dental care, short-term disability, life insurance."Shepherd of the Valley provides independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing for 600 residents at facilities in Niles, Boardman, Poland and Howland. Its headquarters is in Austintown.Contact Elise McKeown at [email protected]"