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How to Find and Use Team-Tested Practices

Does your team want to improve service? Or clinical quality? If you don't know where to start, check out the team-tested practices on the LMP website. This short video shows you how. 

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How to Find the Tools on the LMP Website

Need to find a checklist, template or puzzle? Don't know where to start? Check out this short video to find the tools you need on the LMP website with just a few clicks. 

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Why Rounding Conversations Matter

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Connecting with a personal touch

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“Dexter” Janet Borrowman is an operational excellence coach for performance improvement in the Southern California Region. She recently spoke with LMP Communications manager Sherry Crosby about the importance of rounding conversations for managers and frontline workers. Building a workplace culture where everyone’s voice matters is key to our Labor Management Partnership.

What is rounding?

Rounding is an evidence-based practice that relies on purposeful conversation and observation to drive workplace engagement and insights. Direct report rounding involves conversations between a team member and that person’s supervisor, manager or leader.

How does rounding benefit managers and frontline workers?

When done well, rounding helps managers build trust with staff, gain insights into workplace challenges and recognize employees, which fosters joy in work. Frontline workers benefit by having a chance to connect individually with their managers, share ideas, express concerns and find deeper purpose in their everyday work.

What evidence shows rounding is an effective practice?

Rounding is one of the most effective ways for managers to spend their time. And the more they consistently round, the greater the impact. According to People Pulse, departments where rounding is routinely practiced achieve more meaningful levels of engagement, better patient care outcomes, fewer workplace injuries and improved attendance.

How can frontline workers get the most out of rounding conversations?

Sometimes employees don’t see the benefit of direct report rounding; they just see it as helping the boss complete their checklist. It’s totally missing the point! Rounding is your chance to discuss what you need to be successful and the support you need. This is all about you!

How can managers get the most out of rounding conversations?

Rounding is one of the best tools that managers have for proactively surfacing and addressing issues which can create safer, more efficient and productive teams and environments. Use rounding to connect with your team members. People need to feel that their life and work has meaning, and that they are personally supported and cared for as a complete person. People need a personal touch, especially during difficult times, and rounding can help with that.

How can managers use rounding to build trusting relationships?

Your direct reports need to feel that what they’re saying is important and that you’re following up with action. Circle back to that person who brought up the issue with you. Go to the huddle and follow up with the whole team. We build trust by following up after a rounding conversation. We break trust by not following up.

What advice do you have for those who want to enhance their rounding practice?

If we are doing rounding the right way, if we’re doing it consistently, if we’re doing it authentically, then we will discover what matters most to our people and we’ll be able to better support them and the work they do.

 

Empowering the Workforce

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Education and training programs expand opportunities for career growth

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The training and education resources negotiated by Kaiser Permanente and the Partnership unions are helping employees advance their careers. These opportunities are making KP’s promise of a diverse and inclusive workplace come to life. Learn more from employees, managers and leaders who shared their stories during the first virtual Workforce Development Week.

Addie Darby, UFCW Local 1996, quality control, Health Information Management, Georgia

With the help of the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust and encouragement of manager Sophia Wilson, Darby has earned an associate degree in business management, a bachelor's in health administration, and a master's in health technology and education. She’s not stopping there. Darby is enrolled in a doctorate program and plans to graduate this year (2021).

Sadao Nakachi, UNAC/UHCP, emergency room nurse, Southern California

After leveraging workforce development opportunities to become an RN and earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing, Nakachi went on to get a master’s in business for veterans. He holds numerous professional certifications and connects fellow nurses to educational opportunities. “I always try to find courses that’ll overall maximize my potential at KP,” he says. Follow him on Instagram @NurseScholar.

Crystal Muir, OPEIU Local 2, clinical assistant, Mid-Atlantic States

Muir is using tuition reimbursement to pursue her bachelor’s degree in nursing. She’s also used the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust’s Individual Stipend Program to attend school once a week, which she says, “I've been fortunate to do with trying to balance school, work and life being a mom.” She aims to graduate in 2022.

Sophia Wilson, supervisor, Health Information Management, Georgia

“I encourage all my staff to pursue education to stay marketable and relevant,” Wilson says. “I tell managers, ‘Please do not be so rigid as to make it harder for your employees to soar.’ If you put the resources into your staff, it can be nothing but a win-win.”

Philidah Seda, director, Specialty Care, Georgia

Not only does Seda encourage her staff to use workforce development resources, but she herself is studying for her doctoral degree. “The health care environment is getting more and more complex,” she says. “For us to prepare the workforce of the future, we have to invest in their learning.”

Eula Smith, SEIU-UHW, medical assistant, Northern California

Ask Smith why she wanted to work in health care, and she will bluntly tell you she didn’t. She started at KP as a shuttle bus driver. When that department was outsourced, Smith was offered the opportunity to train as a medical assistant with the help of the SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund. She has overcome her initial reluctance to deal with patients, saying “I love it now.”

Ingris Solares, SEIU Local 105, medical lab technician, Colorado

Solares began her career at KP as a phlebotomist before getting trained in her current field in an apprenticeship program with the help of SEIU Local 105 and the SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund. She intends to get more education to become a clinical lab scientist. “I knew I wanted more because I'm the first generation here in the United States,” she says. “My parents came from Guatemala, so I always felt like I needed to make the trip here worth it.”

Michael Brown, senior vice president, HR Consulting, National Functions

Before embarking on a career path that would bring him to KP as an HR leader, Brown went to law school. His father was frank with him: As a Black man, he needed an advanced degree to position himself for the same opportunities that others had.

“Before I even started working, I knew that education was going to be the equalizer.” That’s why he encourages KP employees to use workforce development programs and cultivate learning agility by trying different shifts, joining different departments and seeking informal leadership roles.

Kerrin Watkins, manager, Dental Office, Northwest

It's hard to lose top performers, but amazing to see them grow. “Invest in your employees and let them know you want to see them succeed,” Watkins says. “This will benefit you in the long run, because you will have employees that will feel more valued. If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your business.”

 

Videos

High Hopes

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Watch this short video to hear what LMP team members in KP Washington have to say about the benefits of Partnership for frontline workers, managers, and physicians.

 

TOOLS

Glossary: The Building Blocks of Partnership

Format:
PDF

Size:
2 pages, 8.5” x 11”

Intended audience:
Members and leaders of unit-based teams

Best Used:
Use this glossary to understand key concepts and terms related to the Labor Management Partnership and interest-based bargaining.

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Videos

What Is Workforce Development?

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Kaiser Permanente encourages lifelong learning and job growth for all employees. Learn more about what workforce development can offer you. Visit kpcareerplanning.org.

 

5 Tips to Build Your Career

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Explore Workforce Development Week resources

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Kaiser Permanente offers many resources to help you advance your career.

Looking to get started? View sessions from Workforce Development Week and follow these 5 recommendations from the October virtual event.

1. Keep learning.

Kaiser Permanente encourages lifelong learning. Resources range from mentoring to tuition reimbursement for everyone to education trusts for eligible union members.

Sadao Nakachi, an emergency room registered nurse and UNAC/UHCP member in the Southern California Region, advanced professionally by using tuition reimbursement and the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Ingris Solares, an SEIU Local 105 member in the Colorado Region, began as a phlebotomist before completing a yearlong apprenticeship program with the SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund to become a medical lab technician.

View their success stories in the Day 1 and Day 2 employee panels.

2. Have a growth mindset.

Feel stuck in your current job? Reframe your thinking, says Michael Brown, vice president of Human Resources in the Georgia Region.

“You’re really not stuck. What you’re doing is developing expertise on that job. It provides you an opportunity to deliver strong results. That is good currency that you can take with you to that next position,” Brown said in a career expert panel.

View a recording of the leader panel.

3. Talk with your manager.

Managers should encourage employees’ career growth, says Kerrin Watkins, Dental Office manager in KP’s Northwest Region. She discusses workforce development with team members to understand their needs, inform them about resources and support their use of education trusts.

“Invest in your employees,” Watkins says. “If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your business.”

View Day 3 videos from Watkins and Georgia Region managers Philidah Seda and Sophia Wilson and learn more in the Manager’s Guide to Workforce Development.

4. Follow your professional dreams.

It’s never too late to develop your career, says Dennis Dabney, senior vice president, National Labor Relations and Office of Labor Management Partnership.

When Dabney was 40 and working in Human Resources for an automotive parts supplier, he decided to go to law school. He studied nights and weekends to get his degree. His extra work paid off, opening doors to career growth. Learn more in Dabney’s Day 1 video.

5. Just do it.

Kaiser Permanente employees can receive tuition reimbursement of up to $3,000 each year for successfully completing eligible courses.

Hiren Patel, a senior systems administrator in the Northern California Region, started as a pharmacy tech. He moved up in the organization using tuition reimbursement to get a bachelor’s degree and is currently pursuing a master’s degree.

“Make a plan and be flexible,” Patel says. “Just do it.”

Listen to Patel’s story on the Day 2 launch of the Excel Yourself podcast and explore the event’s website for additional episodes, Ask an Expert sessions, videos and more.

National Workforce Planning and Development hosted Workforce Development Week in collaboration with the Alliance of Health Care Unions and Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

Joy in Work

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The antidote to job burnout

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Joy in work might seem like an idea that’s superficial or unattainable — especially in a pandemic. But in times like these, it’s more important than ever.

Joy in work is about being connected with what you do and why you do it. It’s the feeling of success and fulfillment that comes from doing work that matters. It connects us with colleagues and patients through a sense of shared purpose.

Joy in work is practical and science-based, according to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, which has taken the lead in researching the subject. Joy in work produces tangible results: Studies link it to reduced turnover, higher productivity, and improved patient experience, outcomes and safety.

It doesn’t turn every workday into a breeze. There still will be fatigue, long hours and tough days.

But cultivating joy in work creates the deep engagement that helps keep stress from turning into burnout — which was a serious issue in U.S. health care even before COVID-19 arrived on the scene.

For everyone’s benefit, let’s nurture it at Kaiser Permanente.

What brings you joy in work? Use the stories, tips and tools on these pages to explore that question — on your own and with your team. Work together to create joy in work.

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