Mercy Springfield Communities is the largest employer in the area, with roughly 9,095 co-workers under your care. What does it take to run a system like this?
Mercy Hospital Springfield includes people who work in this building, but it also includes our Mercy Villa, all of our EMS, all of our durable supply folks. We are broken into three divisions within HR. We have compensation, data integrity and (human resources information systems), we have recruitment and talent selection, then we have the HR Operations section, which I’m over.
For HR Ops, I have five HR managers and we have them partnered with an operational vice president, like food services or EMS. It creates continuity. Our job is right there in the middle, we are there for the co-worker, but we are there for the leader, too.
What services does HR Ops provide?
HR Ops can be anything. Lets say we have a co-worker who just got a rough diagnosis and doesn’t know what to do. They are worried about working, not having a job and more. They will come in and an HR manager will connect them with the benefits. Maybe it’s long-term disability, maybe it’s leave. We can make all those connections for the co-worker. These co-workers don’t have the time or capacity to work through all the stuff that’s needed to get to that point. If they can take care of themselves, we can take care of them.
A large employee doesn’t retain employees without good benefits. What does Mercy offer?
Of course we offer health, dental and vision. We pay 70 percent on the health. It’s a great benefit, very competitive in this area. One of the cool things we do that doesn’t get a lot of press, is if your total income is under a certain threshold, there is a reduction from your benefits. By that I mean, we reduce the premium that you pay. For the lower-paid co-workers, we thought, “We need to do something for them.” I think it goes back to the sisters, our heritage and our mission. They have always tried to help those in need. Even though we are paying a market rate and above minimum wage, it’s still tough for some of these folks. If we can do that, why shouldn’t we do that?
Mercy upgraded its Healthification program last week. What does that entail?
It’s just getting off the ground, we [had] a ribbon cutting on Friday. It’s not really a fitness center, it’s a program, but we do have a facility. In Hammons Heart, there used to be a swimming pool. They filled that in and added exercise equipment that will be open 24 hours for co-workers. It’s not just the fitness equipment though, it’s a complete program. You can take a tour of a grocery store and learn about healthy eating habits. If you have a desire to be part of a club or connect, the program can help. We have a bunch of folks who started a sewing club. That’s very therapeutic for them.
What’s the Employee Assistance Program?
I tell employees, “We all have a paper sack full of junk we carry around with us. Whether it’s family issues, stress, financial, whatever. That’s normal, but if that paper sack is getting too full of these things what’s going to happen? Splat. It’s going to break open, get ugly and messy.” We encourage co-workers to go see these folks for counseling. It’s completely confidential and paid for by Mercy. The co-workers love it and it’s just another way we can help them connect the dots for the things they need.
What other unique benefits are offered?
We have a co-worker store, right across the hall actually. Co-workers can have things payroll deducted or buy things like Silver Dollar City tickets. I really like that they keep milk stocked. I can’t drink black coffee.
Another interesting thing we have is a co-worker clinic. I have a cough or a respiratory thing, or maybe pink eye, but something is going on and I don’t want to miss work because I need this job. I can’t get in to my doctor for maybe a week. I can just walk down to the clinic and be seen by a nurse practitioner. There is an access fee of $25, not charged to the insurance.
