Memorial Health Adds Competencies to be JCAHO Ready with Healthcare-Specific Web-Based Appraisal System
Summary
Memorial Health, a large healthcare organization in the south east U.S., was looking to move to a best-of-breed employee performance and talent management system to replace the existing system delivered by its HRIS provider. Having selected a web-based, healthcare-specific appraisal system from Halogen, Memorial Health has been able to:
- Meet JCAHO compliance requirements head-on by having healthcare-specific competencies integrated with appraisals and powerful reporting tools;
- Fully automate the process from start to finish using electronic signatures;
- Create time savings for all involved and shorten the length of the employee review process by several weeks;
- Increase on-time completion of reviews to 97% for its 5,000 employees.
Company Profile
Memorial Health is a two-state healthcare organization serving 35 counties in southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina. The system includes its flagship, Memorial Health University Medical Center, a 530-bed tertiary medical center; CareOne, its two-state home-care division; Memorial Health primary and specialty care physician networks; a major medical education program; business and industry services; and NurseOne, a 24-hour call center. Memorial Health has been named a Distinguished Hospital by J.D. Power and Associates three years in a row and is also one of Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Challenge
Memorial Health had already taken the step of moving from a paper-based appraisal process to a web-based system and was relying on a module in the organization’s HRIS to handle employee evaluations. Over time, the HR department identified a number of shortcomings in the existing system, including the inability to handle electronic signatures or add competencies.
“While we were gathering information online, we still had to print out each appraisal, physically sign them and archive them,” said Joe DeRoma, Director of Compensation and Benefits, Memorial Health. “On top of that, we are subject to a number of requirements under JCAHO and wanted to ensure we were able to better ensure our compliance by including elements such as competencies.”
With compliance being a top priority, DeRoma and his team decided they required a more flexible system that would enable them to further streamline the appraisal process and address regulatory requirements.
Solution
The HR team developed a number of must-have features for any potential new system in addition to being able to add competencies and handle electronic signatures. “We knew our new system would have to be flexible in order to meet our specific requirements, be able to deliver automatic notifications and set deadlines in the system,” explained DeRoma.
DeRoma and his team evaluated a number of web-based employee performance and talent management systems, and eventually selected a healthcare-specific solution, Halogen eAppraisal Healthcare. “The Halogen offering was the easiest to use and it would enable us to accomplish everything we wanted to accomplish. Additionally, it is set up specifically to address JCAHO compliance requirements,” said DeRoma.
Memorial Health opted for a hosted deployment model to ease the load on its busy IT team. “What was great about Halogen is that we could go with the hosted model today, but bring it in-house in time. Having flexible deployment options makes this solution a low risk option with a very compelling business case,” said DeRoma.
Upon selecting the new system, several members of Memorial Health’s HR team underwent training and then conducted internal training with its managers. “We quickly got into the solution and were able to start using it very quickly. Additionally, we were able to standardize on three employee evaluation forms which, given our number of employees, is a testament to the flexibility of the system,” outlined DeRoma.
Benefits
Since deploying the new web-based appraisal system, Memorial Health’s HR team has received extremely positive feedback from its employees. “They were really pleased with how easy the system is to use and with the powerful tools they have available to them on a day-to-day basis such as the performance journals,” explained DeRoma.
The HR team has been able to save a lot of time and paper by eliminating the need for manual signatures. In total the solution saved the organization more than 32,000 sheets of paper each appraisal process. With the electronic signature feature, Memorial Health has been able to verify that appraisals are completed on time, which is a key requirement of ensuring JCAHO compliance.
Additionally, completion rates have improved significantly with electronic signatures. There’s no lag time between when reviews are completed and when they are signed, and reviews are no longer missing or lost.
“Before when something was done in the system, there were still manual steps to be taken. This slowed the process and resulted in only about 80 percent of appraisals getting done on time. Now, when a review is completed, it is signed at the same time. We’ve raised our on-time completion rate to 97 percent,” said DeRoma. “As a result, we’ve been able to eliminate several weeks from the process itself, meaning everyone involved saves a lot of time and effort. This ultimately means more time to focus on what’s really important, the care of our patients.”
One of the most important benefits to Memorial Health has been the addition of competencies, as required by JCAHO, directly into the web-based appraisal process. Now, the organization is in a ready state for scheduled and unscheduled accreditation surveyors, as they can quickly and easily provide up-to-date reports. “The healthcare-specific focus of the Halogen system has really streamlined our reporting related to JCAHO compliance. A lot of the work was done for us when it came to defining technical and behavioral competencies, which makes everything run smoother. We know when surveyors visit, we’ll be ready,” explained DeRoma.
By moving to a best of breed web-based system, DeRoma and the HR team at Memorial Health has been able to significantly streamline the appraisal process while meeting JCAHO compliance requirements head on. The end result is more time for busy healthcare practitioners to focus on delivering outstanding care to its patients.