To Medical Center Employees:
During the past three years our employee perspectives survey results have indicated improving the performance evaluation system is a top opportunity. Our organization-wide action plan includes development of a new performance evaluation process.
 
At the March 17 management communication meeting Helena Bastian, medical center human resources director, gave a progress report on plans to roll out a new performance evaluation process, including a new policy and forms. This progress report is also being discussed at the ongoing medical center town hall meetings.
 
A design team, consisting of key individuals throughout the medical center, developed the conceptual framework for the new evaluation process. The medical center MUSC Excellence Leader Evaluation Team also provided advice on the forms and weighting of the evaluation components. Additionally, we benefited from advice from various external professional experts.
 
The new performance evaluation process will support MUSC Excellence and will be linked to other policies, including a revised compensation policy. The plan calls for performance pay adjustments to be effective during October if funding is available.
 
Key components of the new evaluation include emphasis on behavioral standards, department-based job specific competencies, job responsibilities and at least one department-based pillar goal for everyone. Significant changes include a fiscal year universal review period (July 1 through June 30) for everyone except new hires in their first year of employment. Raters (supervisors) will have a window of 60 days before and after the review period to work on and complete evaluations.
 
We are currently in a transition phase to the new evaluation process. All evaluations for review dates (under the “old” system) falling in the January 2009 through December 2009 time frame should be completed by Aug. 31. The new policy and forms will be effective July 1 and new performance evaluation planning stages should be completed by Aug. 31. Assistance will be provided to departments as needed.
 
We originally planned to fully automate performance evaluations as we roll out the new process, but due to cost-related reasons delayed implementation. Plans are to load the new planning stages into a web-based system to minimize duplication of effort as we later fully automate the evaluation system.
 
During the next few months management training will be offered and additional information will be widely disseminated concerning the new performance management process.

Thank you very much.

W. Stuart Smith
Vice President for Clinical Operations
and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center

Town hall meetings
Monday, March 23, 3 p.m., ART Auditorium; and Tuesday, March 24, 11 a.m. IOP Auditorium

People—Fostering employee pride and loyalty

Michael Irving, clinical informatics manager, spoke to leaders about Mango, a new management organizational tool that combines information about hospital leaders with unit information. The system, available via the MUHA intranet, was initiated last August to assist hospital management locate individuals and manage information. About 400 leaders (administrators, directors, managers, supervisors, coordinators and business managers), 600 units and 1,600 interlinks between them are within Mango’s database.
 
Irving demonstrated Mango’s user tools for looking up information, which display the name, department, location and contact information as well as a list of reporting service line and phone numbers. Irving encourages all hospital leaders to review their MANGO information for accuracy. Irving and the Mango team hopes to help train and prepare business managers to maintain the Mango database
 
The Mango project team includes Irving, Kim Duncan, Stephanie Davis, Latonia Allen, Rachel Herbert, Neil Veloso, John Cooper and Jane Scutt.

Joint Commission survey readiness rounds
Karen Rankine, MUHA HR manager of education and training and a member of the Joint Commission Survey Readiness team, spoke about a new evaluation tool for staff to provide feedback from survey rounds.
 
Rankine thanked Linda Randazzo, R.N., Ambulatory Care performance improvement manager, for taking the lead in developing this tool and other team members who provided input. Rankine asked managers to encourage staff to complete the tool.

HR update
Helena Bastian, MUHA HR director, reviewed several policy revisions:
 
HR Policy #15—Compensation Program (effective July)

Definitions (new)—defines classifi-cation, compensation, pay grade, pay structure, pay-for-performance and premium pay

Policy (modified)
1) Pay-for-performance essential to sustaining MUSC Excellence
2) Included compensation guiding principles

Pay structure (new)—defines pay structure consisting of pay grades and the HR review process

Job analysis and classification/grade assignment (new)—defines the MUHA HR process for assigning jobs to appropriate pay grades

Pay-for-Performance (modified)— Pay-for-performance and bonus payout will be determined based upon:
1) market trends for occupational groups
2) performance evaluations
3) authority’s ability to fund

Review date aligned with fiscal year (July 1-June 30)

Pay date on or around the first pay period in October

Payment of wages (inclusion of link to form)—Web site provided for direct deposit form

Premium pay (new)—defined premium pay and grouped premium pay initiatives
1) shift and weekend differentials
2) “cash-in” for PTO day for holiday worked will be pending the Authority’s ability to fund

Bonus pay (modified)—delivered bonus pay (not considered incentive pay) available if budget permits

Deletions-terminology—pay band replaced with pay grade, in-band increases and request for market analysis form
 
HR will be meeting with directors and managers in April to review pay structure. E-mail questions to Campbell@musc.edu.

HR Policy #16—Performance Management
Universal fiscal year (July 1-June 30) review period and rating scale changes
Complete annual reviews by Aug. 31

October pay-for-performance increase dependant upon funding

Initial one-year review period on anniversary of hire date for new hires/probationary employees

No formal reviews for trial period

HML conversation language built into policy

Work improvement process deleted from policy
1) Identified performance deficiencies should be clearly communicated to the employee prior to the completion of the review period
2) Refer to HR Policy #45 Disciplinary Action for details regarding disciplinary and corrective action

Initial reviews (probationary)
1) Conducted following one year of employment
2) Employees’ review period will transition to universal review cycle

Performance Management form—key components
1) job purpose; behavioral standards; job competencies (department-specific); job responsibilities; pillar goals for everyone (one or more)

Pillar goals—staff pillar goals
1) Can be one or more goal; FY09-10 goals should be reflective of leader’s goals; consultations with LET members to assist with goal setting

Performance Management— transition training sessions
1) Transition for the transition will begin in April (schedule to follow)
2) E-mail questions to Bastianh@musc.edu

CATTS
1) If an hourly employee is required by his/her manager to complete CATTS lessons on his/her own time (at home), they must be paid.
2) A time entry form must be completed and submitted to the respective timekeeper.
3) Lessons take on average 15 minutes.

Announcements

• Michael Sawin, R.N., has been named the nurse manager for 10W. An experienced critical care and surgical trauma nurse, Sawin came to MUSC in 2005 working as in the HOP staff. He is an Army Reserves officer and a former night supervisor. He begins March 29.

• The next meeting is March 24.

Friday, March 20, 2009