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Members of unit-based teams at a San Leandro post-acute care facility got together to grow radishes, cilantro, kale and beets at an on-site vegetable garden. In the process, they also grew camaraderie, joy in work, and team engagement. Now they are harvesting higher People Pulse scores.
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This Colorado optometry team doesn't waste a drop. By using diagnostic eye drops efficiently, it helps keep Kaiser Permanente affordable.
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Learn how a Georgia pharmacy team contributes to making care more affordable by listening to patients and then ensuring it has the right supplies at the right time.
Hear from the employees, managers and physicians who work on the front lines about how the Partnership is working — 25 years on.
Union members, managers and physicians share their thoughts on how well the Partnership is working — 25 years on.
Hear from the employees, managers and physicians who work on the front lines about how the Partnership is working as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Union members, managers and physicians share their thoughts on how well the Partnership is working as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Hear from the employees, managers and physicians who work on the frontlines about their hopes for the future of the Labor Management Partnership.
Union members, managers and physicians share their aspirations for the future of the Labor Management Partnership in this video compilation marking our 25th anniversary.
Format:
PDF
Size:
18 pages; 8.5" x 11"
Intended audience:
Labor, management and physician sponsors who support unit-based teams
Best used:
This interactive handbook provides the fundamentals for sponsors to successfully work in partnership.
Staffing shortages – worsened by pandemic-related burnout and an aging workforce – are among the health care industry's most pressing challenges.
But Kaiser Permanente has an edge over the competition: the Labor Management Partnership, which provides leaders, managers, and union members with the tools, support, and long-lasting relationships to respond to challenges creatively.
The Partnership – an operational strategy shared by Kaiser Permanente and 2 union federations – is helping the organization address staffing challenges on several fronts.
Recent progress includes work with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions to implement a joint staffing process and accelerate hiring to fill thousands of vacancies through 2024; and a venture with the Alliance of Health Care Unions to design a training program to overcome a shortage of wound-care nurses.
Now, management and labor are boosting another central staffing effort: all-day hiring events that can attract hundreds of job candidates. Often, applicants come away with a job offer in hand.
"The Partnership is essential to our success," says Abbot Kohler, senior director, Pipeline and Operational Excellence for the Northwest Region, where Partnership union members participate in planning and conducting hiring events. "By bringing labor into the mix, our applicants get a more complete view of the many advantages of working for KP."
Staffing challenges remain for Kaiser Permanente and the health care industry at large. While KP has taken aggressive action to hire and fill vacancies – and things are starting to improve – staffing continues to be a top priority for management and labor. The hiring events, supported by KP and the Partnership unions, are a step in the right direction.
The events focus on addressing hard-to-fill vacancies for 2 or 3 open positions based on a facility or service area's greatest need. KP works with the Indeed job listings website to advertise events, connect with candidates and schedule interviews.
Enterprisewide, at least 30 hiring events took place in 2023, drawing more than 5,000 applicants and helping KP hire more than 1,200 new employees in 5 regions. Alliance and Coalition union members are actively involved in these hiring efforts. In the Northwest Region, they participated in 9 events that resulted in 149 new hires last year.
"The staffing issue is tailor-made for partnership," says Joshua Holt, RN, a board member with the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. "Involving labor in the hiring process helps to identify new members of the team who will provide the high standard of care that this organization requires."
Event organizers say a central draw for candidates are the unions and their commitment to the Partnership, which empowers frontline workers to collaborate with managers and physicians in decisions to improve care, service, and quality of work life.
"They see it as being able to have a voice and not getting in trouble for speaking your mind," says Olivia Devers, a certified nursing assistant at Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center near Portland and a senior labor partner with SEIU Local 49. She served on panels interviewing certified nursing assistant candidates at 2 events last year.
Partnership union members have been pivotal in driving attendance. A social media campaign led by UNAC/UHCP nurses at South Bay Medical Center in Southern California proved effective in promoting an event last May focused on filling select positions, including tele-health nurses.
Nearly 300 job candidates turned out, with interview panels meeting with applicants late into the day.
"Nurses know other nurses. We've worked together in the past, or we're friends from nursing school," says Cathy Tu, RN, a contract specialist with UNAC/UHCP who promoted the event on Instagram. "When we put out the word, we hit that target audience."
As hiring events continue in 2024, the involvement of frontline union members will remain paramount to their success.
The Coalition, for instance, has committed to taking part in at least 10 hiring events in 6 regions as part of its 2023 national agreement with Kaiser Permanente.
"Anytime you've got a diverse team with different perspectives coming together with a single goal in mind, you come out with a great result," says Shannon Surber, executive director for staffing systems and strategy in the Northwest Region.
Format:
PDF
Size:
8.5” x 11”
Intended audience:
Alliance-represented workers, frontline managers and leaders involved in the Alliance Performance Sharing Program
Best used: Use this fill-in-the-blanks template to help your unit-based team understand the goal topic, metrics, and ways they can help meet our Performance Sharing Program goals. Fill out template and download customized poster to hand out at meetings or post on bulletin boards where frontline employees gather.
For more tools, please visit the How-To Guide: Alliance PSP in a Box.
Customize this poster template with information specific to the Alliance PSP goal for your market, facility, team, and audience..
Format:
PDF
Size:
8.5” x 11” (letter size) or 8.5" x 14" (legal size)
Intended audience:
Alliance-represented workers, frontline managers and leaders involved in the Alliance Performance Sharing Program
Best used: Customize this poster template by adding concrete steps that unit-based teams can take to meet the Alliance PSP goal for workplace safety. Fill out template and download customized poster to hand out at meetings or post on bulletin boards where frontline employees gather.
For more tools, please visit the How-To Guide: Alliance PSP in a Box.
Customize this poster template with information specific to the Alliance PSP goal for your market, facility, team, and audience..
