In a new video series, Mike Stahl will be discussing this year’s strategic plan: where we’re at and where we’re going. In the videos, Mike will give a short recap and below you be able to read more in-depth details. While this may be lengthy, the hope is that you can dig deeper into the issues that matter most to you and that everyone has a better understanding of Hilltop’s Strategic Vision. This week’s installment is about Our People:

Organizational Stability: Senior Leadership Transition, Operational Leadership Transition Design, and Succession Planning at all key positions.

Planning for the anticipated leadership turnover was prolonged by some unexpected turnover. Significant changes have been felt this year in Human Resources, Montrose region, and in training, but the waves of those changes were felt throughout the organization. We took advantage of the opportunity to reorganize our management structure, promote and hire good people, and reduce FTEs and payroll.

Program design changes were felt in Montrose Region, Latimer House Services, Family Resource Center – GJ, Senior Life Options, Training, The Commons, Human Resources, Fountains, and Bacon Campus; pretty much everywhere. The team’s stability has greatly improved and the new designs are taking shape.

All managers are actively creating succession plans or “plan B’s” for all key positions.

Recruitment & Retention of Employees & Volunteers: Hiring Processes, Work Environment/Culture, and Wage & Benefits.

Employee hiring continues to be a primary concern due to low unemployment, significant competition for caregivers, wages, and difficult positions. We continue to refine a new fulltime recruiter position, with support from programs and a new automated reference checking system. Being proactive and having a quick and easy application/hiring process is critical in this environment.

Retaining new employees is equally a challenge. Our retention greatly improves after three years, but the initial three continue to be a challenge. We have fully implemented supervisor training, a supervisory crash course, and the “Hilltop Way” training and will hopefully begin to see retention improvements through improved supervisor relationships.

Wages continue to be a concern. Although we have been able to continue annual cost of living increases and some special wage changes, the new minimum wage has had a significant financial impact. Wage compression (the gap between entry level positions and their supervisors) is a concern as well as a quickly escalating market for wages in the valley. Currently all managers (and HR) are forecasting potential impact of wages, by program. This information will be used as we plan for next year’s budget and years going forward.

Training & Learning: Corporate Training, Essential Training Calendars, and Recording and Tracking Employee Training

Our training & learning structure has undergone significant change this year. After a couple position turnovers, our current design has Cathy Story taking the point on training and learning, while leaning heavily on David Livingston for the day-to-day.

Complete training calendars are posted on the UltiPro Learning. This includes 16 different courses for supervisors, as well as our Coaching calendar open to all employees. This has allowed better scheduling and attendance as they all have multiple offerings each year from which to choose.

The “Learning” module of UltiPro not only has the calendar of trainings, but can schedule, document attendance and integrates completion into each employee’s electronic file. This allows easy tracking of who still needs which required trainings for audits.

Communication: Timing and Content Level, Use of Smart Technology, and Community Awareness of Hilltop.

An internal committee, consisting of employees at multiple levels, is currently working on needs, concerns and solutions and should be complete early spring. Timing, content, relevance, and method are seen as top priorities.

Implementation of several communication tools has occurred. Apps for UltiPro, Follow My Health, PayFlex, and Teladocs have been introduced, making the sharing information easier. Soon our new 401(k) will have access through an app. We continue to evaluate the use of Everbridge for emergency communication; however, with infrequent emergencies the upkeep and training is difficult, which is a good problem to have!

Frequent updates “From the Desk of Mike Stahl” through the portal, email, and sharing Hilltop Highlights have been well received. In addition, the Mike is currently being scheduled to attend a team meeting in every program by May.