HA 5355
Exempt/nonexempt
"Exempt positions are excluded from minimum wage, overtime regulations, and other rights and protections afforded nonexempt workers. Employers must pay a salary rather than an hourly wage for a position for it to be exempt. Typically, only executive, supervisory, professional or outside sales positions are exempt positions" (You've). On the other hand, nonexempt employees are not exempt from FLSA requirements. Employees who fall within this category must be paid at least the federal minimum wage for each hour worked and given overtime pay for every hour worked beyond 40 hours.
How to get a direct compensation system that is fair, rational, understood, and effective
1. Measure effectiveness 2. Establish a pay philosophy and goals 3. Design the compensation system 4. Establish a pay structure 5. Write pay policies and get legal review 6. Communicate and train
AA
Affirmative action is the process of a business or governmental agency in which it gives special rights of hiring or advancement to minorities to make up for past discrimination against that minority. AA has often been a subject of debate with some saying that it produces reverse discrimination against white counterparts. Affirmative action programs are governed by several overlapping laws, but the common principle is always that programs are made to help remedy the past effects of discrimination. If a company is private, they do not have to abide by these laws.
"Impaired Provider Act"
Also known as Senate Bill 309. This act was passed in 1987 and allowed a system for both the licensing agency and the health professional to "obtain assistance, protect the public, be evaluated for impairment and to provide a mechanism for the professional to surrender his or her license in order to obtain recovery" (n.d.)
Emergent strategy
An emergent strategy is a pattern of behavior that develops over time in an organization without a specific goal. When a business has an emergent strategy, it just means that they have been doing the same pattern of things for a long time without realizing or recognizing that it is a planned strategy. It is important to actually sit down with executives and HR professionals to develop a plan so that when they revisit the plan and evaluate how they have done and readjust as necessary.
Vision
A company's vision statement differs from their mission statement. A vision for a company describes the desired future of the company, and often times includes the purpose of the business. A vision statement can address what your company's goals are, what problem you are trying to solve for the greater good or who are you inspiring to change. These questions often provoke leaders to think forward and think about the future X amount of years from now. It is important for leaders to set a vision so that they know what they are working towards, so that there is a common and mutual goal for all employees to look towards.
Professional identities/engagement dynamics
A professional identity is one's professional self-concept based on many factors about themselves. Your professional identity can be based on your attributes, beliefs, values, motives, and experiences. It is important to create your professional identity but also remaining a good, unbiased leader. According to the "Tools of Greatness", engagement dynamics "focuses on enabling business leaders to ensure that the members of their teams are optimally engaged in the context of the ongoing changes which occur in the business environment" (Engagement Dynamics).
Qualified plan
A qualified retirement plan has strict eligibility and vesting requirements and strict taxable limits. According to our textbook, at least 70 percent of employees who are not highly compensated must be eligible to participate in a qualified plan. To that end, plans that are covered by ERISA must undergo periodic nondiscrimination testing to ensure that this requirement is met. Qualified retirement plans receive more tax benefits, and typically the employee and employer are not taxed until the time a distribution is made.
Line manager's role in the Employment Function
- Have a current job description that includes competencies make sure you have the budget send a requisition to HR assess qualified applicants interview select finalists hand off to HR for conditional job offer manage onboarding do a probationary evolution
What's unique to HCOs: compensation
- On call pay - Shift differential - Call back pay - Charge pay - Complexity
A successful hire (short term/long term)
- Short term meets minimum job qualifications successfully completes the probationary period able to meet performance standards is "legal" - long term longevity job satisfaction engagement few legal problems enhances performance management
The order of employment processing
- Vacancy occurs: new or old positions Position control occurs Recruiting Appropriate screening Appropriate interviewing selection conditional job offers background evaluation orientation onboarding
PPO
A PPO or a preferred provider organization is a medical care arrangement in which medical professionals and facilities provide services to subscribed clients at reduced rates. PPO medical and healthcare providers are called preferred providers. Most health insurance plans are serviced through either a preferred provider organization or a health management organization. PPO participants are free to use the services of any provider within their network. Out-of-network care is available but will typically result in higher costs to the insured. PPO plans are the oldest and, due to their flexibility and lower out-of-pocket costs, the most popular managed healthcare plan as of 2017.
Competency based interview
A competency-based interview is more systematic than a traditional interview, with each targeting a specific skill or competency. Candidates are asked questions relating to their behavior in specific circumstances, with which they are typically asked to provide concrete examples. Competency-based approach to job analysis is often used to change the environment of an organization. This approach places emphasis on characteristics of successful performers rather than on standard job duties and tasks. Healthcare organizations operating in fast-moving environments often rely on job profiles that look at duties and competencies that the future employee needs to have to adapt to new job changes. This is an important approach for an employer to know about, especially someone who is in charge of hiring people. It's important for employers to know that the person they are potentially hiring will be able to adapt and change to certain environments. A well-rounded employee is a good one, they should be able to do more than just exactly what was on the job description.
Defined benefit
A defined-benefit plan is an employer-sponsored retirement plan where employee benefits are computed using a formula that considers several factors, such as length of employment and salary history. The company administers portfolio management and investment risk for the plan. There are also restrictions on when and by what method an employee can withdraw funds without penalties. HR defined benefits are also referred to as pension plans or qualified-benefit plans. These are termed 'defined' because employees and employers know the formula for calculating retirement benefits ahead of time. It is crucial for HR professionals to know about the different types of retirement plans, a lot of people do not know what goes into all of these plans and you need to be able to explain thoroughly to them about each plan.
Orientation
A formal orientation for a new employee will be much more beneficial than an informal orientation. The formal orientation process provides a huge opportunity to engage the new employee in formulating expectations for a future with the organization. When left with only an informal orientation, the new employee will receive inaccurate, incomplete and even biased information. The new-employee orientation is a process by which the organization answers many employee-centered questions. This orientation is an opportunity to teach the new employee the values, missions, policies and practices of their organization. A good HR professional or hospital administrator needs to be aware of how important a good formal orientation is. This is a chance for the company to put their best foot forward for their new employee, this can either leave a new employee excited and eager to do good work or upset that their new company doesn't care to inform them of information. During the orientation, the employee should expect to be exposed to a balance of job-specific and organization-related information.
POS
A point of sale plan is a type of managed care health care insurance plan in the United States. POS plans combine the characteristics of the health maintenance organization and the preferred provider organization. The POS is based on a managed care foundation—lower medical costs in exchange for more limited choice. Enrollees in a POS plan are required to choose a primary care physician from within the health care network; this primary care provider becomes their 'point of service'. According to E Health Insurance's website, a POS plan might be right for you if: you're willing to play by the rules and possibly coordinate your care through a primary care physician and your favorite doctor already participates in the network.
ADA
ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act. This act created additional responsibility for employers. Not only did the act make it illegal for a business to discriminate based on people's disabilities, it also required that employers provide reasonable accommodations to eradicate barriers against applicants and current employers who were defined as disabled under the law. This act, I think, is a good one for employees and employers. I think that even though someone has a disability, doesn't mean they can't do a job well. This act made it possible for people with disabilities to live regular lives, and able to make a paycheck, whereas before they might not have been able to. Employers should know about this act because they may need to supply extra equipment or technical support to someone with disabilities, under ADA.
Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act. This act created additional responsibility for employers. Not only did the act make it illegal for a business to discriminate based on people's disabilities, it also required that employers provide reasonable accommodations to eradicate barriers against applicants and current employers who were defined as disabled under the law. This act, I think, is a good one for employees and employers. I think that even though someone has a disability, doesn't mean they can't do a job well. This act made it possible for people with disabilities to live regular lives, and able to make a paycheck, whereas before they might not have been able to. Employers should know about this act because they may need to supply extra equipment or technical support to someone with disabilities, under ADA.
Progressive discipline
According to Indiana University's Human Resources department, progressive discipline "is the process of using increasingly severe steps or measures when an employee fails to correct a problem after being given a reasonable opportunity to do so. The underlying principle of sound progressive discipline is to use the least severe action that you believe is necessary to correct the undesirable situation. Increase the severity of the action only if the condition is not corrected" (Indiana). The 'typical' progression steps are informal counseling, verbal warning, written warnings, suspension without pay, and then finally, termination. The idea is that after the first step, counseling, the problem with the employee with be solved or cease. I think progressive discipline is a good way to punish employees when they have done something against policy or procedure. Using progressive discipline is a way to keep people on your team but improving whatever they messed up on, and if they don't fix it the punishment keeps getting worse, eventually leading to termination.
Regulatory churning
According to The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's website, churning "occurs when a broker engages in excessive buying and selling of securities in a customer's account chiefly to generate commission that benefit the broker" (Churning). Churning is illegal and unethical and can violate SEC Rule 15c1-7.
Regulatory/legal requirements for staffing
According to the American Staffing Association, some 'legal quick facts' about staffing include: co-employment, safe work sites, OSHA record-keeping, temporary/part-time employees, the Family Medical Leave Act, work eligibility status, ADA compliance, etc. Due to the extent of legalities of staffing, it is crucial for human resource professionals and hospital administrators to be up to date and well versed in legal requirements for staffing so that they do not jeopardize their business by engaging in illegal action. (Legal).
General record keeping requirements
According to the Texas Workforce Commission most Texas and federal laws have recording keeping requirements for employers. The three main duties are to keep certain kinds of records, keep records in a certain form and readily available for inspection and to keep the records for a specified period of time. There are 13 statutory requirements to record keeping in Texas including: wage and hour laws under FLSA, unemployment compensation, family and medical leave under FMLA, I-9 records, new hire reporting, hiring documentation, disability-related records, benefit-related information, age-discrimination documentation, OSHA records, hazardous materials records, state discrimination laws and IRS payroll tax-related records.
Turn over
As a healthcare administrator it is important to have as little turnover as possible, as it is costly. Companies should and do place a high value on employee retention. A lot of factors should be considered when a manager wants to retain employees, like: how effective is the organization and onboarding procedures? How are people recruited and selected? What do their benefits include? Not only can turnover be costly to an employer, it often times also reduces the quality and continuity of care, job satisfaction, morale and teamwork efforts. If there are new people coming in and out constantly it doesn't allow for older team members to create a productive working environment together with them. Additionally, hiring new people often means they need to all be trained and training costs money, money that could be used elsewhere. It's also important to note an important measure of the effectiveness of recruitment and selection is the extent to which the organization is able to attract committed and high-performing employees who remain with the organization over a certain time period.
Deliberate strategy
As opposed to an emergent strategy, a deliberate strategy is one that a business sets intentionally to follow so that they can achieve its intended goals. As a healthcare leader, it is critical to set a strategy for your business to follow. That way, when you have metrics, you are able to determine your company's growth or loses in that period of time. HR professionals have better success with a company when they have a deliberate strategy.
BFOQ
BFOQ stands for bona fide occupational qualification, which is a quality that employers are allowed to consider when making decisions on the hiring and firing of employees. An example of bona fide occupational qualifications are mandatory retirement ages for positions such as bus drivers or pilots—for safety reasons. These qualifications are those that if they stood alone would be considered discriminatory, but since there are certain guidelines for safety and other factors, they are allowed. Another good example I read online is that if a Catholic school was hiring, it would not be considered discriminatory if they didn't hire someone apart of the Methodist religion. I think that employers should be wary of this exemption of the discrimination rule, because you don't want to 'cut it close', because like mentioned earlier, it could lead to a lawsuit. Companies should only use BFOQ if absolutely necessary to the safety of patient's well-being.
Sexual harassment
Cases involving what is not recognized as sexual harassment had been filed as far back at 1974, the year of Barnes v. Train. At first, the courts focused on quid pro quo sexual harassment, where the employer has conditioned some aspect of employment (pay increases, promotions, etc) on compliance with the sexual demands of the supervisor or employer. It was crazy to read in the book about cases in the 1970s such as Corne v. Bausch and Lomb, Inc where the court ruled that his alleged sexual advances were just satisfying a personal urge and that no employer policy was involved. We have certainly come a long way from that case in regards to sexual harassment in the workplace. In 1986, the US Supreme Court in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson found that the creation of a hostile work environment through overt acts of sexual harassment of any kind violated Title VII. This is a subject that employers and HR professionals need to be well aware of. They need to be prepared what to do, legally, if an employer comes to them with a complaint of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Disparate treatment
Discrimination law in the US began when the US Supreme Court passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of this act is where the term disparate treatment is defined. Disparate treatment is, "failing or refusing "to hire or discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employments, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin" (Fried 47). In other words, disparate treatment is intentional discrimination. A good example of this is a company saying, "this job is too dangerous for women". A company cannot do this because it is intentionally, up-front saying they will not hire women, which is illegal. A company with this kind of statement in their job description could face a lawsuit, as this goes against Title VII in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I think that HR professionals and healthcare administrators should be aware of this unlawful treatment, so that they avoid it. It is important for a company to be inclusive.
Disparate impact
Disparate impact theory did away with the necessity for the employee to prove any discriminatory intent on the part of the employer. The US Supreme Court landmark case, Griggs v. Duke Power Co. established the concept of disparate impact. In this case, a power company had job qualifications that included having to have a high school diploma, this left many African-Americans unable to able for these jobs and in turn, have lesser paying jobs than their white counterparts. This case's decision established that such requirements or tests to have a business necessity, rather than just be a preference of the employer was unlawful. The US Supreme Court held that employers were responsible in court for establishing and proving the business necessity of a test or requirement. Employers should be aware of what they make a requirement and make sure it is equal to the job task.
EAP
EAP stands for employee assistance program. It is a work-based intervention program designed to identify and assist employees in resolving personal problems (marital, financial, emotional, family issues, substance/alcohol abuse) that may be adversely affecting the employee's performance. An EAP is also effective in controlling mental health costs if such a program is used as a gatekeeper for access to mental health related services. EAPs typically offer a finite number of counseling and therapy sessions with professionals in the field, and all dealings with this group are confidential.
ERISA
ERISA stands for Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. ERISA is a federal law administered by the US Department of Labor to establish minimum standards by which many pension and health plans in private industry are governed. Most nongovernmental companies in the US are covered by ERISA. Protections by ERISA are mostly administrative in nature such as—employers must maintain plan documents in accordance with applicable federal laws and ensure that definitions for plan eligibility are not discriminatory. Other expectations include fiduciary aspects of administration (requiring plan administrators to appropriately manage and control the assets of the plan, develop a process by which participants can obtain benefits). Under ERISA the organization must also file annual tax returns after an external audit of the plan has been conducted.
Mission
Each organization should have a mission statement which is typically created by its board and senior managers. The mission of an organization states how it intends to manage itself in order to effectively run this business. Human resources is often a big part of a mission statement, as they provide subtle statements about its purpose and mission for the organization of people. Leaders need to be prepared to create or improve their existing mission statement as to make it more inclusive or to help it better address what the organization aims to do and how they aim to do it. Since written communication can often be misinterpreted, it is important for a group of people following a strategic leadership model to make the statement clear and concise. A patient should not be confused after they read a mission statement. A patient should know what the organization does for its patient and how they intend to carry out those goals after reading a mission statement.
Employee engagement
Employee is one of the major objectives of organizational development and learning. Employee engagement is measured by employees' positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, which influences their willingness to learn and perform at work. The book states this competency as, "an employee is engaged if he or she is willing to go above and beyond that would typically be expected in his or her role" (Field). It is important for HR professionals and healthcare administrators to know about employee engagement and how to improve it. If management can figure out how to improve employee engagement, then they can have better outcomes in their company. Studies have shown that employees who are more engaged show higher levels of performance, commitment, and loyalty to a company. There is also evidence to support the idea that higher engagement leads to better business performance. The goal of a healthcare facility is to treat patients and to also make money. Employee engagement is one way to improve your business performance
Employee relations
Employee relations refers to a company's efforts to manage relationships between employers and employees. An organization with good employee relations provides fair and consistent treatment to all employees to get better outcomes. Although the field of employee relations began with duties that resembled those of recreation directors more than anything else, HR professionals handing employee relations now need a firm knowledge of both state and federal employment laws, the company's own practices and policies, and HR decisions from managers before them. Employee relations activities are a part of every HR decision a company designs. Companies can hire employment specialists to help them get the best recruits. They can also hire compensation specialists who know how to structure job families and control how employees move up. The idea of employee relations is where HR management comes together. AND ESTABLISHING A CONSTRUCTIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT (WHICH IS THE BASIC DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS) IS PRIMARILY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LINE MANAGEMENT NOT HR!
Defined contribution
Employer provides a contribution to an account based on the employee's current salary/earnings, and employee can draw on the account after retirement with reduced tax liability. A defined contribution plan or a DC plan is a type of retirement plan in which the employer, employee or both make contributions on a regular basis. Individual accounts are set up for participants and benefits are based on the amounts credited to these accounts plus any investment earnings on the money in the account.
Employment-at-will
Employment at-will is one of the three primary categories that employment falls under. Employment at-will is a term used in labor law for contractual relationships in which an employee can be fire by an employer for any reason. This means that they do not have to have 'just cause' for employment termination. This status provides wide-ranging freedom for employers to dismiss employees. However, even if an employee is under at-will status, employers face restrictions on how free and for what reasons they may dismiss employees. The book talks about the example of some states (Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon and South Dakota) prohibit employer action against smokers. These statutory exceptions vary from state to state. It is important for HR professionals and healthcare administrators to be well versed in the employment statuses like employment-at-will, so they do not get in legal trouble. YES, EES CANNOT BE TERMINATED AT-WILL FOR ILLEGAL REASONS LIKE VIOLALTIONS OF EEO OR IF THERE IS AN IMPLIED CONTRACT LIKE PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE POLICIES. MOST EMPLOYMENT IN HCOS IS NOT AT-WILL BECAUSE OF IMPLIED CONTRACTS AS A RESULT OF POLICIES.
FLSA
FLSA stands for Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA is a federal law which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state and local governments. It is important for administrators to know the standards that are set in the FLSA because they are law. If a company does not follow these laws and standards, they can be subject to a lawsuit. Legal cases can be pricey and unnecessary for companies as it uses resources that could be put elsewhere. A company should aim to treat their employees fairly and within FLSA standards.
FMLA
FMLA or the Family and Medical Leave Act entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Employees that are eligible for FMLA are entitled to either: twelve workweeks in a 12-month period for the birth of a child, the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care within one year of placement, to care for the employee's spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition, a health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job, or any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent. The other condition is 26 weeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember's spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin.
FTE
FTE stands for full-time equivalent, measuring FTE hours in a patient care system is a more accurate reflection of effective workers supply than a simple head is. FTE is the hours worked by one employee on a full-time basis. FTE is used to convert the hours worked by several part time employees into the hours worked by full time employees. 8 hours per day is considered full time, typically. In terms of the employment function, there is a workforce supply inflows and outflows for employees. If you take the number of current employees and figure out who will be retiring in X amount of years, who you are training to be employed in the future and who will continue to migrate up in the company, and then you will find you FTE. The FTE is important for a health administer to know so that they know if they need to hire more people to fill the need of the patients or cut people. To receive maximum profits for your company, you should find the right number of employees.
Job design
Job design is an outgrowth of job analysis and focuses on structing and/or restructuring jobs to help organizations to improve their effectiveness, efficiency, and employee and employer job satisfaction. Job design can refer to organizing tasks, duties and responsibilities. A job design is used in the manner in which a given job is defined and then addressed how it will be conducted. This process involves decisions by a professional on how the job at hand will fit into the overall organization of the company. The book says that, "well-designed jobs in healthcare can provide several benefits to both the organization and the employee, including enhanced job performance, improved job satisfaction, reduced absenteeism and turnover, and enhanced employee physical and mental health" (Fried 160). After I read this section on job design, I realized just how important they are to an organization, especially in healthcare. Health administrators should be well aware of this employment function because it improves the overall quality of the workplace, for both employees and employers.
HMO
In contrast to a PPO, HMO plans or health management/maintenance organization (HMO) plans require participants to receive medical care services from an assigned provider. Both programs allow for specialist services, however, the designated primary care physician must provide a referral to the specialist under an HMO plan. HMO is a type of health of insurance plan that usually limits coverage to care from doctors who work for or contract with HMO. It generally won't cover out-of-network care expect in an emergency. An HMO may require you to live or work in its service area to be eligible for coverage. HMOs often times provide integrated care and focus on prevention.
Indeed.com/Glassdoor.com
Indeed.com/glassdoor.com are examples of websites where companies can put their hiring information out on the internet so that more people can apply, so that in turn they have more applicants, and hopefully better applicants. This is a very user-friendly site, where you can put in your location and job title and see hundreds of available positions in your area. It is important for companies to put their hiring information out on sites like these so that they can find the best employees. I think it is a good direction that the hiring world is moving to, instead of going to individual company's websites and looking for jobs there, they are all on one site. This makes it easy for potential employers to see their options and apply if they are qualified.
Internal pay equity
Internal pay equity is the comparison of positions within your business to ensure fair pay. A company must pay employees fairly compared to coworkers. If a company wanted to evaluate if they are achieving internal pay equity they should look at two people who do similar jobs, if they perform the same tasks, they should make the same pay. Unfortunately, I feel like this often doesn't happen in the workplace as we know the women's pay gap is a real issue in society today. Often times males get paid for doing the same job as a woman. It's an important subject to learn about because as an administrator you need to be able to look unbiasedly at two positions and compare them and then create a similar salary. Some factors may come into play like level of education and amount of experience. Perceived inequity can happen when an employee perceives that his or her ratio is smaller than the referent's. This often leads to the said employee doing less work, because they are being paid less.
Job Analysis
Job analyses are sometimes called the cornerstone of strategic HR management because the information from them serve so many HR functions. A job analysis is the process of obtaining information about a job by identifying and determining the job's tasks and duties. This procedure involves a systematic investigation in which predetermined steps are followed. Once a job analysis is complete, someone will summarize the information obtained from studying 20 or 30 individual job tasks. HR professional and hospital administrators use these data to then create job descriptions.
Job satisfaction
Job satisfaction is the extent to which an employee feels self-motivated, content and satisfied with their job. This happens when an employee feels he or she is having job stability, growth in their career and a comfortable work life balance. If employees are more satisfied in their job they most likely perform better, in turn make the company more productive and efficient and usually more profitable. If an employee feels happy with their company and work, they look to give back to the company with all their efforts. Some factors that go into job satisfaction is compensation and working conditions, work life balance, respect and recognition, job security, challenges, and career growth. If an employer or HR professional wants to increase productivity and efficiency, then they will put in policies and procedures and rewards to contribute to employee job satisfaction.
High degree of job specialization/skill mix dynamics
Job specialization refers to one's occupational concentration being on one specific area of an expertise. This can make employees less flexible since it tends to reduce their ability to perform in other areas of work. I think it is important for an employee to be well rounded. That is why we take classes in our MHA program about a variety of topics related to the healthcare field: finance, HR, policy, ethics, and so on. I believe in this program we are developing our skills mix. In order to be marketable as a potential worker, you need to be well rounded. A company would rather hire one good person for a few jobs, knowing they can multitask well, rather than having to hire three different employees to do three different jobs that one person could easily do. It makes more sense for a company to hire the individual that has experience in more than one focus.
STD/LTD
Long-term disability insurance is considered a welfare benefit because it is designed to provide employees with income in the event that they become disabled and cannot work. Because of the nature of healthcare work, healthcare employees have a higher risk of disability than workers in many other industries; thus, providing this benefit may provide a competitive advantage for a healthcare organization. Short-term disability insurance is an optional benefit for which the employee must pay—either for the entire cost or for a significant portion of the premium. This insurance may also be an employer-paid benefit, where the benefits are determined according to employee tenure and salary level.
Nonqualified plan
Nonqualified retirement plans are typically designed to meet the needs of key executives and are not subject to as many government regulations. This condition allows nonqualified plans to exceed some of the limits of qualified plans. Because nonqualified plans do not come with as many restrictions, they are perceived as carrying a risk of forfeiture as creditors many attach to the plan assets.
Onboarding
Onboarding helps to socialize the employee with the attitudes, standards and values of behavior that their organization expects. One example of onboarding is the Mayo Clinic's 'heritage and culture' programs. These programs they put new employees through emphasizes core values for the organization such as teamwork, personal responsibility and mutual respect. The difference between orientation and onboarding is that orientation occurs once while onboarding is a constant process. Typically, in the onboarding process, you are introduced to your department within the organization where you will be working. You learn the culture and business objectives by participating in meetings and projects with co-workers. This process is gradual, with the hope that by the end, they embody the values and ethics that the company was trying to enforce in you. HR professionals and business managers should put their new employees through an onboarding process to help them be more successful in your company. It is also important to notify your other staff that will be potentially helping this new employee, letting them know that they should be available for question if the new-hire has any.
Compensation design
Organizations should develop a compensation policy that aims to enhance employee's motivation level. A strategic compensation policy that balances individual needs with organizational interests typically includes the following goals: rewards employee performance, achieves internal equity within the organization, maintains external competitiveness in relevant labor markets, aligns employee behavior and performance with organizational goals, attracts and retains high-performing employees, maintains the compensation budget within organizational financial constraints and complies with legal requirements. Managers and health administrators must make a number of other decisions when developing a compensation policy for their organization, which in turn may affect goals for the organization. There are important things to consider when designing and implementing compensation programs. Some concerns include—the worth of individual jobs must be determined, the value that an employee's education and experience contribute to the position must be assessed, guidelines on keeping salaries and incentives confidential to the recipient and managers must be formulated and communicated to all concerned. Developing and improving compensation practices is a never-ending challenge for mangers and health administrators.
Employment processing
Otherwise known as the hiring or recruiting process. First a company has to identify their need for a job. Did someone quit? Did you have to let someone go? Is your organization become bigger, do you need more personnel? Asses the need for hiring. After this you complete a job analysis and create a job description for the position you are hiring. A hiring committee should then post the position opening on websites. The next steps are recruiting and weeding out the good candidates and the candidates that applied even though they didn't meet qualifications. You should then screen the applicant; most companies have an applicant tracking system of some kind to help the screening process. Typically, next, an HR representative should call the people they chose to interview to set up an interview, and make sure they are real. During this phone call the HR professional might conduct a mini interview and set up a time to meet. Interviewing the candidate is the next, probably most important step. The panel will then assess the candidate and if they chose for them to move on, they'll administer a background check. Finally, a decision is made, and the company offers the individual a job.
PTO
Paid time off or personal time off is exactly what it sounds like. PTO rules which allot compensated vacation, sick and personal days off, as well as holidays—are credited to employees' 'banks' usually every pay period. This is time for which workers get paid by their companies even if they aren't actually there working. On average, employers in the US offer 10 paid holidays, two weeks of vacation, two personal days and eight sick days per year. PTO is often accrued over time, with hours earned and put into a bank based on hours already worked. In order to use PTO, you essentially take away hours from that earned bank of hours. It's important for HR professionals to know the ins and outs of PTO and keeping track of all employee's hours for this reason.
SWOT Analysis
Performing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is the first step in developing a business strategy. This type of analysis gives managers a chance to evaluate different aspects of their business. You have to know your organizations strengths and weaknesses in order to know what to put more time and effort towards. It is also important to know what areas you are strong in so that you understand your edge on a competing business. Opportunities and threats are also necessary for a leader to understand so you can take advantage or those opportunities and help defend yourself against outside competition (threats). SWOT analysis is a big part of strategic leadership, because it allows you to look at your own business and competing businesses and evaluate where to improve. Performing a SWOT analysis will help a leader succeed in running an effective business.
Positive discipline
Positive discipline is a method in which the positive aspects about the employee's actions, rather than negative behaviors being highlighted. Positive discipline seeks to explain to the employee what positive actions the employer or manager is looking for. This type of discipline is focused on the good and wanted behaviors rather than the negative and unwanted behaviors. I think this is a good way to discipline because you are setting your expectations for the employee and if they behave or act in the way you want them too, you should tell them as a means of positive reinforcement. The idea behind positive discipline is that it reframes the entire discussion to one in which employee and employer are working together to achieve their goals—rather than one in which an employee is being punished for their actions. Positive discipline could possibly lead to job satisfaction. HR professionals should decide if they are going to engage in positive discipline or progressive discipline and stay consistent with that type of discipline.
Strategic human resource leadership
Strategic human resource leadership is what a human resource professional in any type of business setting adopts so that they can run their business as successfully as possible. Without leadership from a strategic human resource professional, an organization can fail. An effective human resource strategy has to be strategic as to evaluate outside and inside factors contributing to your employees and patients and then determine how to make those conditions as optimal as possible. Hospital administrators and human resources professionals need to lead their companies in a strategic way so that they run as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Market based pay
Since healthcare organizations are often heavily dependent on labor supply and market wages, it makes sense to need to evaluate the market information to create compensation systems. Managers learn about market wages largely from salary surveys carried out by organizations, the government, associations and external consulting firms. In the healthcare sector, the AHA conducts a series of annual wage and salary surveys which helps administrators and HR professionals create salaries. There are some limitations of market pricing of jobs. One of the limitations is that it's a questionable methodology used to obtain salary information. Relying on the market to set compensation can also lead to wide variations and fluctuations in salary as shortages 'ebb and flow'.
ADEA
The ADEA or Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects certain applicants and employees 40 years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, promotions, discharges, compensation, or terms and conditions.
SHRM Model
Strategic human resources management is the process by which a company develops HR strategies and implementation tactics that line up with the company's business strategies and goals. Strategic human resources management is used by leaders to develop a set of managerial activities and tasks to create and maintain a healthy and effective work environment. It is important for leaders to adopt or create a strategic perspective in their job in order to recognize where their organization needs some work, and where they need to put more effort. As a healthcare administrator, you need to be able to understand human behavior. Since you are working with humans directly, it is critical to be a strategic leader so that you are able to have employees working with efficiency and being knowledgeable. What your employees do reflects on your leadership, which is why it is imperative, as a healthcare leader, to adopt or develop a successful strategic leadership strategy.
Strategic leadership
Strategic leadership is being a healthcare executive who essentially has a business plan on how things will run. It is important for a leader to have a plan so that they can gain a competitive advantage over competing hospitals or healthcare organizations by effectively executing their human resource plan. I would argue that HR is one of the most important divisions in any company. Since we all work with humans, and humans are unpredictable it is imperative for a leader to have a plan for when these things go wrong. Companies do not want to deal with high turnover, being taken to court, engaging in unfair practices, etc. This is why they should develop a HR plan to help them lead strategically.
ACA
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a comprehensive health care reform law that was enacted in March of 2010, under President Obama's administration. ACA is often referred to as Obamacare since it was enacted with his efforts. The law has 3 primary goals. The first goal is to make affordable health care insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies or premium tax credits that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400%. The second goal was the expand Medicaid and to cover all adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level. The final goal of the ACA is the support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally.
COBRA
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, or COBRA, provides qualifying employees and their families the right to continue to participate in employer-sponsored health coverage for a limited time after certain qualifying changes in family status. COBRA helps employees and their spouses and dependent by ensuring them continued access to the employer's healthcare plan at the current group rate. COBRA also requires companies to provide notification to all covered beneficiaries in the event that qualified family status change would make those individuals. Large penalties can be assessed for failure to adhere to these timely notification guidelines. In addition, COBRA covers any group health plan sponsored by an employer with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of typical business days.
Drug free workplace Act
The Drug Free Workplace Act was enacted in 1988. This act requires Federal contractors and all federal grantees to agree that they will provide drug-free workplaces as a precondition of receiving a contract/grant from a Federal agency. Before this act, there was not a federal regulation that employers could use to enforce regulations on drug use. The Department of Labor states that it is illegal for employers to manufacture, distribute, dispense or have in possession drugs. This is an important act for HR professionals and hospital administrators to know about because if you work at a government health care facility, you have to enforce the Drug-free Workplace Act. A workplace/employer/employee can be punished if they violate this act and can be dealt a penalty or fired completely depending on severity.
EEO
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency designed to enforce the provisions of the act through investigations and court action. This commission was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights act included the most far-reaching restrictions on employment discrimination. There are many facets to the EEOC. The EEOC essentially provides guidelines that require the specific job performance of a job be based on valid job-related criteria (EEOC 1978). Employment decisions that involve either applicants or employees and that are based on vague job descriptions are increasingly being challenged. Additionally, the EEOC has a section regarding the ADA, with three guidelines: the reason the position exists is perform a function, a limited number of employees are available among whom performance of the function may be distributed and the function may be highly specialized, requiring needed expertise or abilities to complete the job. The EEOC is an important agency for an employer to be well versed in, because this employment function sets guidelines for job aspects.
Equal Pay Act
The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same establishment. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. It is job content, not job titles, that determines whether jobs are substantially equal. Specifically, the EPA provides that employers may not pay unequal wages to men and women who perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions within the same establishment. Factors include: skill, effort, responsibility, working conditions and establishment. The law requires gender equity in pay for comparable jobs unless there is significant difference in experience
HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was enacted to protect employees and their family members who have preexisting medical conditions or who may experience health discrimination because of their health issues. There are many facets to HIPAA. HIPAA is an important act for HR professionals and healthcare administrators to know, because it is the basis for the rules of privacy in healthcare. HIPAA protects the type of information that can be used in making decisions about coverage or premiums. Essentially, HIPAA is intended to balance access to claims information or other medical information with the need for an employer to make revenue-driven decisions. Under HIPAA, administrators must respect people's privacy and consider their best interest.
Joint Commission HR Screening Indicators
The Joint Commission requires healthcare facilities to assess their employee's effectiveness by screening for issues. Staffing effectiveness refers to the number, competency and skill set mix of a staff related to what the companies needs. Under the Joint Commission, human resources is screened by two indicators. The idea behind using two indicators is to understand the relationship between one another. HR screening indicators include: "overtime, staff vacancy rates, staff turnover rates, understaffing, nursing hours per patient day, staff injuries on the job, on-call per diem use, and sick time" (Fried 24). These screening indicators are used for evaluating the human resource department and its whole staff and how they are effectively or not effectively being led.
Texas payday law
The Texas Payday Law requires all employers to pay their employees on full and on time based on their respective regularly scheduled paydays. If an employer violates this law by withholding pay or promising it at a later date, they can get in trouble. Any employee in Texas is covered by this law, regardless of the size of the organization of the company that employs or hires them. The TWC is the entity that issues penalties against the employer for violating this law. However, "if an employee makes a falsified Texas Payday Law claim in an attempt to damage their employer's reputation, they can also be penalized using the same standards" (Moore).
Monetary value of jobs
The formal process for determining the monetary value of jobs is called job evaluation. Being able to develop and improve the wage and salary system begins with an accurate job description. Employees should be paid according to what they do, which should be listed in their job description. Once a salary has been created for a job, a manager should then compare and adjust it to reflect market compensation levels. It is important for an administrator or HR professional to stay on top of what is happening in the market and economy in the present. The book points out that in tight labor markets, the use of job evaluation information for setting compensation levels may be limited. Periodic job evaluations may be conducted, and salary decisions may be made almost exclusively on market organization.
Labor supply
The labor supply is an economic theory that "economists think of the supply of labor as a problem in which individuals weigh the opportunity cost of various activities that can fill an available amount of time and chose how to allocate it" (2016, June 17). The idea is that the more work a person does, the more they will make but then they will have less time for leisure activities. There is a tradeoff between leisure and working time and that is what the labor supply theory is.
Impaired provider Act
The license, registration or certification of any health care provider to practice is subject to suspension the case of the inability of the healthcare provider to practive with reasonable skill or safety to patients by reason of one or more of the following: mental illness, physical illness, and drug use. This Act protects patients from being treated by providers that are not qualified to treat you. Doctors/providers can be subject to examinations if the committee feels it's necessary. This Act is important so that we can ensure we have healthy, capable doctors and physicians treating our patients. If you are a HR professional, this is an important act for you to know about.
Protected class
The protected class is the name for the groups of certain demographics who can not be discriminated against, in compliance with the EEO. The protected class includes: race, religion, national origin, sex, age, physical or mental disability, and Veteran status. These are groups who cannot be discriminated against in the workplace due to their demographic. This is crucial for an employer and HR professional to be aware of because if you do not follow the EEOC guidelines, you could end up with a lawsuit on your hands. Another reason you want to avoid discriminating against people when hiring is because word of mouth is key in healthcare. Even if someone were not to file a lawsuit, it would only take them telling a couple of people for it to reflect poorly on your organization. Not complying with protecting the 'protected class' can end horribly for a company, that is why managers and hiring committees should know the EEOC guidelines.
TWC
The purpose of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. According to Texas.gov, "TWC strengthens the Texas economy by providing the workforce development component of the Governor's economic development strategy. Texas boasts an incredibly skilled workforce ready to attract enterprise to the Lone Star State" (About). The major functions of the TWC include developing the workforce, providing support services including child care for targeted populations participating in workforce training and adult education and literacy services for people with disabilities to obtain training and employment and administering the unemployment benefits and tax programs. It was interesting to read TWC's Ethics Policy on their website. HR professionals and managers should know the ins and outs to the Texas Workforce policies.
Affirmative action
The website of the National Conference of State Legislatures defines affirmative action policies as "those in which an institution or organization actively engages in efforts to improve opportunities for historically excluded groups in American society. Affirmative action policies often focus on employment and education" (Bautsch). Affirmative action is an outcome of the Civil Rights Movement. It was intended to provide equal opportunities for members of minority groups. President Kennedy was the first president to use the term in an Executive Order that directed governmental contractors to take affirmative action to "ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin" (Bautsch). It is crucial for HR professionals to know all about affirmative action so that they are taking steps to make their workplace equal. AA IS ONLY REQUIRED OF EMPLOYERS WHO HAVE A FEDERAL CONTRACT OF 50K OR MORE. IN THAT CASE LINE MANAGERS AND HR NEED TO BE ON BOARD WITH AA!
"Right to Refuse Treatment"
This goes hand in hand with the right to informed consent. An individual should only consent if they feel they have enough information to make a decision. Ultimately, the patient has the right to decide what to do for their medical issue, or they have the right to refuse treatment. It is unethical for a doctor to force or coerce a patient into getting the treatment they believe they should get. The only circumstance in which a patient might not have the right to refuse treatment is if their family believes the patients competency is questionable.
Degree "creep"
This term refers to requiring higher degrees than are needed to perform a job. Some argue that not everyone in the healthcare professions needs an advanced education in the form of school because the more valuable education is on-sight, on the job, hands on training. Students feel pressured by norms to complete degrees higher than what they might have needed 10 years ago for the same job.
Universal Precautions
This term refers to the practice of avoiding contact with patients' bodily fluids by means of wearing certain protective gear. This practice was introduced in the mid-80s. It's important for healthcare professionals to make their staff take a training on it in order to ensure safe practices.
Total compensation
Total employee compensation is more than the sum of wages and benefits. It comprises three parts: base wage and other monetary compensation, benefits and recognition and non-monetary compensation. When you combine these elements, it creates a total package that keeps quality staff on board and happy, plus it ensures internal pay equity and external competitiveness, as well as fairness and adherence to laws and regulations.
Variable pay
Variable based is often linked to performance metrics. This is not a new technique, this has been around for a long time. Commission based pay is a traditional method of variable or incentive pay, and most commonly used in sales. Team-based incentives are growing in popularity in healthcare, causing HR managers to consider developing compensation systems that reward team performance. I think this is a good and successful way to get the outcomes you want as an administrator. Ideally, you shouldn't have to bribe your employees to do a good job, but as humans we are often competitive by nature and do a better, more efficient job with a 'prize' or incentive to work towards. Healthcare organizations that are interested in rewarding team performance need to strike a balance between individual rewards and team rewards.
Workers Compensation
Workers compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue their employer for the tort of negligence. The Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs administers four major disability compensation programs which provides to federal workers who are injured at work or acquire an occupational disease: wage replacement benefits, medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation and other benefits.
Compensation structure
pay range, grades, broad banding: Pay range is a range of a certain job's salary. The amount the employee receives could be anywhere in the range that is given on a job's description. Different factors can affect if you are going to be paid in the lower range or the upper range. The book mentions educational level and experience as factors that can influence whether someone is paid more or less. Job classification systems, or grades, categorize jobs on the basis of the predetermined requirements based on compensable factors. Compensable factors is an element that is essential for effectively doing a job, which can include: skill requirements, working conditions, educational requirements, responsibility, supervisory responsibilities, and decision-making autonomy. Job classification systems assign jobs to categories known as pay bands. The broad banding approach to compensation is a response to the constraints imposed by rigid classification systems. A broadband is a single, large salary range that spans pay opportunities formerly covered by several separate small salary ranges.
