As hospitals and health systems vie for workforce talent, they are becoming even more creative with how they incentivize workers.
Becker's asked health systems on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work for list for 2022 to share the perks they offer beyond pay. These four health systems offer perks like a "surprise and delight" approach and access to unlimited, free telehealth visits.
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Johnni Beckel. Chief Administrative Officer of OhioHealth (Columbus): We're all familiar with one of Maya Angelou's most famous quotes: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
At OhioHealth we take that to heart. While we absolutely value and understand the importance of compensation, career growth and "traditional" benefits, our culture is also focused on recognition as part of our Total Rewards strategy. We've adopted a "surprise and delight" approach that wraps into all of that.
In fact, did you know that March 3 is National Employee Appreciation Day? Sure, there are all kinds of recognition days, weeks and months and in healthcare we celebrate many of them but we’ve decided to jump on the March 3 train and surprise and delight our 30,000+ associates all month long. Shhhh, it's not all been announced yet. We don't want to give it all away, but here's a high-level view of what we have planned.
After a fun and upbeat appreciation kickoff video to all associates featuring our CEO and other senior leaders, we'll have weekly surprises. Think food trucks at all our locations throughout 47 counties and on each shift, a recognition blitz where all associates are encouraged to recognize each other for demonstrating our values, balloon arches, a dollar allocation per associate for managers to create special ways to recognize at the local level, a leader webinar with special training on thinking outside the box to recognize and appreciate associates, senior leader surprise visits to management team meetings with a fun surprise to show our appreciation for all it takes to be a leader in today's world. And, here's the topper: Each week we will unveil a special "gift" focused on "taking time for yourself" and at the end of the four weeks, each associate will get to go online and choose one of the four gifts for themselves.
It's recognition and appreciation at the enterprise level, the local level and the individual level. We're super excited!
Carla Dawson. Chief People Officer for Texas Health Resources (Arlington): Texas Health is committed to creating a great place to work by offering comprehensive benefits that support families. That includes crafting and fine-tuning benefits based on surveys that detail our employees' needs and concerns.
Texas Health added a child care subsidy to help with the cost of daycare expenses. Texas Health will make a per period contribution of $23.08 to the Day Care Flexible Spending Account for employees who elect the coverage. Employees must enroll in the Day Care Flexible Spending Account to get the Texas Health contributions but do not have to put their own money in the account.
The subsidy allows families to choose their trusted caregivers through a tax-favored spending account.
David Gill. Vice President of Team Member Culture and Experience for Northwell Health (New Hyde Park, N.Y.): Launched in 2022, Northwell Kids is a key program within Northwell's family-inclusive initiative, designed to raise the standard of health of all members of our team members' households. Northwell Kids engages the children of our team members in fun, educational experiences that promote a healthy lifestyle and expose children to STEM careers. It supports children of all ages and offers a wide range of activities, including sports and fitness classes, arts and crafts workshops, and educational sessions on health and wellness. Our most beloved recent offering was a children's museum takeover, allowing team members and their children unprecedented access to various children's museums across our geographic footprint.
Why this investment? We believe the benefits include:
- Increased employee commitment and retention: When team members feel that their employer values and supports their families, this can lead to increased commitment, affinity and retention.
- Reduced stress and improved well-being and balance: Providing free or reduced-cost offerings make it possible for increased exposure to and participation in a variety of learning and well-being experiences, while lessening the financial burden on households.
With more activities to come like interactive cooking classes, sporting events, educational webinars, annual wellness events, and fun giveaways planned throughout the year, our goal remains the same: Ensure that our team members feel that they and their families are healthier and better for having worked at Northwell.
Adriene McCoy. Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer for Baptist Health South Florida (Coral Gables): A popular employee perk is access to unlimited, free telehealth visits for employees and their dependents. It's available 24/7, in all 50 states, so they can get online urgent care wherever, whenever — whether at home or on vacation or for the kids who are away at college. Through the Baptist Health PineApp, our employees can see a doctor on screen within a few minutes to handle minor urgent care needs and even get needed prescriptions sent electronically to the pharmacy of their choice. As a healthcare organization, our priorities include accessibility, quality and experience, and that includes encouraging our own employees to use this virtual care technology.