U-M HEALTH SYSTEM SUCCESS STORY

When day-to-day issues among Environmental Services and AFSCME employees were escalating to the grievance process, a committee at the Health System put this 4-part plan (PLAN, DO, CHECK, ACT) into motion.

PLAN

Problem:

Day-to-day issues going to grievance process(non-contractual)
High level of Dissatisfaction among employees and supervisors related to how workplace concerns are addressed
Productivity affected when problems are not resolved, Issues go to Grievance
Cost of a single grievance estimated to be over $ 15,000 (analysis conducted in 1990)

Root Causes:

Poor resolution of issues
Employee dissatisfaction with current processes
Low trust between supervisor and employee
Poor relationships between employee and supervisor
Adversarial relationships among stewards and supervisors
Supervisor’s avoidance of interaction with employees

Improvement Goals:

Continuously improve clear and open communication
Improve problem resolution and create positive solutions
Provide recognition for excellence in job performance
Improve relationships and employee satisfaction

DO

Action Plan:
Purpose: To develop new skills, relationships and processes for improving employee and supervisor issue resolution in Environmental Services.

Exhaustive 32-hours Joint Training over 7 months of Supervisors and AFSCME stewards and leaders in Problem Solving Skills:

Building readiness for Change -- telling stories current situation, view from leadership, commitment to change
Self-Assessment/awareness of current mental models -- Conflict resolution style assessment, Meyer-Briggs personal style assessment, Game-playing negotiation simulations
Practice (role playing) -- Group debrief work assignments, identifying environmental barriers, success stories, progress.
Skill Building -- Consensus, managing difficult conversations, root cause analysis, conflict resolution
Training Design -- Contained principles from interest-based problem-solving specifically from the Harvard Program on Negotiation, large-scale change theory and appreciative inquiry.

CHECK

A 54% reduction in the number of grievances in 2004 as compared to 2003.

Employee Opinion Survey:

Employee satisfaction has increased with respect to the question of how satisfied they feel regarding workplace concerns being addressed.
In Nov 2002,out of 173 employees, only 55% were satisfied
In June 2003,out of 70 employees only 56% were satisfied
In June 2004,out of 202 employees, about 60% were satisfied- considerable increase in this year as compared to June 2003
Specifically in 8 out of 10 work areas, such as the UH day shift, Mott Afternoon shift, Taubman Afternoon shift, Midnight shift, satisfaction has improved by an average of 20-25%.
In 2-3 areas, there has been no improvement so far.

Click Here for a .pdf graph reflecting the comparison of 2003 to 2004 data.

ACT

Progress:

Supervisors resolving more problems as they occur thereby reducing the time spent in grievance process
Union stewards resolving conflicts efficiently
Supervisors communicating regularly with staff to discuss work issues
Actions to provide more staff recognition implemented
Problem-solving expectations incorporated in performance evaluations

Recommendations:

Provide one-on-one coaching for the supervisors in areas where there has been no improvement
Meet periodically to P-D-C-A

This effort is being replicated in Materiel Services

STEERING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE

Thomas Biggs, Associate Director, Operations and Support Services
Thomas Peterson, Associate Hospital Administrator, Support Services
James Rutherford,Director, Environmental Services
Warren Jenkins, Bargaining Chair, AFSCME,Local 1583
Stephen Raymond, Director, Leadership and Staff Development, Support Services
Susan Powers, HR Consultant
Cathy Frank, Organizational Development Consultant
Michael Daughenbaugh, Administrative Manager, Environmental Services
Michael Edwards, President, AFSCME, Local 1583