Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Grade: A
| Editor’s Summary: In the many years of this award we have focused on tech companies as they generally the most concerned about tech workers. In reality, every organization is becoming a tech organization. This was driven home when we received an application from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. CHLA can go head-to-head with many tech companies – they prioritize internal talent, IT has an open-door policy to management, there are a variety of free training options, virtual therapy dogs, community service activities and a focus on worker satisfaction as well as engagement. Finally, CHLA has a new office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion which is tasked with tackling diversity challenges across the organization. This team will be establishing training and benchmarks that the organization aligned for participation. One final note which impressed us was after COVID, their incredible team set up remote working technology supporting 2,300 employees within just 2 weeks! |
| Intro: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) attracts technology professionals looking to serve a unique end user, pediatric patients seeking care at our hospital. Team members within CHLA are drawn to an organization where they can directly make an impact on both patients and clinical healthcare providers which creates a rewarding culture. Additionally, the CHLAInformation Systems organization has grown significantly over the past ten years, making it an exciting area which our candidates seek to be a part of. Lastly CHLA Information Systems organization has a great pulse on cutting edge technology which we continuously integrate into our practice. |
Impact statements:
|
Compensation:
At CHLA we look to hire top talent from diverse backgrounds. We look for candidates with both broad and focused experience welcoming those who may be new to healthcare but offer a unique perspective to solutions. Diversity in tenure and industry knowledge are extremely valuable to the organization. Additionally, we offer a variety of employment options such as offshore, contract, and permanent employees which all affects compensation.
Advancement Opportunities:
At CHLA we prioritize internal talent, encouraging hiring managers to not only promote from their own teams but to pull laterally across the organization. We believe part of what makes the Information Systems team strong and unique is having talent that have been promoted from clinical, financial, and operations organizations. There are several formal and informal mentorship programs which allow employees of all levels to build relationships and network with senior leadership. Lastly, Information Systems has an “open door” policy and employees are encouraged to engage with leadership.
Training Opportunities:
We offer a variety of both skill and advancement training for our employees. We offer free online training for hundreds of classes focused on upskilling and management. There are several advancement programs we offer; Leadership Launch Pad – New leadership onboarding with various resources provided, CHAMP – Careers in healthcare and mentorship program which is a 3 month rotational program across disciplines; Velocity – Structured mentorship program; Administrative Fellowship – Masters students get the opportunity to work with CHLA for a year-long assignment.
Medical Benefits:
Our organization cares deeply about the mental health of our staff especially during the pandemic. Flexible work schedules, onsite childcare, and virtual therapy dogs are a few benefits we offer to our teams to help them manage through this stressful time.
Community service/charitable causes:
Not only is CHLA’s mission to care for children within the community, but there are several other causes that our employees can get involved with. During Covid we held walks/runs for various causes when we aren’t able to do so in person. Holidays for the Heart allows our employees to provide a great holiday for children and families in need. Lastly, the IS department
hosts quarterly breakfasts for the Ronald McDonald house where our staff can be hands on and cook for the people staying there during their treatments.
Measuring satisfaction:
Annually, we conduct an engagement survey. All results are reviewed with leadership as well as people managers. Results are shared as a team during an all hands and people managers submit goals and objectives that they strive to hit and visit multiple times a year.
The Information Systems team offices are located within the hospital which allows great collaboration with our clinical partners but also allows team members to engage with our most important end user, the pediatric patients themselves. The team is able to see how their work impacts the broader organization in real time which is not only important but can be extremely rewarding.
Work/Life:
Covid has accelerated our plans to promote work/life balance by offering remote work structures, flexible hours, and a more flexible PTO policy. Many of the changes will continue going forward. Additionally, our Chief People officer sends out weekly wellness checks which includes tips and tricks of how to handle working remotely, highlighting employee assistance programs, and open discussions about current events that may be affecting overall wellness of our associates.
Creative meeting places:
Prior to Covid, our team has held multiple opportunities to get out of our office space and participate in team building events. We have held meetings and events at parks, arcades, and breweries. We hold annual leadership retreats on ocean front hotels. When we can’t get offsite, we take advantage of the weather in Los Angeles with onsite outdoor BBQs and heli-pad Taiichi.
Perks:
CHLA offers a variety benefits for our employees, many onsite so were unfortunately put on pause during Covid, such as reduced memberships to gyms, spin studios, and pilates studios. CHLA has a triathlon training club that meets for open water swim practice. We offer an employee assistance program and spiritual care that people are encouraged to take advantage of.
Fun:
Our organization offers discounted rates to various fitness clubs throughout the city which our team members are encouraged to participate in throughout the workday. We have onsite acupuncture and chair massages for those that need a break. We offer free snacks and encourage folks to take a break to socialize.
How corporate vision is communicated:
We hold formal meetings often and with the broader technology organization to ensure there is alignment between our team and the corporate vision. We hold bi-monthly All Hands where we tie our work to the vision. Bi-weekly leadership meetings are held with stakeholders across the hospital to ensure accurate communication and information can flow down to our teams. Our CEO sends out video clips and newsletters to make sure the teams are up to date on the latest research at CHLA as well as any relevant press.
Diversity:
We have a strong presence in the LGBTQ community and we participate in the West Hollywood Pride parade each year. CHLA recently held a whitecoat march during Black Lives Matter events taking place in LA. Additionally, we recognize there is more work to be done so CHLA has a new office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion which is tasked with tackling
diversity challenges across the organization. This team will be establishing training and benchmarks that the organization aligned for participation.
Empowering employees:
Our organization has a robust roadmap in which we accomplish great things each year. This wouldn’t be possible without our team members feeling empowered to make decisions. We stay aligned through various means of communication so each team member knows the strategy we are marching towards, and therefore we trust our associates to make decisions that will achieve our goals. For more formal changes that potentially would impact spend with our vendors, we have an efficient change control process, which is reviewed weekly to make sure we remain thorough and organized during last minute changes that need to take place.
Encouraging our valuable team members to come up with ways to achieve company objectives better, faster, and cheaper are always encouraged. Everyone has a seat at the table at the organization. One of the reasons we strive to hire diverse backgrounds, is so we have unique perspectives and specialties that can contribute to strategy and execution. Success stores are featured and celebrated publicly to reinforce the importance.
Team members are often recognized publicly and often, along with new hires and recent certifications. We announce recognition during All Hands in addition to written newsletters. Our leadership team sends out more informal handwritten thank you cards for team members who have accomplished something impactful. Every person on the team also gets a handwritten birthday card.
Ensuring well-being:
Through robust formal benefits that were in place prior to Covid and then a rapid implementation of new policies that many team members worked on, we have a culture that puts well-being at the forefront of our organization.
For employees who went to a remote work structure during the pandemic, we knew they would take on childcare and family care challenges. One of the empty office buildings was repurposed as a childcare facility for onsite staff. We encouraged flexible working schedules increased vacation time and our leadership reminded one another to be patient and kind with team members.
CHLA has been on the frontlines of the pandemic since it hit the United States earlier this year. Every employee has been affected by Covid-19. CHLA was immediately able to stand up remote working technology supporting 2,300 employees within 2 weeks. For our employees who were critical to remain at the hospital, 3 meals a day were provided to every team member, much of which was donated from our supportive community. For onsite employees, free daily Covid testing was offered in addition to PPE in order for people to feel safe caring for patients. To encourage positive morale, we have held virtual happy hours, lunch meetings, and celebrations of life events such as baby and wedding showers to stay connected to one another.
| Closing company statements: Any person that comes to work for the Information Systems organization at CHLA needs to be acutely aware and motivated by the customer we are serving, which is the pediatric patient. Everything we do, even within the technical organization, is for a mission of caring for our patents. We have found that candidates who apply to join our team are typically motivated by the rewarding work we do to support a pediatric hospital. |
Back to the entire list of TMCnet 2019 Tech Culture Award winners.