Managing Volunteer and Organizational Transitions

Transcription

1 Managing Volunteer and Organizational Transitions Tuesday - February 26, :30 p.m. 5 p.m. Marriott Newport Beach Hotel and Spa Newport Beach, California Newport Coast Ballroom Salon 5

2 Panelists Mary Alice Mc Loughlin Manager, Volunteer Services Community Hospital Long Beach Long Beach, California Lillian Reyes-Maples, CAVS Director of Volunteer Services Riverside Community Hospital Riverside, California

3 Transitions Time passes People come and go New buildings are built Old buildings are torn down Hospital ownership Paper to computers Computers to smartphones and Ipads

4 priorities change

5 community demographics change

6 struggling with systems or people who want to preserve what was

7 Change of Volunteer Organizational Structure From volunteer led to paid staff led (DVS) and From auxiliary leadership model to advisory council leadership model From regional area council to advisory council From one hospital department to another

8 Change of Hospital Organization non-profit to for-profit status ownership CEO or other critical leader system migration

9 Change of Volunteer Service Delivery System Transition of volunteer duties to meet new hospital mission and needs Transition of volunteers out of/into volunteer assignments that meet the position s physical qualifications

10 Mary Alice s Story beginning with the history, planning, obstacles, opportunities and final outcomes

11 Lillian s Story beginning with the history, planning, obstacles, opportunities and final outcomes

12 YOUR stories

13 The end or Is it a new beginning for your volunteer organization?

14 Is it a new beginning for your volunteer organization?

15 Auxiliary and Volunteer Presentation

16 Memorialcare Policy Since merger with MemorialCare in April 2011, all CHLB departments have undergone review through Integration process Departments within the 6 hospitals in MemorialCare system attempt to standardize policies and procedures Some Departments at CHLB have changed structure and reporting procedures such as Food Service and Engineering Volunteer Services will undergo some policy changes to become aligned with other Volunteer Services departments

17 Organizational Structure CHLB Foundation Board Alan Davidson, Executive Director, Foundation Mary Alice McLoughlin- Director, Volunteer Services All Auxiliary Members All Volunteers

18 Roles and Responsibilities Director, Volunteer Services: Places all volunteers in hospital services positions Executive Director, Foundation: Supports the Auxiliary with fundraising activities and financial accounting Auxiliary will remain the same except for elimination of Auxiliary Floor Service Chair and Special Services Chair Auxiliary President or their designee: Serves as Gift Shop Manager Auxiliary President will continue to report all activities to Foundation Board

19 Page 1 of CAHHS HOSPITAL VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TRANSITIONS SESSION TAKEN FROM JOAN S S Note: over the years I have worked directly with more than 50 hospitals on managing transitions. The stories are almost all exactly the same. Oftentimes my answers area also exactly the same. Here is a sampling: Had a phone call from ( ) from the ( ) in Bakersfield. They are reorganizing the Auxiliary and will function with the Volunteer Department using an Advisor Council of Volunteers. Her question is: Will they still be able to belong to the council and CAHHS. She said they definitely want to be able to stay with CAHHS and the convention. She said her volunteers are getting older and cannot attend unless she can drive them. They will miss the upcoming council but plan to attend when it is so they can. ( ) said they are having trouble getting volunteers because the hospital will not allow volunteers do jobs of substance and baby boomers want to feel they are making a difference. My answer to her was yes they can work it that way. Really that is the way Apple Valley has been going this year. I haven't heard if they plan to stay that way or not. I just have to share: I spoke with two of the three hospitals that my CEO thought would be good hospitals to check with since it looked as if they had an Auxiliary. And yes, they have an Auxiliary, but they both were quite small (25 of them) compared to the hundreds that are in the volunteer group. And I m not a fan of splitting the baby by having some Auxiliary and some not. And what coincided with our talk: those who were Auxiliary were only focused on the fundraising aspects, not inpatient. Stanford was the 3 rd one but they also look like they have two groups. Do you know anything about them? No one has contacted me yet. This is one of the most challenging benchmarks I ve done mostly due to the fact that it will be nearly impossible to find a similar sized hospital with a healthy, thriving Auxiliary. The bullies will say that I loaded the panel in my favor Thanks for letting me talk and vent!

20 Page 2 of 4 JRC Reply: 1) Auxiliary Definition 1: a person or thing that gives aid of any kind; helper. Definition 2: an organization allied with, but subsidiary to, a main body of restricted membership, especially one composed of members' relatives: The men's club and the ladies' auxiliary were merged into one organization. 2) Hospital volunteer organizations are transitioning away from definition #2 towards definition#1 Volunteers are meant to assist, not drain or stress hospital resources. The auxiliary organizational model proved helpful when hospitals were in their startup phases. Auxiliary organizations generally are not fast, flexible, inclusive, diverse- all qualities needed by today's hospital organizations. 3) Strategic Planning Your issue is one of strategic planning. Your DVS role is to handle the politics, build consensus and turn the volunteer focus back to what is best for patients, staff and your hospital community. It requires great skill in managing all types of people, situations and challenges, without displaying drama and emotion. Keep all remarks (written and verbal) positive, disciplined, factual and focused on hospital goals. Before moving forward, if you have not read this book, you should - as should your CEO. There is an excerpt incorporated into the book description regarding planning for volunteers that applies to your situation: In March, on my way to work with MM s volunteer program, BL hospital was a stop. A call ahead to their volunteer paid staff liaison in HR, Brandy C., was never returned nor was she available when I stopped so I gave myself a tour. It is a beautiful, bustling new facility. BL used to have a strong volunteer program but it became less of a priority after the loss of their CEO a few years back. I remain in contact with two of their inactive volunteers - John and Margaret who are saddened to see the lack of priority placed on volunteers by the new CEO. Hospital DVS: I wanted to inform you of the good news. As you know, we spoke about Menifee Valley Medical Center having an Auxiliary President problem and no one would come forward to take the position for The President for 2012 & 2013 said she didn t want to do it but had to SAVE the auxiliary so she would do it. Telling the other volunteers and the community she SAVED the auxiliary put a very bad message out there and affected the reputation of the Auxiliary. Two weeks ago a member of the board came forward and said she was ready to take the position. She was elected and installed last week. I feel the auxiliary can definitely recover from this incident and move forward. The bylaws are a priority to amend and make provisions for this type of situation not happening again. Thank you again for all your research and information regarding the law for non-profit auxiliaries.

21 Page 3 of 4 Joan s Reply: You just made my day! That is wonderful news. However, I feel like you dodged a bullet this time. Keep talking to your volunteer leaders and administration about leading the volunteer organization to where it needs to be 3, 5, 10 years from now. Your issue is one of strategic planning. Your DVS role is to handle the politics, build consensus and turn the volunteer focus back to what is best for patients, staff and your hospital community. It requires great skill in managing all types of people, situations and challenges, without displaying drama and emotion. Keep all remarks (written and verbal) positive, disciplined, factual and focused on hospital goals. Before moving forward, if you have not read this book, you should - as should your CEO and volunteer leaders. There is an excerpt incorporated into the book description regarding planning for volunteers that applies to your situation: Thank you for your call regarding the challenges facing DH s volunteer auxiliary. Here are a few points as you work towards developing a new strategic vision for your volunteer program: 1) No one model fits all. a. How one hospital copes with change is almost never the same way as another copes with change. Each hospital s community/culture/organization/staff/finances and related goals are very sitespecific. 2) Determine financial and tax status. a. It is your understanding the auxiliary is using your hospital s parent organization tax ID # as a supporting organization. You need to confirm that is the case before proceeding to Step 3. Here is a link to find out if your auxiliary indeed does have its own tax id number: b. If the auxiliary is operating under the hospital s tax ID number, they are the equivalent of a hospital department. i. All accounts must be in your hospital s name. Hopefully, your volunteers have not placed accounts in the name of any individual(s). ii. Your hospital is liable and responsible for all auxiliary actions, financial or otherwise. iii. Hospital accountants and legal staff must approve all auxiliary financial and organizational practices.

22 Page 4 of 4 3) Develop a 3-5 year plan. iv. Auxiliary bylaws can be treated as tradition and arbitrary guidelines, to be changed as the hospital s need arises. a. Volunteer resources are valuable tools to assist your hospital meet its mission by providing time, money and/or votes. b. Most organizations operate from strategic and business plans and so should your volunteer program. c. Planning Questions i. Hospital administration needs to consider, over the next 3-5 years, what would be the real impact upon the hospital if the auxiliary ceased operations? 1. Based upon the answers, take necessary steps to do damage control until you can get a strategic plan in place. ii. Clear the decks of what is or was if we had to build a volunteer program to meet hospital needs for today and the next 3-5 years what would it look like? 1. What are we not able to do at all that volunteer resources perhaps could? 2. What would we like to do better if perhaps we had additional assistance in the form of volunteer resources? 3. What would we like to try, perhaps first by using volunteer resources before incurring permanent costs? d. Repeat Planning Questions process with your auxiliary volunteers (perhaps a Strategic Planning Committee?). e. Write a strategic plan for your hospital volunteer program that meets the current and future needs of your hospital. f. Implement the plan. i. Build volunteer involvement around the needs of the hospital, not the needs/desires of the volunteers. Try to gain current auxiliary volunteer buy-in along the way. Ideally, the auxiliary will be part of the solution but do not let nay-sayers hold back what needs to be done for the benefit of the hospital as a whole. This process does not need to be lengthy or arduous but it does need to take place before you can decide what to do with the current auxiliary in decline. Once you determine what your needs are, there are many volunteer models and programs out there you can adapt so you don t have to reinvent the wheel. I am here whenever you need me. Is there anything else I can do for you right now?

23 CONFIDENTIAL MEMO To: From: (date) Proposal: Redirect VSD resources spent supporting the Auxiliary structure to focus efforts on services that can positively impact the patient, family and visitor. Retire Auxiliary Pink Lady program or help them come to their own decision to retire the Organization by December, Continue to support all current traditional Auxiliary services and volunteers assigned to those services. Integrate all (hospital) volunteers. Manage all volunteers under one umbrella vs. Auxiliary and other. Bring the Gift Shop into General Accounting Practice Compliance by transitioning it from the Auxiliary to the Medical Center by July, Strengthen & improve current volunteers and services (Info Desks, ED, Gift Shop, Maternity, Reiki, NICU, NODA, etc) to maximize patient, family and visitor experiences. Expand our role in ED volunteer program focusing on improved outcomes. Expand services as able (eg. Therapy Dog program on horizon, etc.) Background: The Gift Shop is not compliant with General Accounting Practices. The Finance Department is encouraging us to transition 7/1/13 from independent financial accounting to becoming a hospital department. This would not allow for Gift Shop revenue to be donated to (hospital) Foundation any longer. It is estimated that 85 to 90% of current Auxiliary members are not truly connected to the Auxiliary. Rather, they are connected to their volunteer service and the experience of volunteering, not to the social group of the Auxiliary. Auxiliary services have historically been executed by a key group of volunteer leaders, first their Board of Directors and in recent years, The Council. They are terming off and other members are not stepping up. Leadership duties needed to sustain the Auxiliary organization are driven by 1.5 FTE staff, not volunteer leaders. Auxiliary organization is no longer self-sustaining. In many hospitals, retiring the Auxiliary is becoming the industry standard. Volunteer Services Staff would be more effective by focusing on improving the patient/family/visitor experience; as well as by providing information, guidance, support, hospitality and being survey-ready at all times. In the last 2-3 years we added more than 100 volunteers in areas/programs such as the Cardiac Cath Lab, ED, NODA, NICU, etc. The time and resources saved from managing the Auxiliary could be used to further strengthen and grow these programs. We currently recruit, screen, place, orient, coach, evaluate, counsel, discipline and recognize approximately 400 volunteers annually (see attachment). Recommendations: Consider complications, identify specific transitional issues, brainstorm and develop a communication plan with (list hospital staff names) and key volunteer leaders by July Schedule one to one or small group conversations with key Auxiliary stakeholders (list names), then finalize plan. Transition Gift Shop by 7/1/13. Celebrate the Auxiliary and volunteers with unveiling of their recognition wall later in Transition active Auxiliary Council members into a new Volunteer Advisory Council that engages and represents BOTH traditional Auxiliary-type members and current key volunteer programs. This group would address all major volunteer service lines by Spring of Transition all funds / fundraising to the Foundation in 2013; eliminate less productive fundraising efforts. Actively partner with Foundation to manage all revenue-generating activities for volunteer services. Maintain, strengthen and improve both previous Auxiliary & Departmental volunteer service lines. Focus on ED. Consider opportunities for growing current programs and eventually new programs that can improve the patient experience. Auxiliary Transition Proposal (2) T

24 Transform volunteer leadership to a new Advisory Council, meeting quarterly to assist in managing key services: o Information Desks (4) Jo o NODA Carrie o Gift Shop Sheldon o ED (Lead ED Volunteer) o Maternity/NICU Harry o Cancer Center? o Reiki for Relaxation Ken o Spiritual Services Irene o Sewing (?) Wilma o At Large o At Large