GREENWOOD, S.C., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Ken Shields owned his own company for 16 years before joining the staff of Self Regional Healthcare six years ago.
A supervisor in the Greenwood hospital's food and nutrition area, Shields readily admits that given the choice of working for himself or Self Regional, he'd pick the latter.
"I've worked in a lot of places and even had my own business," he said. "It did quite well, but it did not come close to offering the service and care to employees that I've found at Self."
"The manner in which Self takes care of its employees is just amazing," noted Shields, a native of the Bay Area of California. "I am equally impressed with our service excellence program in which we strive for the very best quality, not only for our patients, but also for our work force."
Shields' sentiments are not lost on the internationally recognized Gallup Organization, which has recognized Self Regional as one of the top 20 workplaces in the world. M. John Heydel, President and CEO, along with Fred Latham, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, were in Omaha, Neb., May 13-15 to accept the award, which is based on employee engagement results that place the hospital's workforce among the most productive and engaged across the globe.
Heydel said the fact that Self was only one of four hospitals and among only 20 organizations worldwide to earn the honor was almost impossible to comprehend, especially when considering that more than five million workers in more than 120 countries were eligible. Yet, he believes he understands why and how Self Regional earned the Gallup Award.
"For well over two years now, Self Regional has made a focused effort to strive for excellence in everything we do," he said. "We make it a point to aim for quality in all aspects of our efforts at the hospital. Whether that be rounding with patients to make sure we are meeting their needs, helping visitors find their way around the hospital or communicating with each other to improve processes, we have taken major steps that have led to outstanding ratings in both patient and employee satisfaction."
"It just proves a point," Heydel continued. "Providing very good care to our patients is extremely satisfying to our staff. In turn, this makes our hospital staff feel even better about the place where they work. This honor is a source of great pride for everyone at Self Regional-staff, physicians, volunteers and the entire community we serve."
This year's winning organizations are global in representation. It is only the second year that the Gallup Great Workplace Award has been presented; there were 12 winners last year.
In addition to Self Regional Healthcare, the 2008 Gallup Great Workplace Award recipients are: ABC Supply, Abdul Latif Jameel Co., Ltd., ASB Bank, B&Q, Bharti Airtel Limited, Blue Care Network of Michigan, Borgess Health, Campbell Soup Company, CarMax, Inc., Country Inns & Suites by Carlson, General Growth Properties, Hendrick Health System, Marriott Vacation Club International, Qwest Communications Mass Markets, Siam Commercial Bank, St. Joseph Health System, Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong Limited, Stryker and Winegardner & Hammons, Inc.
"When compared to the millions of workplaces we have studied around the world, these organizations have worked tirelessly to create an environment that values people," said Tom Rath, who leads Gallup's Workplace and Leadership Consulting practice. "The winners of this award have established a new global standard for engaging people that goes far beyond trivial perks to ensure that each employee has an emotional connection to the company's mission and growth."
The Gallup Great Workplace Award is based on two components - database performance and financial performance. Applicants' results are compared across Gallup's renowned workplace research database composed of millions of work teams throughout the world. A panel of workplace experts reviews each organization's portfolio, which includes quantitative and qualitative components, and the award-winning organizations are then named.
Self Regional and the other recipients were presented their awards at the Gallup Summit 2008 held May 13-15 in Omaha. During the Summit, Heydel and Latham, presented the best practices they applied to their workplace and the improved business results they achieved through building an engaged workforce.
Gallup has studied human nature and behavior for more than 70 years. The organization's cornerstone is its reputation for delivering relevant, timely and visionary research on what people around the world think and feel.
Self Regional Healthcare is a regional referral center serving the seven- county Lakelands region of Upstate South Carolina. The hospital's mission is to improve health by bringing advanced care closer to home for the more than 250,000 living in its service area. Licensed for 414 beds, the hospital employs 2,400 health professionals and has a medical staff of more than 180 representing almost every major medical specialty.
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