workforce development

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's important to make time to learn.

Priscilla Gill and Dawn Nelson of Mayo Clinic emphasized the importance of learning while working during Kaiser Permanente's Future Ready webcast February 25.

"The future of work is about learning," said Gill, director of Workforce Learning. "We all should strive for continuous learning and to be lifelong learners."

"Everyone is some form of a leader," said Nelson, nurse administrator for Education and Professional Development. "Think about how you can grow your personal leadership skills."

Because of the increasing importance of lifelong learning, Labor Management Partnership unions and Kaiser Permanente have negotiated industry-leading resources to assist union members in adapting to change, including tuition reimbursement and education trusts — which had record usage in 2020. Future Ready, hosted by National Workforce Planning and Development, is part of the Workforce of the Future initiative to prepare employees for tomorrow's jobs.

"This is something we've been doing for years and has become even more important with the global pandemic," said Monica Morris, senior director for National Workforce Planning and Development.

3 types of learning

Gill and Nelson agreed, noting the shift this past year to virtual education.

"COVID truly accelerated a lot of our plans," Gill told moderator Peggi Winter, Kaiser Permanente's nurse educaiton leader. "It has indeed moved us at least 5 years into the future."

The webcast, which detailed examples specific to nursing, highlighted learnings that can be applied to many job classifications across Kaiser Permanente.

Mayo Clinic, an integrated health system, emphasizes learning from day one through each career step. This includes learning:

• Experientially on the job
• Socially through learning communities, mentoring and coaching
• Formally with programs, courses, workshops and conferences

"As leaders, we should get to know our staff and understand what their dreams and aspirations are," Gill said. "In doing so, we can help them craft a career plan."

For nurses, learning starts with onboarding, then continues with professional development, a nurse leadership program and nurse leader growth opportunities.

"It is important for staff to be encouraged and guided to find their areas of interest in leadership," Nelson said.

To learn more, view a webcast recording for internal Kaiser Permanente use only.

The training and education resources negotiated by Kaiser Permanente and the Partnership unions are helping employees advance their careers. These opportunities are making KP’s promise of a diverse and inclusive workplace come to life. Learn more from employees, managers and leaders who shared their stories during the first virtual Workforce Development Week.

Addie Darby, UFCW Local 1996, quality control, Health Information Management, Georgia

With the help of the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust and encouragement of manager Sophia Wilson, Darby has earned an associate degree in business management, a bachelor's in health administration, and a master's in health technology and education. She’s not stopping there. Darby is enrolled in a doctorate program and plans to graduate this year (2021).

Sadao Nakachi, UNAC/UHCP, emergency room nurse, Southern California

After leveraging workforce development opportunities to become an RN and earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing, Nakachi went on to get a master’s in business for veterans. He holds numerous professional certifications and connects fellow nurses to educational opportunities. “I always try to find courses that’ll overall maximize my potential at KP,” he says. Follow him on Instagram @NurseScholar.

Crystal Muir, OPEIU Local 2, clinical assistant, Mid-Atlantic States

Muir is using tuition reimbursement to pursue her bachelor’s degree in nursing. She’s also used the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust’s Individual Stipend Program to attend school once a week, which she says, “I've been fortunate to do with trying to balance school, work and life being a mom.” She aims to graduate in 2022.

Sophia Wilson, supervisor, Health Information Management, Georgia

“I encourage all my staff to pursue education to stay marketable and relevant,” Wilson says. “I tell managers, ‘Please do not be so rigid as to make it harder for your employees to soar.’ If you put the resources into your staff, it can be nothing but a win-win.”

Philidah Seda, director, Specialty Care, Georgia

Not only does Seda encourage her staff to use workforce development resources, but she herself is studying for her doctoral degree. “The health care environment is getting more and more complex,” she says. “For us to prepare the workforce of the future, we have to invest in their learning.”

Eula Smith, SEIU-UHW, medical assistant, Northern California

Ask Smith why she wanted to work in health care, and she will bluntly tell you she didn’t. She started at KP as a shuttle bus driver. When that department was outsourced, Smith was offered the opportunity to train as a medical assistant with the help of the SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund. She has overcome her initial reluctance to deal with patients, saying “I love it now.”

Ingris Solares, SEIU Local 105, medical lab technician, Colorado

Solares began her career at KP as a phlebotomist before getting trained in her current field in an apprenticeship program with the help of SEIU Local 105 and the SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund. She intends to get more education to become a clinical lab scientist. “I knew I wanted more because I'm the first generation here in the United States,” she says. “My parents came from Guatemala, so I always felt like I needed to make the trip here worth it.”

Michael Brown, senior vice president, HR Consulting, National Functions

Before embarking on a career path that would bring him to KP as an HR leader, Brown went to law school. His father was frank with him: As a Black man, he needed an advanced degree to position himself for the same opportunities that others had.

“Before I even started working, I knew that education was going to be the equalizer.” That’s why he encourages KP employees to use workforce development programs and cultivate learning agility by trying different shifts, joining different departments and seeking informal leadership roles.

Kerrin Watkins, manager, Dental Office, Northwest

It's hard to lose top performers, but amazing to see them grow. “Invest in your employees and let them know you want to see them succeed,” Watkins says. “This will benefit you in the long run, because you will have employees that will feel more valued. If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your business.”

Kaiser Permanente offers many resources to help you advance your career.

Looking to get started? View sessions from Workforce Development Week and follow these 5 recommendations from the October virtual event.

1. Keep learning.

Kaiser Permanente encourages lifelong learning. Resources range from mentoring to tuition reimbursement for everyone to education trusts for eligible union members.

Sadao Nakachi, an emergency room registered nurse and UNAC/UHCP member in the Southern California Region, advanced professionally by using tuition reimbursement and the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Ingris Solares, an SEIU Local 105 member in the Colorado Region, began as a phlebotomist before completing a yearlong apprenticeship program with the SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund to become a medical lab technician.

View their success stories in the Day 1 and Day 2 employee panels.

2. Have a growth mindset.

Feel stuck in your current job? Reframe your thinking, says Michael Brown, vice president of Human Resources in the Georgia Region.

“You’re really not stuck. What you’re doing is developing expertise on that job. It provides you an opportunity to deliver strong results. That is good currency that you can take with you to that next position,” Brown said in a career expert panel.

View a recording of the leader panel.

3. Talk with your manager.

Managers should encourage employees’ career growth, says Kerrin Watkins, Dental Office manager in KP’s Northwest Region. She discusses workforce development with team members to understand their needs, inform them about resources and support their use of education trusts.

“Invest in your employees,” Watkins says. “If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your business.”

View Day 3 videos from Watkins and Georgia Region managers Philidah Seda and Sophia Wilson and learn more in the Manager’s Guide to Workforce Development.

4. Follow your professional dreams.

It’s never too late to develop your career, says Dennis Dabney, senior vice president, National Labor Relations and Office of Labor Management Partnership.

When Dabney was 40 and working in Human Resources for an automotive parts supplier, he decided to go to law school. He studied nights and weekends to get his degree. His extra work paid off, opening doors to career growth. Learn more in Dabney’s Day 1 video.

5. Just do it.

Kaiser Permanente employees can receive tuition reimbursement of up to $3,000 each year for successfully completing eligible courses.

Hiren Patel, a senior systems administrator in the Northern California Region, started as a pharmacy tech. He moved up in the organization using tuition reimbursement to get a bachelor’s degree and is currently pursuing a master’s degree.

“Make a plan and be flexible,” Patel says. “Just do it.”

Listen to Patel’s story on the Day 2 launch of the Excel Yourself podcast and explore the event’s website for additional episodes, Ask an Expert sessions, videos and more.

National Workforce Planning and Development hosted Workforce Development Week in collaboration with the Alliance of Health Care Unions and Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

Will robots replace our jobs?

As technology rapidly reshapes work, the future may be scary, but it’s also filled with opportunities, especially in health care. Kaiser Permanente workers can stay ahead by continuing to learn both technical skills and human skills such as communication and problem-solving, experts say.

“Cultivating our uniquely human skills may be the best way to prepare for an uncertain future,” says Michelle Weise, chief innovation officer at Strada Institute for the Future of Work.

“Don’t be a bad robot. Be a good human being,” says Benjamin Pring, director of Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work. “We don’t want to see a robot doctor. We don’t want to see a robot nurse. A lot of (future) jobs are caring jobs where we want to have the human touch.”

Weise and Pring headlined events in November and December in the Future Ready Workforce of the Future Thought Leader Series. The webcast series, sponsored by the Labor Management Partnership and presented by National Workforce Planning and Development, aims to help prepare Kaiser Permanente’s workforce for tomorrow’s jobs.

“We want to ensure our employees have the skills necessary for the jobs of the future,” says Jessica Butz, co-director of the Partnership-supported Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust.

The goal is to build on record usage for Kaiser Permanente’s tuition reimbursement and 2 Partnership-supported education trusts and have employees continuously skill up to meet changing work needs.

Building skills

“It’s a skills-based world that we live in,” Weise says. “For so many learners, a degree is a bridge too far. They just need to survive and get their foot in the door in a job that pays well.”

Today, 44 million adult Americans lack a college degree, don’t earn a living wage and face being left behind by the future of work, according to a Strada report.

“We’re going to need to reimagine education as much more like a variety of highways with lots of on- and off-ramps,” Weise says. “Sometimes when we’re skilling up, it’s going to be for technical expertise or digital fluency. Sometimes it’s going to be for a broadening of human skills.”

Jobs of the future

Pring also is optimistic.

“We think in the future there will be net job increases,” Pring says. “They’ll just be different jobs.”

These new jobs, highlighted in Cognizant’s “21 Jobs of the Future“ and “21 More Jobs of the Future” reports, include fitness commitment counselor and artificial intelligence-assisted health care technician.

As work changes, technology will enhance most jobs and create new opportunities.

“The only way to deal with disruption is to be proactive,” Pring says. “Invent your own future rather than allow the future to happen to you.”

Hundreds of Kaiser Permanente health plan members live in the rural communities of Kern County. Faced with driving yawning distances through winding, sometimes snow-covered mountain passes, many find it daunting to come to clinics for medical care. So in March 2012, KP leaders in the service area started to bring care to these members via a mobile health vehicle.

Great idea, right? But first, they had to figure out the details. How many providers and staff members could fit in the van? Who was going to do which tasks? Could medical office assistants collect co-payments and schedule appointments? Or would they be too tied up giving shots, checking HealthConnect for care gaps and performing other duties? And what would the van drivers do when they weren’t driving?

Rewriting the playbook

The old-fashioned playbook would call for the union to insist that KP hire a receptionist for the van and for the employer to exercise its prerogative to do whatever it wanted. But the Labor Management Partnership is strong in Kern County, so union and KP leaders worked out a solution that transforms care delivery and provides a model for how jobs of the future can be flexible, innovative and satisfying. On Kern’s two mobile health vans, the drivers take on reception tasks, such as collecting co-payments and booking appointments.

“I love member service,” says driver Alfredo Alvarez, a UFCW Local 770 member. “We are in contact with doctors, nurses and members.” He and fellow driver Javier Gonzalez spent several weeks receiving additional training in clinics and a call center. “I am getting paid, so why not stay busy and learn new things?” says Alvarez. Today, the clinic on wheels provides more than 500 doctor and nurse visits a month.

Keeping up with change

Holly Davenport, a UFCW Local 770 union representative who helped negotiate the innovative work agreement, says she sometimes hears resistance from union activists who wonder if this type of arrangement will lead to job losses. “We have to keep up with the way health care is changing,” says Davenport. “We did this in partnership. I heard what management had to say, they heard what I had to say, and we worked it out.” 

Davenport gives credit for the successful solution to her strong, trust-based relationship with Candace Kielty, an assistant medical group administrator in Kern. Says Kielty: “My role as a manager is to paint the big picture. We want to serve an underserved population, and we want to meet people where they are.”

However, Kielty says creative problem solving cannot rely solely on individual relationships, but must be built into the structure and culture of Kaiser Permanente through the Labor Management Partnership.  

“When I hire department administrators, in the orientation and mentoring, I talk about developing trust,” says Kielty. “It's an expectation.”