Partnership news

Twenty years ago this fall, Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions formed the innovative Labor Management Partnership—a new way of working that now includes more than 150,000 managers, physicians and union-represented workers across Kaiser Permanente.

To commemorate this event, California Governor Jerry Brown has issued a proclamation congratulating Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions for 20 years of successful partnership and collaboration.

“This model has resulted in improved patient outcomes, workplace innovations, process efficiencies, and measurable service and quality enhancements while creating a safer, healthier work environment with opportunities for health care workers to improve their skills and advance their careers,” said Governor Brown, “I commend all of the organizers and participants in this process for making the Golden State a better place to live and raise our families.”

The Labor Management Partnership is proof that labor unions aren’t just about making things better for workers, but improving outcomes for everyone. In just the first six months of 2017, partnership teams launched nearly 10,000 self-directed projects to improve Kaiser Permanente’s quality, service, and affordability. Departments with strong employee engagement report:

• 60 percent fewer patient falls with injuries
• 38 percent fewer workplace injuries
• 21 percent fewer lost work days
• 13 percent improvement in patients’ overall hospital satisfaction

In 2016, the partnership also helped Kaiser Permanente to keep costs down, with teams working together to save more than $48 million, on top of $35 million saved in 2015. 

More than 74 percent of Kaiser Permanente’s workforce is unionized. By contrast, 6.4 percent of private-sector workers nationwide belong to a union, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Union representation is supported by a growing number of Americans, an August 2017 Gallup poll suggests. Sixty-one percent of adults surveyed say they approve of labor unions, the highest percentage since the 65 percent approval recorded in 2003.

Working together, Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions will continue to improve health care for members and the community overall. Together we thank our workers, managers and physicians for their dedication, and appreciate Governor Brown’s recognition of their accomplishments.

Forty percent of U.S. marriages end in divorce after an average of eight years. Most business partnerships fail to meet expectations. And most campaigns end when they achieve their goals or the world moves on.

But the Labor Management Partnership between Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions has beaten the odds: October 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the partnership’s founding, making it by far the largest, longest-running and most sweeping such partnership in the country.

We’ve accomplished a lot together. And in a world of change, sustaining a healthy long-term relationship is an achievement in itself. A key to our success has been the willingess to honestly reflect on our successes, failures, and opportunities to improve. 

By working in partnership, says Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard Tyson, “We have tapped into the potential of smart people all over the organization coming here every single day trying to figure out, ‘How do I improve quality, how do I improve service, how do I improve affordability?’ That’s an incredible competitive advantage for the organization.”

Marking a milestone

This fall Kaiser Permanente and the union coalition will be celebrating those achievements with special events and employee outreach. It won’t be all cake and balloons, however. LMP regional councils, unit-based team sponsors and co-leads, and others will host reflection sessions where workers, managers and physicians can share their experiences, pain points and suggestions for the future of partnership. Participants will consider three questions:

• What is different since we created partnership? (Or, what do you see as the top accomplishments of partnership?)
• What are the greatest challenges it faces today?
• How might we address those challenges, to strengthen partnership now and in the future?

Getting results

Partnership is not easy, and the parties don’t always agree on things. So what’s kept it going?

“It’s nice if we can all get along,” says Tyson. “But most important, we’re here to get results.” Here are some of the results achieved in partnership:

• Performance improvement: More than 50,000 team-led improvement projects since 2007, with measurable gains in quality, service, the work environment—and cost savings exceeding $48 million in 2016.
• Best place to work: Industry-leading wages and benefits, a voice in decision making, and an Employment and Income Security Agreement providing retraining and redeployment for displaced workers.
• Joint marketing: Strategic engagement brought strong gains in KP membership, union coalition membership, and more than $108 million in revenue for Kaiser Permanente in 2016.
• Job training and career advancement: More than 300,000 professional, academic and skill-enhancement courses taken by 104,000 coalition-represented employees since 2007.
• Systems collaboration: Joint implemention of multiple complex programs and systems, including KP HealthConnect, Claims Connect, ICD-10 and call center reorganization.

Lessons for success

All of the above have garnered attention from business, union and academic leaders over the years.

“The Labor Management Partnership is a shining example of how you bring labor and management together to produce results,” said Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. “What I love about this model is the notion that, no matter where you work in the system, you have a place at the table and your voice is heard.”

Working in partnership also holds lessons that apply outside of work—including lessons that might have saved some of those failed marriages.

“If you are going to be a good partner and have a successful relationship, with a partner, kids, friends,” says a facilitator from 2015 national bargaining, “you have to have your partner’s needs in mind as well as your own.”

To learn more about LMP anniversary activities, visit the 20th Anniversary How-to Guide.

Q: What’s new?

• Our new Team-Tested Practices toolkits bring together all the ingredients you need to help your team succeed. Find out what other teams have done to improve, click to get the tools like the ones they used—and download a few fun goodies.
• We’ve made finding exactly what you need as easy (and fun!) as shopping for shoes online. Use our new navigation to filter by region, topic, department, format and team level.
• Our search engine is better, faster and more streamlined. Find what you need—without having to wade through a bunch of stuff you don’t want.
• The new site is fully responsive—so you can access it from any smartphone or tablet, at work or on the road.

Q: Where did my region’s page go?

A: Click on the About LMP tab to see the Regions page.  

Q: Where can I find tools?

A: Under the new Library tab—at LMPartnership.org/tools, and from a prominent link on the home page. Take advantage of the improved navigation and filter by topic, team level, dimension, role, tool type and format.

Q: Where did the videos go?

A: Find videos under the new Library tab. Or go directly to LMPartnership.org/videos. Zero in on exactly what you need by filtering by topic, region, team level and dimension.

Q: Where are the stories?

A:  Find stories under the new Library tab. You’ll find some stories under the Team-Tested Practices tab. These toolkits pair stories of teams with the kinds of tools the teams used to improve performance and meet their goals. This will make it easier for your team to follow in their footsteps for success. Stories you’ve read in Hank are under the Library tab and at LMPartnership.org/hank.

Q: Where is the UBT section?

A: The new Path to Performance section has most of the material you used to find in the UBT section; click on the tab or go directly to LMPartnership.org/path-to-performance. Find a customized kit of tools and materials tailored to any team level and P2P dimension. Or explore everything available for any one of the seven dimensions of performance (sponsorship, leadership, training, team process, team member engagement, use of tools, and goals and performance).

Q: Where is the Path to Performance toolkit?

A:  To access most of the materials that used to be in the Path to Performance toolkit, visit the new Path to Performance tab or go directly to LMPartnership.org/path-to-performance. With just a few clicks, find a customized kit of tools and materials tailored to the team level and P2P dimension you want. Or explore everything available for any one of the seven dimensions of performance (sponsorship, leadership, training, team process, team member engagement, use of tools, and goals and performance).

Q: Where did the toolkits go?

A: These are now our new How-To Guides. They're linked to from our LMP Focus Area pages, in the Path to Performance section, and elsewhere. To get a list of them all, go to LMPartnership/tools and then under the "Tool Type" option, select "How To Guides." 

Q: Where can I send feedback? 

A: Email Laureen.X.Lazarovici@kp.org, the LMP communication team's managing editor. 

What if every organization and every union had a labor management partnership like ours?

It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. On Aug. 16, more than 250 union, business and government leaders from all over the United States gathered in Chicago for Partnership Day, a meeting hosted by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service at its biennial conference—and offered a realistic look at the ups and downs that occur in partnerships and what it takes to launch and sustain them.

“We know partnership can make a difference,” Allison Beck, FMCS director, told the gathering. “This is not some fantasy that happens in a make-believe world.” She should know. As leader of the FMCS, the federal agency that mediates labor disputes across the United States, she’s seen firsthand how acrimonious relationships can ruin companies and unions—and how more open and respectful ones can help them both succeed.

The partnership between Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions is the longest-lasting and strongest one in the nation, so conference participants asked many questions about how it operates.

A race to the top

Dennis Dabney, KP's senior vice president of National Labor Relations and Office of Labor Management Partnership, told the packed room he spends a lot of time on the phone with leaders from other companies interested in starting and strengthening partnerships.

“I've seen so many companies engaged in a race to the bottom,” Dabney said. “I'd like to see more engaged in a race to the top.” If he has any regrets about Kaiser Permanente’s partnership, he said, it's that we didn’t create unit-based teams sooner.

You get to a certain age, and it’s time for a makeover. Surely you understand.

We heard you whispering. In fact, it inspired us to conduct a statistically valid survey to make sure what we’d overheard was a true reflection of what you thought. Some of it was a pleasant surprise—such praise! But you were blunt, too: Awkward size. Overly long articles. Not enough variety. And so on. 

So, here’s our equivalent of slimming down and building some muscle. (Amazing what walking a half-hour a day will do!) With our new ’do, you’ll find:

• shorter articles and more of them
• more tips and tools, information you and your unit-based team can put to immediate use
• more coverage from all the regions
• and some fun

While we’re on the subject of our virtues: Our paper is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, ensuring the use of responsible forest management methods that address social, economic and environmental issues.

Why does that matter? Well—working in partnership addresses profound social and economic issues, too. We hope you like our makeover because we want to serve you—the frontline workers, managers and physicians of Kaiser Permanente—well. Because what was achieved this spring in National Bargaining, the subject of this issue’s cover story, makes it clear what an extraordinary journey we are on together.