Unit-based team concepts

One of a manager’s most important roles may not appear on the job description — but goes hand in hand with getting results.

“Managers have a key role in helping employees build successful careers,” says Maria Aldana, a career counselor with the SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund, one of two education trusts supported by the Labor Management Partnership between Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. “A great leader creates other leaders.”

Fortunately, Kaiser Permanente managers have many ways to support their employees’ development and ensure their department’s success. Here are five.

1. Have career conversations with employees. Talks can be brief and happen anytime and anywhere during the work day, not just during annual performance evaluations. Get tips at Kaiser Permanente’s leadership and management portal (sign-in required) and at Skillsoft @ KP (sign-in required), an on-demand, mobile-ready catalog of learning resources.

“We need to keep and grow our people so they are ready for the changes in health care,” says Beth Levin, a career counselor and outreach coordinator with the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust, which serves all members of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions outside of SEIU UHW.

2. Know what resources are available. HRconnect and KP Learn have resources available for all KP employees, and the LMP website offers tips, tools and practices for individual and team development. Employees can learn about the four critical skills, explore career paths and access tuition reimbursement at kpcareerplanning.org.

The two education trusts offer courses at every level of development, many at no cost to employees, as well as career counseling, tuition assistance programs and more.

3. Work with career counselors. Education trust career counselors can tailor training, provide one-on-one career planning and coaching, and help with skill assessments.

For example, an indexing clerk manager in Colorado told Aldana how his employees needed more computer skills to keep doing their jobs effectively. She met with employees, discussed changes in their field, informed them of available resources and developed a plan that included onsite training.

4. Schedule time for employees to take classes. “Labor and management can come up with a schedule that works and we can offer the training,” Aldana says. “We usually can find vendors that come on site.”

5. Look for development opportunities for employees. Managers can suggest that an employee lead a huddle, serve on a committee, or become an active unit-based team participant or health and safety champion to “gain experience, build skills and network,” Levin says.

Building such engagement can get employees excited about change and encourage them to build their skills.

“When one person is successful, it inspires and motivates other people,” says Levin.

When Terri Imbach, Family Practice manager at Mt. Scott Medical Office in the Northwest region, and labor co-lead Christina English, a licensed practical nurse and a member of SEIU Local 49, began to work together as UBT co-leads several years ago, they knew they needed to shake things up with the department’s unit-based team. 

The staff worked hard to meet the demanding needs of the fast-paced medical office, but morale wasn’t great—and team members weren’t taking ownership of improvement work. UBT meetings were poorly attended and often turned into complaining sessions.  

The co-leads’ first move was to go to UBT training classes together. That experience gave them an idea for their next move—which was to shake things up between the two of them by stepping away from work and getting to know each other outside the office. 

“Getting out of the work environment is a good way to get away from the stress of the department,” explains English. This mindset set the tone for how they would operate together and helped them sustain a good relationship over time.

The co-leads also adopted “fun” as part of their regular UBT agenda, and meetings now are attended by nearly 100 percent of the staff.  

“We think of fun ways to get to know each other in and out of the office, and we work to include fun elements in all of our meetings,” Imbach says. During the holidays, team members played relay games at their UBT meeting, and they participated in a fundraiser for a local youth organization that included playing basketball on donkeys. 

The creative energy of the co-leads has helped engage all 40 members of the Level 5 team, who are juggling more than a dozen quality projects. 

“Team members step up to take on projects now,” English says, “and there are friendly competitions to meet our goals.”

Emile Pinera, MD, a second-generation Kaiser Permanente employee, came to the company five years ago and immediately became co-lead of an adult medicine unit-based team in the Georgia region.

“I had the clinical part down,” says Pinera, who is now lead physician for diversity and inclusion in Georgia and an adviser on the region’s transgender task force. But being a co-lead and working in a UBT were unfamiliar. “I had to implement my medical knowledge in a team, as opposed to a top-down approach where the doctor tells everyone what to do.” 

He wasn’t convinced at first—but the partnership approach and physician participation helped elevate the team’s performance, and it posted some of the region’s highest quality scores for managing diabetes and blood pressure. 

“We achieved it through hard work and collaboration,” Pinera says. “I loved working with my management and labor co-leads. We were respectfully honest about what was achievable. Working in the UBT gave us the tools to effectively communicate, track, adjust and improve.”

Pinera currently guides and supports co-leads as a UBT sponsor for three teams and is lead physician for three adult medicine offices. His enthusiasm helps his teams, the members and the Georgia region. 

“I was skeptical at first about UBTs’ relevance, but we couldn’t achieve our success with hypertension and diabetes management without each other’s help. I’m a believer,” he says. “My tip for fellow providers is to be engaged as much as possible, because it will help us achieve better outcomes and help our patients thrive.”

“You have two ears and one mouth for a reason,” television’s Judge Judy frequently says, quoting an ancient Greek philosopher. “You should listen twice as much as you talk.” Successful co-leads realize that making a partnership work requires listening and learning from one another. 

Caroline Masikonde, RN, had been a management co-lead with the urgent care team at Largo Medical Center in the Mid-Atlantic States, an experience that helped her understand the importance of valuing her partner’s input. But when she accepted a new role as clinical operations manager in Northern Virginia Audiology in January 2016, she didn’t have any experience in audiology. So she’s relied heavily on her new labor co-lead, Lynn M. Reese, Au.D., a UFCW Local 400 member. Masikonde has learned why audiology UBT members escort patients outside (so they can try out new hearing aids in different conditions)—and her willingness to listen helped the co-leads bond quickly. 

“Lynn is very experienced,” says Masikonde. “I lean on her even now.” 

Reese, on the other hand, was new to the unit-based team structure, since the audiology UBT had just formed. That’s where Masikonde’s expertise came in. “We fit together pretty well,” says Reese. “Caroline is very open to listening and learning new things.”

Reese, too, expanded her knowledge, growing into an appreciation that she and Masikonde have equal say on what’s now a Level 4 UBT. “Everyone contributes,” says Reese. The ability to speak up led to Reese and the rest of the team requesting and receiving approval for an additional booth to test patients’ hearing. 

Relationship tested

Their new relationship was tested when a member—after waiting more than 12 weeks for a refund on a hearing aid that had cost more than $1,000—alerted them, loudly and angrily, to the problem. 

Instead of pointing fingers, UBT members figured out the issue: The refund request had to be processed through a department in Southern California, but the team had no way to follow up once the request was submitted. 

“This lady forced us to look at this and do better for our members,” Masikonde says. “It prompted us to come up with a better workflow,” and now the team has names and contact information for the people who work on the refunds.

“Even though it was a bad situation, she made us want to improve,” Reese says. 

Because the co-leads already were accustomed to relying on and listening to each other, they were able to quickly and calmly handle this tense situation with the unhappy member.

“We really learned our lesson,” Masikonde says. “Recently, we did a refund on a Monday—and by Friday, the member had the check. Lynn and I know our parts and do our dance.”