Letter From Our CEO: What it means to be voted as Best Employer
Jennifer Riley discusses the recognition and future plans for MRH employees.
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This month we celebrated the nominations our staff, departments and organizations received in the Best of Moffat County recognitions. Among them were the selections of Best Doctor (Dr. Elise Sullivan), Best Physical Therapy Department (MRH Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation) and Best Employer. We are proud to celebrate these acknowledgments.
Being voted as Best Employer is a step in the right direction. Since becoming CEO, I’ve been working with our team to recruit and retain great employees, and it starts with being a great place to work. We are actively working on internal and external changes with input and guidance from our staff.
MRH CEO Jennifer Riley
One of our key initiatives is growing from within the organization. This includes identifying employees who have a desire to grow their own skills and abilities. We recognize that recruiting from outside the community can be difficult. Living in a rural, remote part of Colorado is not for everyone. We’ve experienced time and again the employee who relocates to Craig, and after their first brush with our cold winters, decides this is not their dream job. We see the value in promoting a good employee to a new position and offering the necessary education and training to take on the new job. It’s a win-win for MRH and the employee.
Another approach we are taking is looking toward future needs and opportunities. For example, this year we had several employees accepted into CNCC’s nursing program. These employees have a great track record with MRH, and we’d love nothing more than to see them come back to MRH as nurses. Our Chief Nursing Officer and our HR Director worked together to sign retention agreements with these employees that will ensure their return to MRH after graduation. While it doesn’t solve immediate needs, it’s a recognition that there will always be a need for nurses.
Recently, we held a focus group with current employees to talk about the benefits MRH offers. Many had great suggestions for changes that may also improve our ability to recruit and retain employees. The suggestions ranged from bringing back the continuing education benefit we once offered to lowering the cost of our employee health insurance. We are just now starting the budget process for 2023, and we will be able to evaluate the fiscal impact of making some of the suggested changes.
Recruiting and retaining good employees is not a process that starts and ends. It’s continuous and it evolves. Given the recent Great Resignation that our community, state and country have faced, we must look at all our practices. How can we structure jobs and responsibilities to meet the changing demands of the workforce? MRH will continue the work we are doing today to build and sustain a strong, stable workforce.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Riley, MHA
Chief Executive Officer
