43 years? Today, more like 43 months …
In a little more than two months, I will begin my 43rd year with this organization.
Tell that to young people today and their eyes grow wide. Very few people work for an organization that long any longer.
In fact, as just one example, my son-in-law, 31, is in his third corporate position—he’s an expert in UX (user experience; that is, how we interact with and use software), a role entirely unheard of when I began my career. I suspect other positions will eventually follow.
That’s simply the way of the world now.
While that change can present stellar opportunities for employees, it brings challenges to employers.
Diakon is fortunate that we have a number of longer-term employees. You might suspect that with an organization that is more than 150 years old, with long-established locations.
And yet we face the same concerns most health-care providers are experiencing: an increasing need for nursing staff and lots of competition for those potential staff members.
Addressing those concerns requires creative solutions. Diakon has adopted a number of them, including new-employee bonuses, referral bonuses, flexible scheduling, a comprehensive range of benefits and such concepts as “Stay Interviews.”
Recently, the organization has made two additional changes. The first is the provision of certain Day 1 benefits such as paid health-care insurance. No longer do you need to wait through a probationary period to receive this important coverage.
The second is a new, tiered approach to tuition assistance, with increased financial assistance for Diakon staff members interested in furthering their education in nursing.
TAP is a great benefit—I used it myself some years ago to gain my master’s degree in strategic communication—and, in fact, was not one offered when I joined a predecessor of Diakon decades ago, one more example of how organizations adapt to changing times.
—William Swanger, MA, APR, Fellow PRSA
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
Amazing message Bill