The American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration’s 54th Annual Conference & Exposition held on September 15-18, 2018 in Pittsburgh focused on empowering attendees to meet the new realities faced by health care human resources professionals. Here are the Jackson Lewis Healthcare Industry Team’s “Top 5” takeaways from the conference.

1. Investing in Developing Physician Leaders Pays Off. Being a physician leader requires more than being a great practitioner. Conference attendees heard how executive coaching can help physicians develop strong leadership skills. One presenter shared metrics from her health system demonstrating significant return on the investment in executive coaching for physicians. Attendees also noted the importance of framing “coaching” as an organization’s commitment to helping a physician succeed rather than as a form of corrective action.

2. Data Analytics Can Increase Recruiting Efficiency and Improve Employee Performance. Advanced data analytics can be leveraged in the recruitment process and to measure performance across several important recruitment metrics, including quality of hire. In addition, the data can be used to create and drive performance improvement initiatives.

3. The #MeToo Movement is a Call to Examine and Improve Your Culture. Healthcare organizations are not immune from the #MeToo Movement. Therefore, organizations must develop effective anti-harassment programs, which include senior leaders modeling and communicating a culture of respect. Once the message is out, the organization should train the entire workforce and then carefully manage and monitor its anti-harassment procedures.

4. HR Adds More Value When Partnering With Other Leaders. The healthcare industry faces many challenges, including recruiting and retaining highly skilled and engaged caregivers, ensuring respect and accountability in the workplace, and financial constraints tied to reimbursement rates. Several presentations highlighted the importance of human resources professionals partnering with other leaders to meet these challenges. Examples include collaborating with nurse leaders to better understand the implications of the ANCC Magnet Recognition program standards, working with medical staff leaders to confront troubling behaviors, and working with other C-Suite leaders to anticipate and avoid potential pitfalls in growing health systems.

5. Addressing the Pay Equity Question. The last several years have brought a flurry of legislative activity to address the question of pay equity. In addition, many healthcare industry groups are raising awareness of pay inequality and calling for change. Human resources professionals can shepherd their organization through the process of identifying and correcting pay equity problems.