He based the culture on inclusivity and respect for healthcare consumers and all team members. The health system has earned a spot on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies nearly every year since he’s been CEO.
“What has really helped us to create a very welcoming and warm culture is also reflected in our engagement scores as a system,” said Mr. Berdan on a recent episode of the “Becker’s Healthcare Podcast.” “We are very proud of the fact that in the most recent engagement scores, 95% of our employees said they were proud to work for Texas Health Resources, and I’m particularly proud of the fact that 89% acknowledge that safety is a priority in their worksite. It’s so important in today’s world.”
Mr. Berdan leads a team of 29,000 employees, with a range of experiences and perspectives. The current workforce is around 80% Gen Xers and Millennials, which is a change from the predominantly Baby Boomer workforce of the past.
“They think differently than people of my generation about work, about personal time, about how they relate to their workplace and how they relate to their communities,” said Mr. Berden. “We’ve been able to really become part of that thought pattern. Our retention rates are very high, about 88%, our vacancy rates are very low, about 4%. We’re really proud of the fact that we have a very strong culture, people that care about each other and really live the promise.”
The leadership team has intentionally crafted the Texas Health Resources culture over the last several years to build trust with employees and patients. Mr. Berdan said the system’s values guide the behaviors of the leadership team and inspire growth within the system. When someone does leave, they are typically also welcomed back. Mr. Berdan often hears from boomerang employees that they didn’t feel satisfied after leaving; that they didn’t feel like their new organization was a “family” like Texas Health Resources.
“When we do new employee orientations, we ask the question, how many of you have worked here before and are coming back? Sometimes 20% of the population in the room raise their hands,” said Mr. Berdan. “That’s something you can’t just create in a year, in a quarter. It’s something that has to be developed over time by demonstrating that leadership lives the values and behaviors we want everyone to follow with regards to how to treat each other and how we treat our patients and our families. That’s the real secret: being consistent.”
In the next year, Mr. Berdan expects the health system to grow along with the North Texas population. The team has conducted analysis into where the population is likely to grow and is identifying access points for future growth patterns.
“We’re really looking at opportunities for beginning to put stakes in the ground in a number of those areas,” Mr. Berdan said. “I’m excited about the fact that we’ve made some progress in a couple of key areas of the organization, making things more affordable and more accessible. One of the things we’ve been working on for the last couple of years is our urgent care centers; we now have 30 of those, headed to about 40.”
Texas Health Resources revamped the urgent care process to become more patient friendly, like a concierge service. The system provides a flat fee for visits and has seen “tremendous growth,” Mr. Berdan said.
“That’s a great alternative for people that don’t have a primary care physician because a lot of younger folks don’t have a relationship with a primary care physician, but do have problems they need addressed that aren’t dire emergencies,” he said. “It’s an alternative for people to go into the emergency room, which is going to cost them a whole lot more money, and they really are taking up space that someone else who is sicker ought to have.”
The urgent care centers have net promoter scores in the mid-90s, Mr. Berdan said. The system began using the net promoter score several years ago as a gauge of performance.
“We found the concept interesting. You have promoters and detractors, and people in between. We liked the way it was constructed in order to really make sure we were putting the consumer at the forefront of the design of our products or services we were designing and offering to people,” said Mr. Berdan. “That’s really the central part of the strategy for Texas Health Resources, putting the consumer at the center of everything we do, everything we design, everything we put in place.”
