Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

When an organization is a great place to work; you know it, you sense it. You see it in the intensity, concern, and sense of belonging on people's faces. What you sense is an atmosphere that both tangibly and intangibly says: "people want to be here because good things, exciting things are happening here; it's a place for innovation and growth." That type of energy envelops you as you enter the front door of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Ronald B. McKinley, Vice President for Human Resources at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and its CEO, James Anderson both illustrate the how and why Children's is a great place to work. Ron McKinley notes when Children's offered him his current post, he told them: "if everything I have seen and heard in the last few days is true, I'd be proud to be a part of Children's." Today, four years later, McKinley says he "is proud to come to work here every day."

The leadership vision that James Anderson brought with him when he became its CEO in 1996, after serving on its Board since 1979, enabled it to grow rapidly over the past eight yeas because he it set in place a "structure" of leadership principles and expectations that support, recognize, and urge McKinley and other employees to seeking new levels of pride, performance, and service.

Anderson, says that he left a successful twenty three-year career in corporate law at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister for Children's because it served children, was filled with a lot of bright interesting people who were stimulating to be around, and it felt like a business that because it had under pushed its abilities had growth potential. "And," he noted, "I always liked being part of a growing business."

Great mission, great leadership, and an ongoing, supported challenge to learn, grow, innovate, and improve are three sound building blocks for a great place to work. The proof is in the details.

Cincinnati's Children's Hospital is both a local and global standout organization for four reasons:

First, It has leadership that values boundaryless thinking and innovation. Two of its key leaders, CEO Anderson and Human Resources VP McKinley are "outsiders" in that both have highly successful, non-healthcare backgrounds and work experience. Anderson's exposure to extraordinary entrepreneurs while working on new corporate ventures at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister gave him a perspective that values how cross-fertilization, connectivity, and openness contribute to building intellectual capital.

Anderson communicates the principles and expectations that guide Children's today in daily morning "walk abouts" that may well bring him into Children's Food Court that rivals that of any popular shopping mall and helps to "structure in" opportunities for researchers, educators, doctors, patients, families, nurses and technicians, as well as support staff to connect, socialize, and support one another. He drives the principles and expectations home when he personally communicates the to new all employees during their orientation.

It's not accident, it's by Anderson's design that the leadership values and expectations at Cincinnati Children's says they "prize and pursue discovery and innovation to improve the health of kids and the success of Cincinnati Children's" and that they strive to "think is a boundaryless fashion, search for and apply the best ideas regardless of their source.

Second, A growing, innovative, mission-driven, and principled organization is always attractive. Its growth over the past 8 years has been fueled by a conscious synergistic integration of research, treatment, and education. Children's has nearly doubled its staff (approximately 8,000 people today), services, and facilities over the past eight years. Staff turnover, a leading indicator of how "good" a place is to work, averages at 10-11% annually at Children's, or in the top ten percent comparable organizations.

Third, It is intent on maintaining its global leadership by offering staff a stimulating opportunity to continually grow and develop as individuals and working groups. Its Perfect Care Initiative, the latest in a number of continuous improvement efforts, supports the growth and development of its people while improving the health of children. As Children's Hospital pursues perfect care, they "are focusing on family-centered, evidence-based approaches that will improve the quality and efficiency of care." Eleven significant improvements among the many Perfect Care improvements already made are cited on the organization's web site. Seven of them focus on improving service to the patient and their families, and three focus on health supporting process improvements.

Fourth, It resources its staff to stay on the leading edge and to push the envelope. CEO Anderson says, "Being the best, getting better, and offering the intellectual and people network needed for world class research and practice," says Anderson, "enables us to attract and get the best people and teams from around the world." They recently obtained a verbal agreement by an internationally renowned surgeon and his chief assistant, says Anderson, based as much on their ability to offer an environment with access to the network of healthcare researchers at the University of Cincinnati as an offer of competitive financial rewards and benefits.

How boundaryless, attractive, and excellent are they? In 2003, Cincinnati Children's drew patients from 47 states and 32 countries