Marshall Health prescribes an engaged workforce

Marshall Health is at the center of Huntington, West Virginia – both physically, as well as part of the community. Marshall Health is the faculty practice plan for the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University and is the largest, most comprehensive healthcare provider in the region.

Its long-standing service to the school and the surrounding residents has made Marshall a staple in the community since the 1970s. While it does have a great impact on the Huntington community, Marshall also spans three states and nine counties with 40 locations. 

“We have several missions here at Marshall Health,” explains Beth Hammers, Marshall’s CEO. “The first is providing quality care to the people of this region. The second is education. We are teaching the physicians of tomorrow and have over 19 residency programs ranging from family medicine to fellowships in cancer, hematology, and oncology.”

Marshall has a diverse workforce of over 1,400 employees and recruits faculty and staff from all over the world. Many well-known medical researchers and physicians are currently on staff at Marshall, focusing on the 70 healthcare specialties that the organization services.

Evolving industry, growing complexity 

The diversity of Marshall’s employees and the dual focus of the organization have created challenges to managing its growing workforce.

“We have clinical staff, we have research staff, and we also have academic support staff. Our employees vary from full-time to part-time to summer research students to resident physicians who are only here for a few years before they move on. Also, the faculty are shared employees, between Marshall Health and the university. All these factors provide layers of complexity to managing our people,” says Priscilla Midkiff, Director of Payroll and Benefits at Marshall.

The healthcare industry is also rapidly changing, with new types of positions opening up and regulations constantly shifting. Technology in healthcare has taken leaps forward, and healthcare professionals are now able to provide patient care and access to information faster than ever before. Many organizations, however, are still lagging from a technology standpoint when it comes to managing their people.

“We’ve grown from 200 employees to over 1,400 employees spread across 40 locations. One of the things that became a challenge for us is communication. We were using a homegrown software program that we frankly just outgrew,” explains Hammers.

Marshall needed a system that would help facilitate managing and retaining employees in a competitive industry. “We had to find a tool and strategy to keep our employees happy and retain them. Technology can be a great way to engage them and ensure we continue to have a good relationship,” says Midkiff.

Working smarter, not harder

When Marshall began looking for a solution, they were initially just looking for a system to manage time and payroll. “That's what we thought we needed. Dayforce opened our eyes to what was out there and what we could do,” says Midkiff.

Once Marshall realized the benefits of a single, integrated HCM platform, the company decided to partner with Dayforce. Marshall implemented Dayforce Payroll, Workforce Management, Benefits, Recruiting, Onboarding, and Performance Management. 

“Technology is vital to the healthcare industry – from medical equipment to telemedicine to electronic medical records to managing our employees. Dayforce has allowed us to manage more effectively and communicate more quickly with our employee population. We are now able to work smarter, not harder,” says Hammers.

Dayforce has enabled Marshall to give employees access to their information from anywhere. “Engagement and communication are top priorities at Marshall Health, and Dayforce is helping us to bring it to where our employees are. They can access Dayforce at their workstations, as well as on their mobile phones. They can access it outside of work hours, and it allows them to communicate with us when it works best for them,” explains Midkiff.

Dayforce is also helping Marshall to combat one of the top challenges in its industry – attracting and retaining talent. “The battle is constant. We need people who will stick with us, and we are trying to find the right people for the right positions,” says Midkiff. “It’s an ongoing challenge. We did not have a central place for applicants to apply before Dayforce. The Recruiting module has helped us get our brand out there, as well as have more consistency in the way we advertise for positions.”

Engagement as the remedy

Marshall has seen a shift in employee behavior since implementing Dayforce. “They're getting their information in a more timely manner, and are engaged in the day-to-day operations. They know what the organization's goals are, and where we're headed. They feel part of a team,” says Hammers.

Things have also improved significantly for Marshall’s HR team. Midkiff recalls a particular example: “Now, when I hear from our management team, ‘We have this issue, can Dayforce help us solve it?’ I am able to say, ‘Yes, we can.’ That is how I know we've arrived, and Dayforce was a good choice.”

“Success with technology is all about the return on investment. And so, if we are making jobs easier for our employees, they have more time to spend with our patients,” adds Hammers. “Dayforce is like having an extra full-time employee – we have not had to hire more human resources personnel, as we’ve used Dayforce to allow our current employees to work more efficiently.”

On the cutting edge for the future

Looking towards the next stage of its growth, Marshall is planning to continue its partnership with Dayforce to get there.

“Dayforce is a growing company, we are a growing company, and we're growing together,” says Midkiff. “Technology is changing everywhere, and especially in the healthcare industry. Amongst patient care, there's new technology all the time. Marshall Health is trying to stay on the cutting edge of that technology for patient care. With the help of Dayforce, we are now also on the cutting edge of technology for our employees.”