LifeNet Health: Organizational Growing Pains
Pros
LifeNet Health currently offers opportunities in the following areas: 1.) Employees: I am absolutely convinced that LifeNet Health has the most uniquely gifted and skilled people available today. Period. 2.) Mission: LifeNet Health boasts a truly noble mission. Employees have the truly unique opportunity to take part in the actual "saving lives, restoring health, and giving hope" component of the organization. 3.) AATB Standards: LifeNet Health operates in accordance to AATB standards, and provides the opportunity for employees to achieve CTBS certification. 4.) LEAN Institute: LifeNet Health promotes a LEAN culture throughout the organization, as well as provides employees with the opportunity to learn and practice LEAN principles.
Cons
LifeNet Health currently faces challenges in the following areas: 1.) Career Development: Opportunities for advancement are not clearly defined. Advancement appears to be granted based upon favoritism and politics, rather than skill and expertise. Often times, additional responsibilities are bestowed upon diligent employees in the form of a title (i.e. Subject Matter Expert) without pay increase. Thus, hard work is often rewarded with more hard work. If an employee proves to excel at a specific task, they are often "pigeon holed." As a result, ambitious employees are then forced to look outside of their department in order to advance in their career. Employees working in an on-call capacity are expected to maintain a high level of performance despite working 48-72 hours straight with little or no downtime. Although concerns for safety have been brought to the attention of leadership, nothing has been done to resolve this matter. Due to the fact that employees are expected to perform at such high levels, and that there is little opportunity for advancement, LifeNet Health is currently experiencing high turnover rates in several mission-critical departments. 2.) Leadership: Management often resorts to passive-aggressive tactics when dealing with difficult people in the workplace rather than direct confrontation. Group punishment is often utilized to deal with issues caused by a single employee. This makes for a frustrating workplace environment. Management seems to be easily intimidated by subordinates who have higher levels of education, skill, and/or expertise. As a result, qualified employees are often held back from advancement. As a result, there are several employees with a masters level of education working in entry level positions. There is also a big disconnect between management and the technical staff. Communication regarding mission-critical decisions are not always communicated to those who actually do the work. Furthermore, management spends very little time in the field, on the floor, or simply getting to know their team on a personal level. 3.) Culture: "Maximizing the gift" is a popular buzzword in the tissue banking industry. But, what exactly does that mean? While the original mission and core values of LifeNet Health are sincere, they are not always the focal point. As LifeNet Health continues to grow at a rapid pace, it is becoming obvious that this organization is struggling to maintain the proper balance between handling the gift of life and running a business. Thus, "maximizing the gift" often has a dual meaning when it comes to this line of work. 4.) Compensation and Yearly Evaluations: Employees at LifeNet Health are evaluated each year. This annual evaluation provides a breakdown of the employees performance, and scores them on a scale of 1 to 5 in various categories/goals. If an employee scores 3 or higher, then they are granted their yearly raise. With that said, LifeNet Health has made it very clear that employees will not score a 5. The pay scale for the technical staff is average/below average in comparison to other tissue banks. Employees earn a reasonable income, but are expected to perform at a very high level on a daily basis. Annual raises are always delayed without reason.