PTO, Attendance and Pay Increases
Team,
I have some important updates to share. I'll start with the tougher news first:
This year we've been focusing on closing financial gaps so we can better serve our patients and create more opportunities to grow. We've chosen a few key areas where we need to improve as an organization because these are our sources of revenue and are how we pay all of you:
Provider Schedules: Many schedules, especially for our newer providers, aren't consistently full.
Insurance Underpayments: Insurance companies have been paying us less than they should for our services.
Pharmacy Capture: We need more patients using our in-house pharmacy.
While working on these and identifying other opportunities to close financial loss gaps, we uncovered another significant financial issue related to paid time off, payroll and attendance:
It was found that some employees have been errantly paid for time off without having enough PTO hours to cover the absence.
These same employees continued earning additional PTO even though they already had negative or zero PTO balances, causing staffing shortages due to their ability to take additional time off.
We've also seen repeated violations of our Time and Attendance Policy, like regularly arriving late and making requests for supervisors to manually adjust their time which may or may not be accurate.
There have been instances where employees are intentionally shortening lunch breaks which in effect allows them to give themselves a raise. Allowances are made when clinical teams are seeing patients.
Reporting issues with the mobile clock-in app have sometimes been used as an excuse for tardiness.
Definitions:
· Non-exempt employees are paid for the hours worked and typically clock-in and out and are eligible for overtime pay.
· Exempt employees are usually salaried workers, meaning they get paid a set amount no matter how many hours they work in a week and have to meet certain eligibility requirements. They are not eligible for overtime pay.
To fix these problems, we're making some key changes:
Non-exempt employees can now only clock in and out from their computers (no more mobile app usage allowed for clocking-in/out).
Employees won't be able to request PTO unless they have enough hours available.
PTO for non-exempt employees will now be based on actual hours worked, rather than pay periods (maximum accrual remains the same). This eliminates accrual during paid or unpaid time off.
Negative PTO balances aren't allowed anymore; if employees don't have PTO hours, employees’ time off will be unpaid.
If employees’ current absences (like being sick) cause future planned PTO to exceed their balance available, those future PTO requests will be canceled until adequate PTO balances are available.
If an employee is out for an unplanned absence including an illness, and the employee is out of PTO, that time will be unpaid and the employee may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
As a reminder, GSCC offers a generous PTO package to all full-time employees allowing more than adequate time off from work:
Non-exempt employees are eligible to accrue 144 PTO hours a year (about ~17 workdays per year), plus 10 paid holidays (~75-85 hours). This totals about 1 month and 10 days of paid time off, considering we typically work between 16 and 18 days each month depending on your schedule.
Non-exempt employees who have been with the GSCC for 5 or more years will accrue 189 PTO hours per year (about ~22 workdays per year), plus the same 10 holidays (~75-85 hours). This totals about 2 months of paid time off, considering we typically work between 16 and 18 days each month depending on your schedule.
Exempt employees are eligible to accrue 189 hours (about ~22 workdays per year), plus the same 10 holidays (~75-85 hours). This totals about 2 months of paid time off, considering we typically work between 16 and 18 days each month depending on your schedule. For providers the total is 2 months and 4 to 4.5 days allowed for CME leave.
In addition, we allow employees to sell a portion of their PTO at the end of the year provided they have accrued enough to meet the requirements. So, in essence, an employee can work every scheduled day and receive full compensation and then sell a portion of their PTO and give themselves a nice year-end bonus of approximately 9 days’ salary for non-exempt employees and 13 days’ for exempt employees.
We provide these benefits because we value you and your hard work. We want you to have the time to pursue passions outside work and time with your families. These plus your other benefits (health insurance, life insurance, etc.) that the GSCC provides account for about 25% of your annual salaries, which is at no cost to you! We just ask that in return each of you manages your benefits responsibly, with the utmost integrity and avoids taking advantage of the organization's generosity. Should the misuse and abuse of the PTO benefits and time and attendance continue to occur, we will have no choice but to make additional adjustments that could negatively affect all employees.
To ensure you remain compliant with the expectations regarding time, attendance and PTO usage, please review the updated PTO and Time and Attendance policies on HERDTHAT.
Now for some good news:
We've traditionally done annual performance evaluations and salary adjustments simultaneously each spring. To simplify this process, we're making some adjustments:
Every year around late April/May, we will evaluate a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) depending on our cash flow which considers schedule utilization and in-house pharmacy capture rate and you have the opportunity to help improve both!
This year, qualifying employees will see a 3% increase on their May 23rd paycheck (excluding C-Suite and providers).
To qualify for COLA, you must have been with GSCC for at least 6 months.
Moving forward, performance evaluations and potential merit increases will now happen annually during your anniversary month. We'll catch up with anyone whose anniversary already passed this year.
Merit increases are based on your performance and your consistent alignment and behavior related to our core values and will depend on:
Minimum of 6 months employment at GSCC.
At least 6 months since your last merit increase or promotion.
No documented performance issues in the past year.
Scoring at least 3:5 on the core value assessment, which assesses attitude and behavior as it relates to employees’ alignment with our core values of LOVE, RESPECT, FIGHT, RESILIENCE, and FLEXIBILITY. These are measured in terms of exhibiting the core values “most of the time,” “some of the time,” or “rarely.” You will be evaluated by both your supervisor and peers.
Positive feedback from your supervisor and peers regarding your ability, interest, and capacity for your job ("get it, want it, capacity").
Specific performance measures will be based on your “scorecard” which is based on specific metrics related to your job role and responsibilities. Updated scorecard metrics (Key Performance Indicators) are currently being developed and are forthcoming.
We are truly committed to keeping GSCC a great workplace and helping you achieve your goals. We appreciate your continued effort in managing your time and responsibilities effectively and living our core values.
Thanks for all you do to make GSCC an amazing place to work and serve our community!
Best,
Teresa