Each year Computerworld puts together an interesting report of the 100 “Best Places to Work in IT.” On the employer side, they gather information on benefits, training, retention and career development, as well as average IT bonuses, and training budgets. Computerworld also surveys nearly 25,000 IT staffers at the 100 organizations, who responded to a variety of questions about benefits, career opportunities, and workplace morale.
What is striking to me about the 2016 list is how many healthcare provider organizations are on it: Fifteen percent of the organizations are in healthcare or medical services, more than any other industry. I think this says something about the way healthcare providers treat their employees. It also suggests that IT employees in healthcare find their work rewarding, because they can see it contributing to the overall care mission of their organizations.
In the ranking of large workplaces, Kaiser Permanente is the first healthcare provider, coming in at No. 7, but then Nos. 8 through 12 are all in healthcare. (This is Kaiser’s seventh year in a row on the list. In a statement, KP Executive Vice President and CIO Dick Daniels said, “It’s especially gratifying to receive this award because it is based on our employee’s participation and point of view. They took the time to let Computerworld know what they think.”
Computerworld noted that Kaiser’s IT team launched an integrated, enterprisewide video doctor visit platform that enables Kaiser's members to meet remotely with nearly 18,000 physicians.
The other thing this listing reminds us is how large some of these IT organizations are and the complexity of managing them. For instance, Kaiser has more than 7,000 IT employees in the United States, with a 9 percent turnover ratio in 2015, and with 10 percent of the team getting promotions. That is a lot of change management and training to oversee!
Here are a few other provider organizations recognized on the list:
No. 8: Sharp Healthcare of San Diego. Computerworld notes that the 465-person IS department has a group called the Employee Action Team that helps guide improvements to the employee experience.
No. 9 is Cancer Treatment Centers of America of Boca Raton, Fla. The report said that last year, the 203-person information systems department embarked on a revitalization effort to redefine how it delivers technology services. “The initiative, which involved all stakeholders within the department, helped tech staffers feel more connected to CTCA's mission, yielded a higher level of engagement and increased awareness of the contributions that all CTCA employees make to the mission of delivering quality healthcare.”
No 10. Is Palmetto Health of Columbia, S.C. One of the notable benefits here is that IT employees are entitled to $5,000 in tuition reimbursement each year and have the opportunity to pursue an unlimited number of IT certifications.
No. 11: HCA of Nashville, Tenn., has an IT Healthcare Connection program that immerses its more than 4,500 tech staffers in the hospital environment so they can see firsthand the powerful effect of their work.
Other providers in the Top 50:
No. 12: Adventist Health System
No. 19: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
No. 21: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
No. 22: Cedars-Sinai Health System
No 30: Health IT vendor Cerner (which has 2,218 IT employees)
No. 33: Ascension
No. 39: Johns Hopkins Medicine
No. 46: Intermountain Healthcare
