Becker's Hospital Review

69 69 CEO / STRATEGY What to do if you're laid off: 3 tips from 2 ex-hospital executives By Emily Rappleye N o one, from the starry-eyed engineer at a health IT startup to the tenured hospital administrator, is immune from the risk of layoffs. While layoffs are tough to endure, employees can make the experience less painful by preparing for the worst. at's the ethos behind Don't sign anything: A guide for the day you are laid off, a new book authored by Paul Levy, former president and CEO of Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and his wife Farzana Mo- hamed, former chief of staff and director of strategic planning at BID-Needham (Mass.) Hospital, and founder of the consultancy Process Improvement. e book is geared toward anyone who con- siders themselves an employee — even those who have a unique set of skills and expertise, like physicians. "You need to recognize your status has changed," Mr. Levy said of physi- cians, who are increasingly seeking hospital employment. "No matter how good you are, you are now part of an organization that goes through ups and downs and are now subject to being laid off." When that pink-slip day comes, Mr. Levy and Ms. Mohamed's 68-page guide is de- signed to provide succinct advice rooted in negotiation theory and backed by extensive interviews with parties on both sides of the negotiation table. Becker's caught up with Mr. Levy to talk about the book and what he learned from interviews with human resource directors, executives, em- ployment lawyers and employees themselves. Here are three tips from the conversation: 1. Know your rights. During layoffs, compa- nies typically pull employees into a meeting and ask them to sign a release letter within a given timeline to receive their severance package. Unknowing employees abide and accept their deal before it expires, no ques- tions asked. Employees should know they have a say too, according to Mr. Levy. ey do not have to sign the release letter, and they should be able to defer their decision with- out sacrificing a fair deal. "Lots of people out there don't know what their rights are," Mr. Levy said. 2. Always negotiate. One HR director ad- vised point-blank: "Don't sign the deal. You have a right to question." More oen than not, employees can better their outcome through negotiation. Mr. Levy spoke with an employee of a large tech company who relo- cated for a position and was laid off shortly thereaer. e employee wrote a note to his supervisor about why the severance package was unfair and aer review, his supervisor agreed. Employees should document any transgressions throughout their experience at the company because they can be used as leverage during the negotiation process, Mr. Levy advised. 3. ink about how you want to negotiate. "e person with whom you are dealing usually is not some misanthrope who wants to mistreat you," Mr. Levy said. "ey also want to get through this in the most pleasant way possible." In interviews, he found older employees didn't want to push too hard, for fear of coming off obnoxious and damaging their professional brand. He found the sting of a layoff was felt more acutely by younger employees, oen of the Silicon Valley work- force, who joined a startup with aspirations to change the world. ose employees wanted to pursue negotiations much more aggressively, he said. While neither approach is wrong, it can change how you are perceived in your network, Mr. Levy cautioned. He advised em- ployees hire a lawyer to conduct negotiations on their behalf. n Why COO hire is a 'bold statement' for Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan venture By Alyssa Rege T he Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase health venture appointed a second individual to its executive team Sept. 4. The venture hired Jack Stoddard, a former Comcast exec- utive, to serve as COO. Mr. Stoddard previously held roles at Optum — a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group — and con- sumer healthcare engagement firm Accolade. Ana Gupte, an analyst at investment banking firm Leer- ink Partners, told TheStreet Sept. 5 that Mr. Stoddard's appointment represents a "bold statement" for the joint health venture. Ms. Gupte said the venture's decision to hire Mr. Stoddard represents "its commitment to upending the way consum- ers access healthcare in an increasing digital ecosystem. We believe the Stoddard hire clearly shows that [the ven- ture] is looking to own the digital front door to healthcare." Mr. Stoddard's experience at Comcast will prove vital, she added, as Comcast "has been at the forefront of health in- surance innovation." "Instead of pushing the financial burden to employees via high-deductible health plans (as nearly 50 percent of large employers have), Comcast has focused on lowering costs by partnering with innovative tech-enabled companies to improve employee engagement, care management and telehealth," Ms. Gupte said. The first executive hired to the joint venture was Atul Ga- wande, MD, a public health researcher, writer and surgeon at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital in July. Dr. Gawande serves as the organization's CEO. n

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