Becker's Hospital Review

8 CFO / FINANCE large organization that an employee may be here for years before I get the chance to meet them. e company is represented by that front- line supervisor. I need you to be successful." He also ensures each middle manager has his contact information should a problem, question or predicament ever reach a point where his guidance is needed immediately. "Use your chain of command, but if you have to, come to me," Mr. Van Gorder tells them. "If I have to move resources around to have you be successful, I will do that. Your job is to take care of your people. You need to be an advocate for your people, and if you are, you won't just join them and complain — you'll teach or run it up the chain of command and effect a change to help them. "at's your job and you can come to me anytime you want. If you can't get an answer from anyone else, email me. If I have the answer, I'll give you the answer. If I don't have the answer, I'll find out and get you the answer." n Pay cuts continue in the C-suite By Molly Gamble A s companies endure difficult times, some are maintaining one cost-cutting measure from the pandemic's early days: reduced pay for executives. Executives at Zoom Video Communications, Intel and Micron Technology have taken cuts to their base salary in 2023 as their businesses laid off workers and reduced spending, The Wall Street Journal reports. The cuts to base pay affected CEOs and extended to finance chiefs, operations leaders and corporate attorneys. Earlier this year, CEOs at Apple, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and other large companies also took pay cuts. The practice of curbing executive compensation was widespread early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, as senior executives at hundreds of public U.S. companies adjusted their salaries while pay cuts, furloughs or layoffs affected non-managerial workers. Executive pay cuts can be perceived as symbolic gestures in times of tight expense management and workforce reductions. When companies communicate executive salary cuts, they generally do not specify how much the cost savings amount to. Base pay is usually the smallest part of an executive pay package — it made up 11 percent of CEOs' overall compensation in fiscal year 2022, according to a study cited by WSJ of CEO pay at 300 of the largest U.S. public companies from Korn Ferry. Hospitals and health systems that have reduced executive pay include Billings (Mont.) Clinic and University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. While pay cuts have not been remarkably common in the past year among hospital and health system executives, these organizations have been curbing administrative costs by consolidating executive teams and reporting structures. At least 17 health systems have made changes to their executive ranks and administration so far in 2023. The C-suite in hospitals and health systems has been a source of intensified scrutiny over the past two years as staffing shortages, employee dissatisfaction and financial challenges sharpened the lens through which industry professionals and consumers view executive pay. Earlier in the pandemic, as hospitals and lawmakers urged federal authorities to investigate travel staffing agencies for price gouging, some travel nurses reciprocated and said such scrutiny should actually be redirected toward health systems' executive pay. Regardless of whether one sees executive pay as appropriate or too high, its variation across settings is real. A 2022 analysis by the Lown Institute of more than 1,000 hospitals found the gap between hospital CEO pay and average worker pay varied widely, with some CEOs paid twice the rate of other workers, while the highest paid received 60 times the hourly pay of general workers. n Prisma Health to outsource 689 jobs By Erica Carbajal G reenville, S.C.-based Prisma Health has entered into a partnership with Compass One Healthcare to provide environmental services. As a result of the deal, the health system planned to terminate the employment of 689 environmental services workers at the end of August, though every individual will have the opportuinity to continue their role as a Compass One Healthcare employee, according to a WARN notice filed with the state July 13. Prisma employees currently working in environmental positions will be given "an opportunity to become part of the Compass One team if they are interested" and "no positions will be eliminated" as part of the transitions, according to a press release on the partnership shared with The State. Most of the employment changes will involve people in Richland County and Greenville County, though it's unclear which specific Prisma Health facilities will be affected. The 18-hospital system is the state's largest healthcare organization and employs nearly 30,000 people. n

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