Becker's Hospital Review

39 CFO / FINANCE How Healthcare Companies With Highest-Paid Boards Match Up to Peers By Megan Knowles C ompensation for a company's board of directors is often over- looked due to a lack of mandat- ed checks and balances, and several healthcare industry giants have signifi- cantly higher annual director retainers than their peers, according to a recent report published by Equilar. Although Equilar noted director com- pensation is considerably more com- plex than base retainers, the authors compared retainer pay for nonexecu- tive directors across companies since it is the most common feature among all company policies. The report examined 10 companies with the highest annual director retain- ers. Four healthcare companies were included in this group of 10. Equilar then compared the retainer against the median retainer in place at each company's respective peer group. Companies identified their own peers for purposes of this analysis. Here are the four healthcare compa- nies in Equilar's report, ranked accord- ing to each company's annual director retainer and the median annual direc- tor retainer of the company's peers. 1. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals — $2,074,085 ($360,000 for peers) 2. Celgene Corp. — $524,871 ($317,500 for peers) 3. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Internation- al — $475,000 ($335,000 for peers) 4. Allergan PLC — $450,000 ($280,000 for peers) n More Employees Expected to Quit in Upcoming Year, Cite Salary as Top Reason: 5 Findings By Megan Knowles T hirty-five percent of hiring de- cision-makers expect more employees to quit over the next 12 months, according to a re- cent Glassdoor survey. The survey gathered data from 750 recruiters, human resources employ- ees and other employees responsi- ble for hiring in the U.S. and U.K. Here are five findings from the sur- vey. 1. Sixty-four percent of survey re- spondents said they think their or- ganization is satisfactory or very satisfactory at clearly setting pay and benefit expectations within job postings. However, Glassdoor data indicates fewer than one in 10 online job postings list pay data in the job description. 2. Thirty-seven percent of respon- dents said employee retention rates would increase if new hires were better informed about pay and benefits during the hiring process. A separate 2017 Glassdoor survey found 98 percent of job seekers and employees believe it would be help- ful for job postings to list pay ranges. 3. Forty-five percent of respondents said the top reason for employees changing jobs is salary, followed by career advancement opportunities, benefits and location. 4. The survey found nearly half — 48 percent — of hiring decision-makers note salary and compensation influ- ence candidates most when consid- ering where to work. 5. Sixty-six percent of respondents said competing offers from rival companies were a significant chal- lenge in attracting and hiring in- formed candidates. n Saint Peter's HealthCare System Denies Informal Discussions With RWJBarnabas Health By Alyssa Rege N ew Brunswick, N.J.-based Saint Pe- ter's HealthCare System denied spec- ulations it has engaged in exploratory talks with West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarn- abas Health about a potential partnership. A source familiar with the matter told NJBiz the institutions have had "very informal" discus- sions about a potential affiliation. e source said, "there's a very good chance that Saint Pe- ter's will be part of RWJBarnabas," according to the report. A second source told the publi- cation a potential union "would be a good fit ... both hospitals have the same philosophy, both are focused on patient-driven care." However, Leslie D. Hirsch, president and in- terim CEO of Saint Peter's HealthCare System, told Becker's Hospital Review Jan. 11 the hos- pital has not engaged in formal partnership discussions with RWJBarnabas. "e governing board and leadership of Saint Peter's HealthCare System, in cooperation with its sponsor, e Roman Catholic Dio- cese of Metuchen, are presently engaged in a comprehensive strategic planning process to determine Saint Peter's future direction. Saint Peter's Catholic mission is of paramount im- portance in this process of discernment that will continue during 2018," said Mr. Hirsch. "Saint Peter's has not been and is not presently engaged in any formal or informal discussions with any other organization about merger, affiliation or strategic partnership. In this re- gard, we have not made any decisions about our future," he added. A spokesperson for RWJBarnabas told NJBiz, "RWJBarnabas Health is continually assess- ing opportunities for partnerships and affili- ations." Saint Peter's is one of 13 independent acute care hospitals le in the state following Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health's Jan. 3 announcement it would combine operations with Edison-based JFK Health, according to the report. n

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