Elmhurst (IL) Memorial Healthcare has about 2,700 employees. That´s definitely a big crowd. And, of course, any human resources professional knows that with so many people comes a dizzying amount of paper from job applications to performance reviews to status changes -- and oodles more.

It´s not only a lot of pulp, it´s a lot of processes as well. All of this paper has to be accessed, filled out, routed and filed. The bottom-line? Much time and money simply dissipates.

So, when our CIO announced that he was putting together a group that would evaluate possible electronic alternatives to paper processes, I along with my co-worker Tony Coletta, quickly jumped on board.  For a long time, we had been searching for a way to replace time-consuming manual human resources tasks with more efficient automated self-service functions.

Representatives from several other departments including nursing units, corporate compliance and food services also joined the group (which eventually became known as the Portal Users Group).

Our goal was to find and implement a technology that could take many of the ubiquitous paper processes found in human resources and other hospital departments - and make them available electronically. As a result, the hospital would reduce its overall paper and supply costs while improving workflow processes.

In short, we needed an intranet portal that could handle all of our human resources needs as well as the information needs of many other departments, making it possible for employees to access all kinds of information from personnel manuals to clinical guidelines to cafeteria menus. By making all of this information available electronically, we would help the hospital cut paper and supply costs.

Most importantly, however, an electronic system would help our community hospital, which faces stiff competition from several other nearby facilities as well as from Chicago´s academic medical centers, improve its financial health.  For example, if each of our 2,700 employees were to save just two minutes a day, the hospital would save about $1 million worth of time annually, freeing them up to perform other tasks (based on an average employee salary of $40 an hour).

Defining needs

Job No. 1 for the multi-disciplinary group was to define exactly what we were looking for. To make sure we got what we needed, Frank Scafidi, CIO and the leader of the group, sought input from the various departmental representatives on the team.

"As the project´s leader, I needed to get input from all of the potential users.  As such, it quickly became clear that everyone wanted a professional looking and aesthetically pleasing intranet portal that would provide a framework for our individual departments and users to quickly deliver content and improve work processes," Scafidi says.

In addition, Scafidi sought input from each individual hospital department to get a handle on each unit´s specific functional needs.  For example, in human resources we trumpeted the need for a means to automate the employee performance review process.  We specifically wanted to find a way to replace the cumbersome, unwieldy paper process with an efficient automated one. 

With these goals in mind, we started to consider our options. First, we considered developing an intranet portal in-house. But the information technology department concluded that we just didn´t have the internal resources needed to develop the robust, fully featured system that we needed. For example, in human resources, we wanted a system that would support the current standardized performance evaluation format - yet make the actual review process more efficient. Plus, we wanted make sure that the system would be capable of interfacing with our Meditech human resources system

So, we decided that we would have to start looking at commercial products. Before entering the market for an intranet portal, however, we further defined our needs. Most important from a human resources vantage point was the ability to quickly develop and post content. We specifically wanted a nimble system, where we would be able to add information and post content without always having to involve the information systems department each time we made a change. As such, we would be able to keep all of the information on the portal current and up-to-date - and the portal would become a valuable working tool for all employees.

"Human resources and all of the other departmental users made it very clear that they wanted to be able to tap into the power of an intranet portal quickly and painlessly. If they had to contact the IT department each time they wanted to make a change, the portal would become outdated and stagnant," Scafidi says.

In addition to having these self-publishing capabilities, we also decided that we wanted a system that would:

• enable each page to have a common look and standardized navigation
• allow human resources to use the current standardized review forms electronically
• provide the capability to handle all employee reviews on the same date each year, instead of on each individual employee´s anniversary dates
• enable employees to electronically access a wide variety of human resources forms such as address change and vacation request documents
• include a page hits counter
• dynamically display information in real-time 
• offer airtight security so we could freely use the system to process sensitive and confidential personnel information  

With this wish list in hand, we started to evaluate some of the commercial intranet portals on the market to see if any would meet our needs. Initially, we looked at portals offered by major vendors such as IBM, Oracle and Sybase. Although many of these products offered what we were looking for, we felt that they were too expensive and would require too much front-end work and consulting to properly install.

Finally, we discovered PortalComplete, a cost-effective intranet portal system from ProcessDATA, Schaumburg, IL. The system offered all of the pre-built features and functions that we had desired - and was priced far less than similar systems offered by other vendors. The fact that ProcessDATA was willing to train our internal information technology staff to be able to add more functions, instead of having to tap and pay the company every time something new was needed, sealed the deal.  

Off the ground

In August of 2003, we set out to implement the intranet portal at EMH. Process DATA staff members provided training to all of the members of the portal users group.

We were all impressed with how easy it was to learn to use the system. Most members of the team, as a matter of fact, learned how to use the system in less than an hour.

The portal quickly emerged as an answer to many of our human resources prayers. For example, we are now using the portal to provide all employees and managers with electronic access to a variety of human resources documents including vacation request, address change, personnel action and employee review forms.

Making the forms available online helps to streamline what was once a very cumbersome process. The employees and managers no longer need to come down to human resources to retrieve the paperwork. And, we don´t need a file clerk to file all of the forms.

As a matter of fact, the system not only reduces paper, it streamlines entire processes.  For example, even though the system provides replicas of the print performance review forms, it helps to streamline the review process.

For instance, the following examples illustrate exactly how the portal makes the employee review process much more efficient:

• Instead of having to remember employee review dates, the system makes it possible to conduct all employee reviews on the same date each year.
• The system helps managers get a better handle on the review process through a work queue for managers and a "to do" list of appraisals and their degree of completion. 
• In lieu of having to select the appropriate employee review form, the system automatically selects a review template based on the employee´s job code.
• Instead of filing out a paper form, managers can electronically access and fill out the review form via any Internet connection, making it possible to complete reviews at home where there is more privacy.
• As soon as the review is complete, the employee is sent an electronic prompt to review and fill out the review.
• The system automatically collects and fills out the educational section of the review, listing all of the courses and training that the employee has taken in the last year.
• After the employee signs the review, the manager is notified that the review can be finalized.
• The review is then automatically routed to human resources for review and archival.
• The system automatically computes the evaluation score based on the scores for the various responsibilities of the employee.
• The review is also stored in an electronic employee file, where it can at any time by the employee and his/her manager.
• In addition, the manager can assign goals for the next review period.  Throughout the year, the portal automatically reminds the manager about the goals and the manager can keep updated notes in the system, which will be available for review during the next review.

The evaluation score is then imported into the personnel action form. The system automatically figures out what the employee´s pay rate increase should be and the information is then fed directly into our payroll system. As a result, human resources personnel and managers do not even have to worry about computing pay rate increases.

After completing online reviews, employees and managers then have continuous electronic access to TB test documentation, performance rating guidelines, performance evaluation forms and self-evaluations, if applicable.

We are also planning to actually deliver training programs through the portal. For example, a HIPAA training PowerPoint and test soon will be available to all employees. Plus, we are planning to add training sessions with streaming video in the near future.

Human resources is just one of many departments currently discovering how powerful the intranet portal can be. Nursing units, corporate compliance and food service are also discovering the portal´s potential. As a matter of fact, food service´s weekly posting of the cafeteria menu is extremely popular, receiving the most hits on the intranet.

All together, the intranet portal is resulting in a number of advantages for EMH such as:  

-   Improved access to information.  The intranet provides an easy means for employees to access needed documents and information. In addition to the various human resources forms, employees are using the portal to access a variety of documents from multiple departments. Use of the intranet portal has grown from about 40,000 hits per month when first introduced in January of 2004 to more than 100,000 hits per month in February of 2005. 

-   Increased employee satisfaction. The streamlined human resources processes are a hit with employees, managers and human resources personnel. Similar employee satisfaction improvements are being realized in other departments as well.

-   Bolstered productivity. Streamlined processes are making the entire workforce more productive.  For example, instead of being diverted by human resources functions, employees and managers are more fully concentrate on their core responsibilities. 

-    Better clinical care. Clinicians report that they now are able to access clinical guidelines quickly and efficiently. Therefore, they are able to speedily attend to the needs of their patients.

-   Decreased personnel costs. The hospital has made a commitment to lower expenses by reducing 300 FTEs over a 3-year period ending next year. We are down 143 FTEs at this time and I have to attribute perhaps 10 percent of those to the success of the portal due to its increase in productivity and streamlining of processes.