Address the business and address the people.
It’s a two-pronged strategy that George Norcross has helped implement at Cooper University Hospital as the $886 million health care system has navigated the choppy economic waters of the past two years.
Norcross — the chairman of the board of trustees — has worked with the system’s leadership to develop the two-pronged strategy. First, they needed to address the manner in which the health system conducted itself as a business enterprise.
“We had to conduct our enterprise much more like a business enterprise, a for-profit enterprise, in terms of cost containment and productivity levels,” Norcross says. “Traditionally, a nonprofit entity might not have the same level of business commitment on productivity that a for-profit enterprise might have.”
The second aspect involved every employee in every corner of the organization. Cooper University Hospital needed to promote the system’s medical services in the community by promoting a positive image internally. In order to be a great place for patients to receive health care, first every employee needed to believe that Cooper is a great place to work.
“One, how do we present to our customers the centers of excellence for our health care institution, whether it be our cancer institute, our heart institute, bone and joint institute, neurological health or otherwise?” Norcross says. “How do we get our audience in the seven southern counties of New Jersey to take an interest in the services that are being provided by our institution?”
Essentially, Norcross and the leadership at Cooper needed to be able to leverage employees by encouraging them and communicating with them. Strengthening Cooper’s position meant a renewed focus on communication and promoting a culture that rewards excellence.
