Strategic initiative with Guidehouse helped integrate PTO between two health systems
When two faith-based systems merged in 2017, the newly combined system faced a challenge common to organizations following a merger: how to integrate the organizations’ paid time off (PTO) policies in a way that would be equitable and cost efficient.
The new system, a large provider in the mid-South, sought to develop a common PTO policy that would compensate employees fairly while creating a structure that would best fit the new organization, both in terms of culture and cost. But gaining employee buy in for changes in PTO benefits is rarely easy. In this instance, the disparities in the PTO structures of the two founding organizations heightened PTO integration challenges:
At a time when many employers are increasing their overall benefits including PTO, to meet employees’ desire for greater flexibility, the newly merged organization needed to carefully craft an integrated PTO policy that would meet the needs of the health system while protecting its ability to retain and attract talent.
Guidehouse examined the founding organizations’ original PTO policies and compared them with the paid days off policies of organizations that are similar in size and type. Based on this analysis, Guidehouse identified opportunities to achieve PTO synergies in four areas: