Owens & Minor Medical Inc. is a national distributor of name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a health-care supply chain management company. In 2008, it faced several challenges, including increasing turnover in its distribution centers (DCs), a safety program with inconsistent focus and lack of a developmental path, and attendance issues resulting in overtime for night and weekend shifts and employee frustration. In addition, teammates on this shift were not engaging in learning opportunities presented to them.
In response to these challenges, the College of Operations within Owens & Minor University formed a team sponsored by the senior vice president of Human Resources. The project aimed to create tools to inspire and engage teammates to embrace the benefits and opportunities the organization had to offer and clearly define growth opportunities that would allow teammates to showcase their best efforts, regardless of their career aspirations to advance.
As a result of this project, Owens & Minor crafted the DC (Distribution Center) Certification Program and offered it to entry-level hourly teammates throughout the organization. It is based on the fundamental philosophy that when teammates learn, they grow; when they grow, they improve their performance; and when performance improves, so does quality and productivity. As quality and productivity improve, so do customer satisfaction and profitability. As a result, development is profitable for the organization.
Program Details
Criteria for a certification include completing a core curriculum, passing a comprehensive exam measuring the effectiveness of the learning, meeting expectations for performance and safety, and a strong attendance record. Once met, teammates can earn a one-time monetary bonus, promotional items, and certificate of completion signed by the company president and chief executive officer. Three programs initially were targeted for the warehouse and driver teammate job roles. Today, there are 10 programs available for both hourly and salaried teammates.
Results
Since 2008, Owens & Minor has awarded 4,200 certificates and teammates have completed more than 50,000 courses. Productivity measures have improved by 13 percent; turnover has decreased by 23 percent; and safety in terms of accidents resulting in lost work days has improved consistently and is 52 percent better since the start of the program in 2008.
Teammates have expressed that they now have opportunities to learn and earn with extra incentive for showing up to work each day. Managers have articulated that they now have extra tools to motivate their teams to improve and enhance morale.
