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Updated

Our very own Nicole Kenney sat on a panel this morning during NASPO 2013! Congrats Nicole!

Resident, Family and Employee Satisfaction Measures to Inform State’s Incentive Programs 

The State of Indiana has signed a multi-year agreement with Press Ganey to conduct nursing facility satisfaction surveys; the process will be managed by Indiana’s Family & Social Services Administration’s Division of Aging and the Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning. Indiana will use results of the nursing facility resident, family or friend and employee satisfaction surveys to calculate State health report card scores and associated quality incentive payment rates. In addition, the survey results will help drive improvement to the overall resident experience.

“The Nursing Facility Satisfaction Survey Project will contribute important measures to our existing report card and give the State of Indiana the ability to reward top performing nursing facilities,” said Faith Laird, Director of Indiana’s Division of Aging. “We look forward to partnering with Press Ganey on this important initiative and are confident this will lead to continued improvements to the resident experience. By capturing the voice of the resident, their caregivers and family members or friends, we are better able to recognize and reward institutions who have achieved positive resident experiences.”

In support of Indiana’s goal to provide high-quality nursing facility care, Press Ganey will deliver a scientific approach to data collection, along with advanced analytics and reporting. Press Ganey will administer more than 125,000 surveys annually; resident surveys will be conducted by personal interviews, and family members or friends and employees will be sent mailed surveys.

“The State of Indiana is playing a leadership role by integrating satisfaction survey results into its scorecard and payment system,” said Patrick T. Ryan, CEO of Press Ganey. “It is a step that provides the same consideration to nursing facility satisfaction that is present in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s Hospital Compare and Physician Compare programs. Clearly, Indiana recognizes the value of listening to each resident, and their circle of family, friends and caregivers, as a way to improve the quality of the care provided in nursing facilities throughout the state.”

Press Ganey will partner with three Indiana-based organizations: minority- and women-owned businesses, Go ResourceLink and Knowledge Services, and researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine’s Regenstrief Institute.

Press Ganey Associates, Inc.
Recognized as a leader in performance improvement for nearly 30 years, Press Ganey partners with more than 10,000 health care organizations worldwide to create and sustain high-performing organizations, and, ultimately, improve the overall health care experience. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to help clients operate efficiently, improve quality, increase market share and optimize reimbursement. Press Ganey works with clients from across the continuum of care – hospitals, medical practices, home care agencies and other providers – including 50 percent of all U.S. hospitals. For more information, visitwww.pressganey.com.

The Knowledge Services Managed Services Provider (MSP) program delivers comprehensive reporting and business intelligence that enables and supports informed decision making for Governments. The MSP program team serves as a trusted advisory resource by providing analysis, analytics and recommendations based upon the program, recruiting and industry subject matter expertise, while at the same time, comparing and contrasting to market driven data sources.

This expertise, combined with the dotStaff™ Vendor Management System (VMS), enables the Knowledge Services program team to synthesize large volumes of data, identify patterns in that data, and present recommendations based upon those patterns. This powerful, decision-driven reporting enables Procurement and Agency decision makers to easily identify and address an agency’s most pressing challenges, opportunities and risks.

Agreement Creates Opportunity for Longstanding Relationship with State

• Reporting that includes system standard and on-demand user-configurable reports, exception-driven management dashboards in real time and online.   Unlike other technologies that are forced to utilize third-party time keeping, accounting and other systems, all reports are based on the fully integrated dotStaff™ database repository.

• Decision Support and Forecasting enabled by quarterly business reports on savings spend and usage, ad hoc reports and program trending analysis are provided by the MSP program team.

• Consolidated, Integrated and Automated Invoicing including client pre-approved system generated invoices automatically created from approved time and milestones, encumbered funds tracking and complete visibility to both client and vendors.

• Compliance Monitoring with uniform and auditable enforcement based on the business rules communicated by the client organization.

• Data Access and Transparency via a fully integrated solution that allows the client, vendors  and the MSP program team easy, security-based access to all financial transactions

Knowledge Services MSP solution, supported by the dotStaff™ VMS, provides Government Agencies of all sizes with powerful, decision-driven reporting that reduces risks and provides powerful trend insights.

With nearly seven years of experience in the staffing industry, he understands the countless external factors that are forcing organizations to take talent more seriously. Most of the candidates he presents to clients are currently “happily employed” but would consider a move for the right opportunity. Lately he’s been seeing a lot of counter offers and promotions from current employers in order to hold on to their top talent. His best advice to organizations is: “If you want to keep up with your competition, you must take your top talent seriously and do everything in your power to retain it.” Woodruff articulates that his main objective is to clearly understand the client’s requirements by discussing the needs and expectations of the position in order for him to the most suitable candidate.

In processes that can seem overwhelming for organizations, is where the recruiting team at Knowledge Services comes in using our range of human resource selection tools to ensure candidates are thoroughly assessed for the required rule. Once all relevant information is gathered and compiled, only the most suitable, experienced and qualified candidates are submitted for consideration.

For organizations that are struggling to both find AND retain top talent, partnering with Knowledge Services provides flexibility. In terms of direct hire recruitment, we are able to find the top teir of talent and make them some of your organizations best assets.  As a certified Woman Business Enterprise, we can help meet your diversity needs as well, which may help you meet regulatory requirements.

What can you do to ensure your chance of success? The results of a recent Career Builder survey indicate that Staffing firms are the most effective mechanism for job seekers to find jobs, however only 3% of candidates see them as a primary source in a job hunt. With a staffing firm  like Knowledge Services on your side, you don’t have to navigate through today’s highly competitive market alone. The odds are you will obtain countless benefits and be successful in your job search:

Quick, Simple Process – Wouldn’t it be nice to have an expert guide help you to find a job? When you work with
Knowledge Services, we become the active job seeker for you. After submitting your resume to us and learning about your needs, you are immediately considered for all suitable job openings. As your biggest advocate, we promote you and your qualifications to potential employers, providing a fast, painless path for landing a job.

Knowledge -  It has been our experience that companies are moving away from advertising in traditional methods and turning to staffing firms to pre-screen potential candidates. With our wide range of human resource tools and expertise, we have access to a variety of employment opportunities that aren’t widely known by the general public. Whether you’re looking for work in temporary positions, working on a project basis, or a chance to move from a temp to a perm, we can help you land the right job for you.

Relationships -  As a certified Women’s Business Enterprise, we have established relationships with lead companies nationwide and locally across all industries. Using our expertise and established relationships, we can help get you another opportunity to interview with a new company and improve your shot at success.

With an advocate for you like Knowledge Services, you will be on the fast track for landing your next job. Let us stand by you in a process that can seem endless and frustrating. You don’t have to search alone.

Sriram articulates, “Conversations with your contingent workers give you a better understanding of their needs, which in turn helps you match them with the right jobs. But the reality is that staffing firms are not really communicating with their contingent workers to the degree they should.” Sriram advocates that vendors should take time to understand workers’ skills to match them with the appropriate job assignments. Not only will this satisfy the client, it will make resources happy and move the organization forward.

At Knowledge Services, we  understand how work arrangements lead to a difference in work attitudes and work-related behaviors. The following are some ways we manage and communicate with our contingent workers so they are productive, satisfied and cooperative:

Providing adequate training

Across all industries, we provide systematic and purposeful trainings to help our contingent workers get more adept in the expertise required for their job assignments. In order for our workers to perform their jobs effectively, we believe training should align to all of their responsibilities and allow them to learn new skills if necessary.

Reminding them how their work makes a difference

Sometimes it can be challenging for contingent workers to see the impact of their work when they are not with an organization for an extended period of time. From the beginning, our team tries to show our contingent workers the “bigger” picture from a business context, allowing them to recognize the contributions and skills they add to the client’s business objectives. We believe recognition is the top driver of employee engagement, and we strive to recognize our contingent workers on a regular basis for their contributions to our clients.

Showing them potential career paths

It has been our experience that a temporary job often leads to a position that needs to be filled permanently, but sometimes contingent workers are challenged in seeing the long-term career path within an organization. Accordingly, our team communicates with our workers if there is a path to full-time employment available for a particular job assignment. From the beginning, we stress to our employees that good performance and diligence can lead to additional projects for the client

Making them feel connected and part of our company

Often times, a lack of full-time status causes to contingent workers to feel disconnected from the vendor company. As such, we regularly ask our temps for feedback to make sure their voices are heard. This fosters openness and innovation, allowing them to express themselves and to feel heard. In all that we do, we recognize the importance of making our contingent workers feel connected and part of our company.

Like Subadhara Sriram, Knowledge Services understands and values the frequency and quality of communication with our contingent workers. Engaged employees contribute to the bottom line, for the client as well as the vendor company.

INDIANAPOLIS—Career-advancing training is available to Electronic Systems Technicians with industry experience through a local job training and placement initiative called PriorITize. Central Indiana employers can recommend employees who would benefit from additional knowledge in network set-up, including A+ and N+ certification, wireless communications, system commissioning and user training, codes and standards, wire and cable terminations, crew leadership, project planning, quality control, document control and estimating, and other electronic systems skills. Training is available at no cost to employers and qualified trainees.

EST Level 2 training and certification classes in networking and routing begin July 24 and are offered through Ivy Tech Community College two nights a week though January. Successful level 2 program participants will earn the CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications.

EST Level 3 training and certification classes in field supervision begin July 9 and are also offered through Ivy Tech Community College two nights a week through November. Successful level 3 program participations will earn the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Fundamentals of Crew Leadership certification.

Program benefits to participants:

• Industry specific training plan.
• Coaching, evaluation and assessment from industry career advisors and expert teams.
• Assistance with tuition, books, fees, supportive services and necessary certification expenses.
• Externships and on-the-job training, when applicable.

For more information, to recommend current employers, or to express your own interest contact Will Frazier or Jan Miller at WorkOne North, (317) 228-0682 or email prioritize@employindy.org. Participants may also apply at an Indianapolis WorkOne center or any WorkOne center in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Morgan and Shelby counties.

About PriorITize

PriorITize will train and place 300 eligible participants over three years in one of three of the fastest growing IT career positions in the Indianapolis area. The U.S. Department of Labor in June 2010 awarded a $2.9 million grant to EmployIndy to help fund the initiative. Unemployed and underemployed workers in Marion and surrounding counties are being recruited with the focus on preparing a pipeline of workers to fill high-demand career positions of Health Information Technology, Computer Information Technology, and Electronic Systems.

Key Partners in PriorITize are Ivy Tech Community College, Region 5 Workforce Board, Goodwill Industries’ Excel Center, St. Vincent Metropolitan Indianapolis Central Indiana Area Health Education Center (MICI-AHEC), Stanley Security Systems, Community Health Network, Indianapolis Housing Agency, and St. Vincent Hospital.

About EmployIndy

EmployIndy is Marion County’s local workforce development organization dedicated to advancing workforce solutions for Indianapolis. EmployIndy manages the three WorkOne centers in Marion County and invests public and private funds for job training and education services to prepare a pipeline of skilled workers to fill the high demand jobs of today and in the future. Formed in 1983, EmployIndy is led by president and CEO Brooke Huntington. For more information visit www.EmployIndy.org or view the 2010-2011 Report to the Community.