work hard can come in at entry level and after two years be managing a small group of people, then five years later be managing 50 people. That’s how we get our leaders. They learn the business from the ground up and love the culture. They’ve learned the ropes and are now responsible for teaching the next generation. This way of managing also ensures consistency. With such a strong network of homegrown talent, it is easy to trust that our core business philosophies are being followed anywhere in the world.
Encourage Evolution We try to run TransPerfect as a very flat organization. Because my partner and I spend so much time talking with employees at all levels and around the world, we help create an open environment where people can speak their minds and offer suggestions for change. I think it is easiest to embrace change when the positive results are visible, and having a flat organizational structure makes them much more easily noticed. People realize they can make an impact. I tell people that the worst thing is staying exactly where we are. Complacency is not going to get us to the next level; we need to always improve.
Tell Employees to “Own It” We do not want “yes” people. We do not want people to sit in a room and listen; we want back-and-forth discussion. We want people who give opinions and have no problem challenging or bringing things up. The more of that, the better the answer we arrive at. One of our most important values, if not the most important, is “run it like you own it.” The same thing goes whether you’re managing two people or a 20-person department, whether you’re in IT, HR, or sales. We want employees, no matter what their positions, to act as if they own the company. In that way, people will not worry about whether they will get in trouble, but will do what is in the best interest of the company.
CHRIS VAN GORDER, SCRIPPS HEALTH BUILDING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
W
hen Chris Van Gorder was named CEO of Scripps Health in 2000, the organization had big problems. “There had been a vote of no confidence in my predecessor, we were losing $15 million a year, we had 55 days of cash on hand, and everybody was angry,” Van Gorder says. Fast forward to 2014, and Scripps Health, a San Diego–based $2.6 billion private, nonprofit, integrated health system is in the black and has been recognized by Truven Health Analytics as one of the country’s top five
large health systems. Moreover, from 2011 through 2014, Scripps Health will have eliminated $300 million in operating costs by cutting inefficiencies—all without layoffs. Van Gorder’s achievements are, of course, all the more remarkable given the immensely complicated and fast-changing healthcare landscape. Here he tells how he got employee buy-in—and why he likes email so much.
Fill the Information Gap When I came to Scripps, we had become super-centralized and people felt completely disconnected from decisions that were being made. I had learned from my CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 >> Spring 2014
17
