Looking to stay current in the fast-changing world of health care? You’re not alone.

Kaiser Permanente leaders, labor representatives and industry experts offered insights at November’s Workforce of the Future Conference in Berkeley, California.

“We’ve made a lot of progress over the last few years,” said Monica Morris, director of National Workforce Planning and Development, who welcomed the audience of 200 labor and management representatives tasked with advancing the Labor Management Partnership’s Workforce of the Future initiative. “Now it’s time to do even more.”

Here are six strategies you can follow to prepare for the workforce of the future.

Learn new ways to work. During the Industrial Revolution, cobblers and weavers had to adapt or get left behind. This process continues today—only now, it’s happening faster, said keynote speaker Art Bilger, founder and CEO of WorkingNation, a nonprofit group seeking solutions for economic change.

“The solutions are local,” he said. “Communication of these issues and solutions is critical.”

Become lifelong learners. Skills used to last a lifetime and career paths were clear. Now there’s a new development every 18 months. Get on the cutting edge and imagine the opportunities technology provides.

“Be deeply curious. We’re all newbies,” said keynote speaker John Seely Brown, an author, scholar and former director of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, who gives high marks to the innovative learning approach of the new Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine.

Keep developing your career. Age is not a barrier to lifelong learning, said keynote speaker Sandi Vito, executive director of 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds, which partners with Montefiore Health System in New York.

“People tend to think that employees in their 50s can’t aspire to career advancement,” Vito said. “It just requires different approaches. Adults learn more by doing.”

Indeed, the average age of participants in the two LMP-supported educational trusts (Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust and SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund) is 44.

Use available resources. Kaiser Permanente employees have many resources to advance their careers, including targeted training programs for workers represented by the Coalition of KP Unions.

To start, learn four critical skills that will be essential to the future of health care. A digital fluency program launched in October, to be followed by programs in consumer focus, collaboration and process improvement.

“We don’t know what the jobs of the future will be,” said conference facilitator Tony Borba, Northern California regional director for The Permanente Medical Group. “We need to use our resources so we are ready for changes in the workforce.”

Tap the power of partnership. As Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of KP Unions have successfully partnered, Montefiore and 1199SEIU have developed collaborative training programs, such as community health worker apprenticeships that benefit employees, the organization and the community, said keynote speaker Lynn Richmond, Montefiore’s chief strategy officer.

Get involved. The conference produced actionable ideas such as developing a communications strategy to show the value of continuous learning and generate more on-the-job training. Other ideas included apprenticeships and reverse mentoring.

“How do we leverage the power of preceptors, mentors and the educational trusts?” said conference speaker Jessica Butz, the union coalition’s national program coordinator for Workforce Planning and Development. “This is your chance to help shape what we do at Kaiser Permanente.”

Workforce Planning and Development

Key accomplishments

• Program enrollments in Kaiser Permanente’s two education trusts grew from about 3,000 in 2007 to nearly 62,000 in 2016. 
• Tuition reimbursement course applications nearly tripled, from less than 20,000 in 2008 to more than 57,000 in 2016, largely benefiting members of unions in the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.
• Critical skills training launched in June 2017 with a Digital Fluency pilot program for more than 2,000 employees.

Going forward

• A top priority will be addressing the impact of economic, social and technological changes on care delivery and future KP staffing models. (Learn more at kpworkforce.org.)

Workplace Safety

Key accomplishments

• Since program inception in 2001, KP’s injury rate has been reduced by 69 percent.
• Injuries associated with patient handling and/or mobilization have decreased by 32 percent since 2011.
• The program-wide workplace safety strategy was strengthened in 2016, based on the National Safety Council’s model.

Going forward

• The strengthened safety strategy will be implemented, with the goal of closing the gap between KP’s injury rate and the Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusted injury rate for health care.

Total Health

Key accomplishments

• More than 76,000 employees have taken the Total Health Assessment (THA) since 2014.
• Ninety percent of eligible employees completed their recommended health screenings in 2014 and 2015, earning a $40 million payout under the Total Health Incentive Plan.
• More than 3,000 UBT health and safety champions helped teams across the organization conduct 1,756 wellness projects in 2016—a 45 percent increase from 2015.

Going forward

• New awareness campaigns, including one focusing on prediabetes education, will inform and empower employees to take charge of their own health and wellness.

Joint Marketing and Growth

Key accomplishments

• Helped secure more than $108 million in revenue for Kaiser Permanente in 2016.
• Supported the 20-year growth in the number of employees represented by a union in the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, from 57,000 to 116,000, and in Kaiser Foundation Health Plan membership, from 7.4 million members to 11.8 million. 
• Since 2012, mobilized 51 union ambassadors who attended more than 300 community events and engaged more than 70,000 KP members and potential members—many of them unionized—increasing community knowledge and understanding of KP.

Going forward

• Through the expansion of health plan membership, support job security and the continued growth of the coalition.

Attendance 

Key accomplishments

• Enhanced time-off benefits to provide incentives for appropriate use of sick leave.
• Developed the Time-Off Request Tracking System to provide greater flexibility and responsiveness in managing planned time off.
• Achieved 21 percent fewer lost workdays in high-performing UBTs. 

Going forward 

• Attendance data, systems and results will continue to be assessed and improved.

Silbia Espinoza, RN, strives to climb any mountain. Literally.

“I’m not what you would call a ‘normal’ person,” Espinoza says with a laugh. “I work a 12-hour shift and go straight to the gym. I can’t work out for less than an hour and 10 minutes!”

Espinoza, a UNAC/UHHP member who works in Southern California at the Baldwin Park Medical Center Intensive Care Unit, has been her department’s health and safety champion for two years.

Making wellness routine

“My manager, Celso Silla, volunteered me to be the champ,” she says. “Now people are always asking me when we can go out on walks and hikes.”

For example, one Saturday morning early last year, she and 14 co-workers, outfitted with sunscreen, water, protein bars and hats, took a steep, six-mile hike to and from the Hollywood sign. “It was fun!” she says.

They also work wellness into their daily routine. “Even when we attended a nursing conference, we decided to power walk instead of taking Uber,” she says. “People said afterward they had never lost weight by being at a conference.”

Remedy for stress

Espinoza’s drive to workout comes in part from the demands of her job. “Working in the ICU is very stressful. I have all this energy after work,” she says. “After working out I go home calmer and can think clearly.”

One change Espinoza has seen in her two years as a champ is healthier snacks at meetings and in the break room. Fresh fruits and veggies have replaced cookies and doughnuts.

“I like that I can be a role model,” Espinoza says. “I like the results I see in myself, and I feel great that my co-workers tell me how much weight they’ve lost or how many steps they’ve completed. All any of us needs is someone to encourage and guide us.”