Primary Health Case Study

In response to an evolving marketplace, Primary Health went through tremendous changes including splitting the company and hiring a new CEO and management team. The resulting transition created significant challenges in communication, a need to restructure policies and procedures and a general atmosphere of uncertainty and insecurity among some of the staff. Employee morale was suffering and communication between management and staff suffered.

Primary Health had worked with Price Associates prior to the transition and, as the need for change became apparent, they turned to Lynn McConnell, Price Associates’ Senior Vice President, Human Resources, for help in reestablishing a productive company culture.Through dialogue with management and staff, as well as observing the policies and procedures in use, McConnell and Primary Health were able to identify critical areas essential for resolving the situation.

One of the key issues was the lack of systems for measuring and rewarding performance. This had created confusion and mistrust due to the subjective nature of the review and compensation process. The solution was to establish a compensation philosophy and create a carefully delineated, objective process for performance expectation, appraisal and reward.

The Primary Health and Price Associates teams began by developing a salary administration philosophy for pay, performance and performance expectations. This created the basis for determining where Primary Health wanted to be in the industry and how they wanted to be perceived. With the management team, McConnell developed a merit grid to establish fair, competitive salary ranges.

To communicate the new process, a 4-hour training program was produced that brought every part of the Primary Health management team together, improved communications and inspired confidence through clear expectations, as well as a thorough understanding and endorsement of the process involved.

Dennis Bruns, Primary Health CFO explains, “The staff of Price Associates is thorough, professional and timely. They helped increase our professionalism and inspire new confidence in our employees.”

The process of establishing a clear salary policy and communication process got Primary Health’s new management team off on the right foot. Management found the accountability and improved communication, increased productivity and trust with staff. Employees received salary increases, knew what to expect in the future and found more open communication with management. The entire organization became more competitive in the marketplace.