Taking the First Step:
M.E.D. of St. Louis
'Grows' to Kansas City
by Mary Beth Nibberich, Executive Director

Just recently, well more specifically, January 2, Medical Employment Directory of St. Louis, acquired our sister company in Kansas City.

Since that time, I have found myself begging the question, "why did we do such a thing?" My life was really darn near perfect. At the same time knowing I like a challenge, this opportunity seemed ripe for the picking.

After 24 years of owning and operating Medical Employment Directory, Inc., of Kansas City, Arlene Krug, President and Founder, retired at the end of 2007. It seemed like the natural thing for M.E.D. to expand its St. Louis operation. Besides, I really love what I do and when you love what you do it just doesn't seem like work. Right?

The hardest part was getting started. But once I developed momentum and began my weekly sojourns to the other side of the state, things really began to fall in place. This time spent travelling back and forth on Highway 70 has afforded me valuable introspective time. One thing for sure is that I enjoy leading others. So no matter the obstacles, extra hours, or the unknown, when facing any new task, promotion, or in my case, an acquisition, taking the initiative and moving forward is what leaders do.

John Maxwell, author and motivational speaker, outlined why some leaders become tentative or timid instead of taking action. I found myself in everyone of these six sources, but managed to work through them. These following points provided solace at times when procrastination was sneaking in on me.

Here are John's Six Sources of Procrastination;

1. We hesitate to do chores we don't enjoy. I think most of us can relate to this point. It would be my preference to meet clients or interview candidates versus accounting duties.

2. We hesitate to do activities we aren't good at doing. Again, like accounting. Sure I have CPA's looking over my shoulder, but watching costs and crunching numbers is vital for all business leaders.

3. We hesitate to do what isn't on our agendas. How satisfying it is to check off the items completed on our agendas. But most business leaders realize that through the course of the day it is more likely we will be attending to items off our agendas.

4. We hesitate to solve situations that are likely messy. Many leaders would rather not address the difficult employee and avoid going toe to toe with confrontational doctors, patients, and customers. We put it off hoping it will take care of itself.

5. We hesitate to tackle a task that is high-energy and low-return. Sometimes personnel disputes or ornery customers/doctors usurp chunks of time and energy that could be better spent on other duties.

6. We hesitate to step into things we don't understand. How many times do we avoid changing procedures, adopting new software, updating processes, because we don't have a full understanding. We know they could be helpful changes but it's the unknown and it makes us uncomfortable.

The operative word here is "hesitation". There was a saying that goes, hesitation will kill you every time. Seems a little strong but it does get the message across. Leaders might hesitate but then they take action. Whether it is delegating the task away, working our way through it, or soliciting outside help, leaders don't despair but move through these feelings of procrastination.

Do we have to pay workers for time spent in new hire orientation?

If an individual never returns after new hire orientation, can we just not enter him or her into the system at all, which would result in not paying the individual?

The courts have ruled that you must pay individuals for time spent in new hire orientation.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay workers for hours they are "suffered" or "permitted to work." To determine whether an employer has suffered or permitted an employee to work, employers may review the Department of Labor (DOL) Fact Sheet on Hours Worked. According to the DOL, attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs and similar activities need not be counted as working time only if four criteria are met:

• Attendance is outside normal hours.
• It is voluntary.
• It is not job-related.
• No other work is concurrently performed.

As new hire orientation is generally held during normal hours, is mandatory, is related to an individual's employment and some work may be performed (i.e., completion of new hire paperwork, benefit elections, etc.), you will need to pay the individual for time spent in an orientation meeting/training session.

If an employee does not return to work after new hire orientation, you may also wonder whether the individual needs to be entered into the payroll system and paid for the time spent in training. Again, following the reasoning above, the individual would need to be paid for this time as hours worked. You will generally want to enter the individual in the payroll system with information provided either in the individual's new hire paperwork or employment application.

If the individual did not complete tax forms or other necessary paperwork, you must withhold taxes as if the individual had claimed no exemptions and you will want to forward the paycheck to his or her last known address, which again can usually be found on the employment application or resume.

Source: Angela Stone, SPHR, is an HR knowledge advisor in SHRM's HR Knowledge Center.

Send your questions for the Ask the Recruiter column to:

Mary Beth Nibberich
Executive Director
marybeth@medstl.com

No single company can bring you all the solutions you need to succeed with your migration to EHR, because the core disciplines required to fully implement EHR are too widely varied. You need a proven team of expert organizations who know how to work together to give you a smooth, practical transition to an EHR environment…thus ensuring your ultimate success.

St. Louis EHR is a consortium of industry experts -- including M.E.D. -- who are strategically aligned to provide all the services you need for the best possible outcome with your system migration.

There’s absolutely no room for finger pointing from one vendor to another, causing you interminable delays and unnecessary additional costs. With St. Louis EHR there’s no finger pointing.

if you have more questions or would like to learn more about the STL EHR, call MED today at 314.991.8806.

Visit the St. Louis EHR Group at www.stlehr.com

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