Avera McKennan CEO talks reskilling revolution: Empowering employees for jobs of tomorrow

Think about 10, 20 or 50 years ago, and the health care field looked powerfully different.

The ways health care professionals diagnosed and treated patients were more limited, and as medicine has evolved, those working in the field have had to up-skill too.

“Simply considering the evolution of medicine and the resources we use to care for our communities, having a continuous learning and growth mindset is vital in our success,” said Dr. Ron Place, CEO of Avera McKennan, who leads a team of more than 8,200 employees.

“This often means learning to use new tools, techniques or approaches so that we can continue to stay on the cutting edge of care delivery.”

Place will be one of four panelists sharing perspective on the topic at the seventh annual WIN in Workforce Summit, presented by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation. The popular event will be from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. Click here to learn more and register.

Place will be joined by:

• Derek DeGeest, DeGeest Manufacturing.
• Devin McGrew, C&B Operations.
• Anna Jankord, Viaflex.

The panel will take a deep dive into the need to up-skill employees for the future, exploring innovative approaches, personalized learning pathways and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

We sat down with Place for a preview of how his organization is addressing the topic.

How is Avera McKennan specifically addressing reskilling employees? Are you offering additional or ongoing training, or what does that look like in real time?

One item that comes to mind is our virtual communication and virtual care delivery. This requires a significant shift for those used to being physically in the same space as their colleague, care provider or patient. It’s a big shift for some folks to navigate, requiring new skills, but has proven to be very beneficial, particularly in rural areas.

At Avera, our virtual nurses are working in a new care environment, and they’re often “floating” to a variety of care units, rather than a dedicated home unit they may have historically worked in. These nurses are supporting their colleagues at the bedside with really vital tasks like medication verification, documentation and more.

Our transfer center is another area we’re shifting some crucial duties, allowing our referring physicians to devote more time to patient care while our transfer center team is able to serve as the lead communicator and facilitate appropriate transfers between specialties and facilities.

Along with positions requiring specific skills, leaders also need to evolve and enhance their abilities, especially as they are leading a growing organization or find their roles are changing. How are you developing those skills in leaders internally?

Avera has multiple leadership and mission development programs aimed at setting employees and leaders up for future growth and success. Leadership is a skill to be mastered – and giving leaders opportunities in our organization to practice those skills is important. And I think that it’s important for leaders to have their own leadership philosophy, that they write it down so it becomes “real” and they update it as they mature as leaders. We recently held a leadership discussion where I shared leadership lessons in the context of some of my favorite leadership books. Having a full auditorium of leaders show up, ask questions and engage in meaningful dialogue shows just how significant and hungry our leaders are for these opportunities.

How are you partnering with area educational institutions or other trainers to reskill within Avera?

Educational partners are critically important to Avera, and we’re being much more intentional about forming strategic partnerships that develop future workforce. The most recent examples:

• Developed in partnership with Avera Behavioral Health, Southeast Technical College launched a new behavioral and mental health technician associate degree program in the spring of 2024, with scholarship opportunities available. As mental health techs are in high demand in the inpatient setting, this program was very much needed.
• In an effort to support health sciences and future workforce building, Avera gifted its property at 33rd Street and Minnesota Avenue to South Dakota State University to provide them with a permanent home for its Sioux Falls-based programs in nursing and pharmacy.
• Mount Marty University in collaboration with Avera launched a new graduate certificate in endocrinology for nurse practitioners, one of two in the United States and the only one offered in the Midwest. The hope is to enhance access to high-quality diabetes care in rural areas.
• The Avera Academy is a nine-month collaboration between Avera McKennan, Southeast Tech and the Sioux Falls School District. Each year, 24 students interested in the field of health care enter the program from local high schools and visit facilities and departments all across Sioux Falls to see the wide range of career opportunities at Avera. The program has proven to be a great pathway into the field as 96 percent of students who have participated in the program have furthered their education in health care.

Avera McKennan is a large organization with significant resources, but do you have any advice for smaller organizations that also see a need to reskill their teams? Are there some things you do that might be replicable on a smaller scale?

Fostering an environment of leadership development and lifelong learning is something any organization can do if it truly matters to them. But it has to matter as staff quickly figure it out if it’s not really a priority. In addition, finding, reading and discussing leadership books is something that any organization can do. Being open and receptive to feedback is also important – and we can often find opportunities for growth and improvement when we truly listen.

You spoke at last year’s WIN in Workforce Summit. What were your takeaways from that event, and what value did you find in it?

Having recently relocated back to the area, I was surprised at just how big the event was and how hungry the community was for information. From the sheer number, depth and breadth of conversations to the panelists’ expertise and top-notch, plentiful questions, my expectations were wildly exceeded.

Note: Sessions at the WIN in Workforce Summit are eligible for nine SHRM and HRCI recertification credits. The Sioux Falls Development Foundation is recognized by SHRM to offer professional development credits for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.

If you have questions, email deniseg@siouxfalls.com. Click here to learn more and register.

Here’s a look at the full agenda.