feature
HR Hotline
THE HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDREN’S aSK HR HELP-DESK
By Lisa Kopochinski
In an effort to improve the HR function at The Hospital for
Sick Children and provide employees with more timely responses
to information requests, the solution came in the form
of aSK HR, a hotline/help-desk function that has been so successful
it had answered more than 15,000 inquiries within its first
10 months.
Located in downtown Toronto’s Hospital Row, SickKids is
an international leader in advancing children’s health through its
work in patient care, research and education. SickKids is one of
the most research-intensive hospitals in Canada and is affiliated
with the University of Toronto.
“Multiple sources of feedback suggested that HR wasn’t providing
the type or level of service that employees were seeking,”
said Susan O’Dowd, SickKids’ vice president of human resources.
“With over 7,500 employees, we wanted to develop and implement
a solution that was sustainable and would meet the unique
needs of skilled and dedicated employees that are extremely diverse
across different pillars of our organization – patient care,
research and learning.”
Developed and implemented with SickKids-wide input,
O’Dowd gathered the entire HR leadership team to brainstorm
on how to make significant improvements.
“Employees wanted timely, accurate and consistent responses,
regardless of the complexity,” said O’Dowd. “Ultimately, we do our
best to support anyone who reaches out to us.”
At present, four members comprise the aSK HR team – a team
lead, two business analysts and an HR associate. All four respond
to inquiries from both employees and nonemployees, such as external
applicants.
“Clients can connect in the way that’s easiest for them,” said
Elizabeth Clayton, aSK HR’s team lead. “In person, phone, email
or instant message.”
To meet the needs of the hospital’s diverse employee population
– some of whom work overnight shifts – aSK HR is open
Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. A software application
is used to ticket client inquiries.
“At any given time, we may receive inquiries from nurses, housekeepers,
lab technologists, physicians, administrative assistants,
scientists, social workers and professionals performing numerous
other roles for SickKids,” said Clayton.
CONSULTATIVE PLANNING APPROACH
Launched in December 2013, aSK HR took approximately six
months of dedicated time to develop and implement. A highly
All photos courtesy of The Hospital for Sick Children
The aSK HR team (left to right): Krista Somerville, HR business analyst; Paula Ground, HR business analyst; Joanne Pipe, manager,
HR support services; Elizabeth Clayton, team lead, aSK HR; and Nicole Welsh, HR associate
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ JANUARY 2015 ❚ 33