Thomas Kess Email & Phone Number

Burlington, Vermont, United States

The University of Vermont Medical Center is part of a five hospital health network serving northern Vermont and northeastern New York. The University of Vermont Medical Center, along with the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is an academic medical center.As its Director Total Rewards, my primary areas of responsibility include:• Health & welfare benefits: consolidation of medical plan options into one open access plan• Retirement & pension benefits: lump sum Defined Benefit de-risking offering• Absence management benefits: vendor selection for outsourcing FMLA and STD administration and rate negotiations for life and disability insurance, and reduced administrative fees; Return to Work and ADA process review• Compensation: annual merit review cycle, market analysis and adjustments, increased wage floor and no-rating performance management and compensation review pilot for leaders• Executive compensation: market review, base pay adjustments and increased variable pay• Employee health: redesign and restructuring of service delivery for pre- and post-hire screening, immunizations, exposures and workplace injuries• HRIS: implementation of Workday human resource management system with time and attendance, payroll and various vendor integrations

Greater Milwaukee Area

Froedtert Health is a $1.6B, three hospital health system with 772 beds, more than 30 primary and specialty care centers and clinics, and 10,000 employees, affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin. Developed compensation, performance management and incentive pay strategies to be market driven, real-time and flexible to meet dynamic competitive challenges and engage a changing workforce. Led compensation reviews across system to provide pay equity, competitive pay and alignment across entities. Conducted external reviews of DC and DB retirement plans and Executive and Physician Benefit programs, negotiating reduced fees and improving administration and compliance. Developed value-added employee health care benefits supported by award winning wellness and health promotion programs, and integrated with organization's Population Health Management strategies and initiatives. Member of the IT Steering Committee, IT Financial and Administrative Systems Advisory Committee and Chair of the IT HR Work Group. Installed Lawson Global HR and Talent Acquisition software. Developed three year plan for upgrading HR technology and Human Capital analytics securing budget approvals and launching project to develop interactive human capital dashboards for HR Business Partners and business leaders. Contributed to design and communication of HR Transformation strategy. Led implementation of an HR Service Center and re-engineering of HR transactions to simplify and automate workflows enabling Business Partners to focus on problem solving partnerships with business leaders.

Hershey, Pennsylvania

Penn State Hershey Medical Center is a $1.5 billion revenue, 9000+ employee health system affiliated with the Penn State College of Medicine. The Health System consists of four hospitals (Magnet designated Hershey Medical Center, Children's Hospital, Rehab Hospital and Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute), 58 outpatient centers and clinics and a Medical Group with over 900 physicians. Led a team who administered annual merit pay, equity analyses and market adjustments for staff, physicians and executives. Prepared economic proposals for negotiations of a new contract with Teamster bargained service employees and participated in Teamster negotiations which resulted in closer alignment with market based pay. Interpreted and administered contract provisions for SEIU bargained nursing staff to achieve a market-based wage scale. Developed plans for upgrading HRIS capability, expanding the use of metrics, and developing managers' analytical skills and use of information for improved decision-making. Member of the Health System's IT Data Advisory Council. Evaluated function processes to ensure compliance, apply LEAN methodologies and develop staff competencies and effectiveness.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Area

Pinnacle Health System is an $800 million revenue, non-profit health system with 5200 employees, 3 hospitals (460-bed full service acute care hospital, 120-bed community hospital and 55-bed rehab hospital), and numerous imaging, lab, outpatient surgery, oncology, primary care and specialty care facilities and eight residency programs. Best Places to Work in PA, Modern Healthcare's Best Places in Healthcare and AARP's Best Employers for Workers Over 50.Acquisitions & Mergers: 8 acquisitions ($84 million revenue) including general surgery and cardiology practices, emergency medical services, imaging centers, and primary care practices. Received President's Award for HR Department support of these acquisitions.Patient-centered Culture: implemented evidence-based practices of the Studer Group including results-based goals, staff and patient rounding, peer interviewing and physician and leader development institutes. Increased HCAHPS patient satisfaction percentiles and quality. Staffing and Talent Management: introduced evidence-based hiring practices and software, coaching skills training, employee engagement surveys and improved employee relations. Reduced labor costs by $14.4 million. First year turnover reduced from 24% to 14.7% saving $1.3 million.Compensation and Benefits: Added manager and staff incentives, introduced Consumer Directed Health Plan and health improvement strategy, tightened Dependent Eligibility, revised short-term disability, PTO benefits, DC retirement plan investment options and participant education. Cut medical plan costs by $6.9 million (17.6%) and other benefit costs by $1.2 million.Executive and Physician Compensation: restructured executive and physician salaries, incentives and benefits to tie pay to business results and changing regulations. Designed productivity-based physician compensation plan expected to produce a $3 million contribution to the bottom-line. Implemented performance management software for leaders.

Philadelphia, Pa And Omaha, Ne

Healthcare benefit design consultant working with major corporate partners to introduce Consumer Directed Health Plans and telephonic health coaching services to reduce healthcare costs, improve employee health, and increase employee responsibility for personal healthcare decisions and outcomes. Member of multi-disciplinary teams to reduce state government healthcare costs by an estimated $32 million and save financial services company $1 million.

Omaha, Ne And Bethlehem, Pa

Union Pacific Corporation was a Fortune 500 holding company with several subsidiaries including railroad, trucking, air transportation and logistics, oil and gas, and waste management.Director Healthcare, UPC (1995 - 2005)Lead person responsible for the design and implementation of healthcare benefits for 6000 managers. Spearheaded a major overhaul of the flexible benefits program to develop a wellness and consumer strategy and introduce a High Deductible Health Plan with a Health Reimbursement Account. UP Railroad received National Business Group on Health Platinum and Gold awards for workplace health promotion. Negotiated life insurance and HMO rates. Led an innovative process improvement intervention with vendor's claim and customer service center.Results: 48% enrollment in first year of the High Deductible Health Plan, over 90% of employees completed Health Risk Assessments and health plan costs cut by over $6.5 million. Redesigned retiree benefits saved $1.2 million. Renegotiated life insurance rates saved $4.7 million. Lower HMO rates saved over $3 million.Manager, Corporate Human Resource Services, UPC (1993 - 1994). Provided support for UPC executives and staff in corporate offices. Director Compensation, UP Railroad (1988 - 1992)Recruited to design and introduce a pay-for-performance compensation system for the managers of UP Railroad with operations in the western 2/3rds of the United States and Mexico, and international marketing offices. Redesigned executive and senior leader incentive pay, restricted stock, and stock options. Designed expatriate and foreign national compensation program for managers in Mexico, Canada, Japan and Europe. Directed employee survey and feedback process. Managed HRIS and facilitated selection of a new HRIS. Results: pay-for-performance system saved over $2.5 million annually, aligned pay with business goals and results, and enabled the company to compete on price and service following rate deregulation.

Omaha, Nebraska

Nebraska Methodist Health System consisted of three hospitals including a 430-bed full-service acute care hospital, a 142-bed pediatric specialty hospital and a psychiatric hospital, a shared services company with regional clients, and a healthcare college for nursing and allied health education.Redesigned the compensation program including a custom-built job evaluation system and market analysis. Developed and administered executive compensation program including base salaries, annual incentive plans and perquisites. Increased focus on patient experience and provided leadership for labor relations and union avoidance. Results: achieved internal equity and external competitiveness with direct impacts on nurse recruiting and union avoidance. Ensured competitive executive and senior leader pay with incentives tied to company results and individual performance. An innovative patient impact scale created for evaluating jobs and assigning pay ranges helped nurses realize their work was valued. Met hiring needs during a national nursing shortage with below average recruitement costs. Successfully averted an attempt to unionize the nursing staff.

Omaha, Nebraska

InterNorth was an energy corporation with operating companies in natural gas transmission and distribution, international oil and gas exploration, petrochemicals and gasoline refining. My role was the internal consultant, analyst, and administrator for professional, managerial and executive compensation programs including base salary, short and long-term bonuses, stock options, executive perquisites and golden parachutes. I developed an innovative rolling three-year long-term incentive plan to create a bridge between short-term focus on earnings and a long-term growth perspective. The golden parachutes helped the executives consider merger and acquisition opportunities with a focus on protecting shareholder interests.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Business Administration And Management

Master Of Arts (M.A.), Counseling & Educational Psychology

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Liberal Arts With German Minor

Activities and Societies: Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Mu Gamma, Debate Team