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This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Renee Pile is director of compliance and employment at DMOS Orthopaedic Centers, where she’s worked since 2018. In our recent conversation, she told HR Brew how the organization kept employees safe through the pandemic and even welcomed back boomerangs.
How would you describe your specific job to someone who doesn’t work in HR? I walk the fine line between what is best for patients and what is best for employees. HR serves as the company’s service center…to ensure that employees are focusing on what matters: the patients. If HR can help, we do. We act as the liaison, coach, and advocate where assistance is identified and requested.
What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked? First and foremost, we have maintained a safe place to work during a pandemic. While the rest of the world shut down, we kept coming to work. We kept taking injured patients so hospital workers could focus on those impacted by the pandemic. That requires more connection to staff so they know they are safe.
We have also instituted multiple avenues for employees to stay engaged through a company intranet, access to maintaining their personal information and expanded training in an emerging leadership program. Since everyone has influence, we help employees reflect and learn what leadership and influence is—and use it to drive a culture of curiosity instead of blame.
What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job? The misconception that culture and belonging is exclusive to the HR department is extremely important to clarify and act on quickly. Reiterating the vision and creating ways for leaders and employees to gain personal skills is one of the most important ways HR helps provide a great culture for everyone. Culture isn’t the exclusive playing field for HR pros; we need everyone on the field.
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What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job? The most fulfilling aspect of my job is seeing an employee take advantage of mentoring and leadership training to become an outstanding leader or influencer in his/her/their area. When an employee goes from constant frustration to living the vision, that is a reason to celebrate.
How do you see investment in your employees paying off? What typically happens is you bring people in and you train them for about three to four months, and [then] they’re on their own for six or seven months, and then they get accepted to medical school.
It’s been a lot of coaching and mentoring, but it’s very rewarding. Back in 2019, I had a CMA [certified medical assistant] leave. She said she was going to go be a physician’s assistant. And this year, she rejoined, and now she’s working with one of our doctors in surgery. What an outstanding opportunity.
What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why? I am very excited about seeing HR become more involved in compliance. Compliance is an opportunity to strive to be better, make plans, and move the needle. Seeing HR move from a “have to” culture of compliance to a “get to” culture of compliance is exciting.
Tell us one new or old HR tech product or platform that’s made your life easier, and why. We started using our first employee management tool (UKG) that [allows] for recruiting and onboarding automation. This cut down on duplicative work and payroll errors. It also helped give employees a self-service environment where they have 24/7 access to their data. This has really made a difference in the employee and HR experiences.
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