Journal of Human Resources Education 13 Volume 3, No. 3, Summer 2009 STRATEGIC HRM AT THE MAYO CLINIC:
A CASE STUDY
Sunil Ramlall
Hamline University
Tripp Welch, Jennifer Walter, and Daniel Tomlinson
The Mayo Clinic
ABSTRACT
For many decades, Mayo Clinic has been ranked as one of the top medical institutions in the world. The entire health care industry has been experiencing immense challenges. Given the current and historic success of Mayo, what does Mayo need to do from an HR perspective to maintain this standard of excellence? This case identifies the strategies used by Mayo to achieve excellence in employee and patient satisfaction. The case describes how this complex service organization fosters a culture that exceeds customer expectations and earns deep loyalty from both customers and employees. The role of HR is analyzed to explain how strategic HRM enables the organization to achieve its strategic business objectives.
INTRODUCTION
Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors of every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy that "the needs of the patient come first." More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers and 46,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minnesota, Jacksonville, Florida, and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Arizona.
For many decades, Mayo Clinic has been ranked as one of the top medical institutions in the world. Over the past few years, the entire health care industry has been experiencing immense challenges. Mayo is not immune to these challenges and faces the risk of losing critical components of its culture and overall tradition of excellence that have been at the core of its success. Given the current and historic success of Mayo, what does Mayo need to do from a human