Intro (00:00):

Welcome to The Taylor Ten. A fast-paced, 10 minute deep dive into the minds of those shaking up the marketing world, bringing you the sharpest insights, boldest ideas and breakthrough trends driving the industry forward. So tune in, get inspired, and stay ahead.

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Malin (00:17):

Well, hi everyone, and welcome back to The Taylor Ten. I'm Malin and we're joined today by Taylor alum and current consultant at Advocate Health, Jordan Mason. I should also mention that Jordan is a proud alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, hashtag Go Heels, and he is joining us today to talk about something, everyone's experience, no matter who you are or what industry you're in, and that thing is change. Jordan, welcome to the show. How are you doing today?

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Jordan (00:41):

I'm doing well. Thanks for having me, Malin. Super excited to share a little bit about how my experience with change is going and hopefully add some insight into being able to help others navigate change as well.

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Malin (00:53):

So let's get right into it. Tell me a little bit about your role and what your day-to-day looks like at Advocate.

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Jordan (00:57):

My role as an HR consultant at Advocate Health, and so to kind of add some background to what Advocate Health is. So Advocate Health now is the third largest integrated nonprofit healthcare system. It spans across Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Wisconsin. My day-to-day is really supporting some of the strategic HR initiatives that encompass Advocate Health, and so we talk about HR. When I first thought of HR, I'm like, okay, so I'm thinking of talent acquisition and I'm thinking about teammate conflict, but really HR is a huge umbrella. A lot of things fall under HR, whether it's workforce development, leadership development, teammate, health compliance, teammate, experience recognition. So there's all these different departments that fall under HR and really my responsibility is kind of help support those departments in creating these strategic initiatives and descending this information, whether it's really nice to know stuff or needs new stuff like compliance annual regulatory learning and all that good stuff. We have now 170,000 teammates ranging from corporate teammates to doctors and nurses that are actually in the hospitals and they all need to find this information. And so helping kind of change that behavior from seeing something to actually acting and doing something that we need them to do is kind of what my day-to-day looks like.

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Malin (02:21):

That's awesome. I know when we had chatted a bit earlier, you had mentioned that one of the biggest learnings that you had from this role was the idea that HR encompassed a lot more than just traditional HR and that a lot of your role is spent doing some of those communications tactics. So tell us a little bit about that. What sort of encompasses that piece for your role?

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Jordan (02:43):

I primarily work with the Workforce Development Department and also with leader initiatives. And so one of the big challenges that we're facing now is we're integrating in these different healthcare systems into one Advocate health. And so how are we aligning some of our benefits? How are we disseminating that information in a clear and concise manner so our teammates know what that looks like? How are we aligning some of our regulatory learning processes that might be different in Illinois, it might be different in North Carolina. 

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Malin (03:35):

Yeah, absolutely. I know you mentioned that obviously Atrium Health is no longer and now we have Advocate Health. So talk to us about that transition. How have you guys managed that?

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Jordan (03:46):

Yeah, so I would say it's something that we're still managing today. We're going on to year one, year two now, and it's such a massive, massive integration. So there's so many moving parts you think of, like I mentioned earlier, if we're aligning our benefits, we're trying to align our internet. Some people have different emails, and so what does that look like? Aligning our recognition platforms and harmonizing all that good stuff. And so I think some of the ways that we manage that transition is whether it's change management plans through comms plans, and I think teammates at first were a little apprehensive, which makes sense when you're dealing with change. But I think we recognize that with this merger, it's really going to increase our resources. We already see it's expanding our networks, it's allowing us to provide a higher level of care for our patients, and that's really ultimately what office is about. My role and responsibilities kind of support the teammate and the teammates. We're able to serve our community and serve our patients in the community.

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Malin (04:51):

So what would you say was the initial response for this transition internally? Were people receptive? Were they more reticent to accept this change? And so this is a two-parter. Based upon that reaction, what were you able to do to sort of help mitigate and manage that change?

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Jordan (05:11):

Starting off? Our teammates were excited. I mean, it's something new, so it's something that's kind of exciting and different. I think when the newness kind of wears off, I think you start leaning into more of, like I mentioned earlier, the apprehension of not really knowing what's next. And so I think there is some of that apprehension, but I do think that one thing that's really helped us is our people and culture officer. She really wanted to make sure that we had a guiding star in North Star, and for us, that was our purpose commitment. So through this integration, the first thing we really wanted to do is nail down our purpose and commitments and really use that as the guiding principle into how we work and what work we do. And I think that's eased some of the apprehension, knowing that we're all kind of on the same page, trying to accomplish the same goal with what this integration really brings.

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Malin (06:04):

So I'm curious, obviously you've had this experience of a transition, a merger from a healthcare side for agencies and for specifically organizations that work in the PR marketing field. What sort of advice or recommendations would you give to those who are experiencing a merger or some sort of transition?

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Jordan (06:27):

I think one first is really being flexible and being open to change. Like you said, change offers a lot of opportunity for new things for growth, and I think really having a mindset of knowing this might be kind of uncomfortable, and this might be a little different at first and something that we're not used to, but ultimately change can really be a positive thing. So I think really having that mindset shift is the first thing that agencies and organizations should really have. The second thing is kind of more tangible, but really speaking up when you have new ideas. I think speaking to my experience as we're going through this merger and integrating all these different systems and resources, I haven't done this before, people in the Midwest haven't done this before, and so a lot of times we were like, don't really, this is something we're making the ship as we're going.

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(07:17):

And so with that offers a lot of new opportunities for people who are really close to the work to really have a voice and speak up and say, Hey, here's an idea that I have, and I think this is how we can scale this idea to make it something that we can use throughout the entire enterprise. And so really being able to speak up, especially now when there's that period of uncertainty and when you might have a little more expertise in some of the work that you're close with, will really add value to the organization. Finally, I think Lynn really just celebrating milestones. I look and I'm like, okay, we've done this. We've been going through this integration for a couple years now, and so it's kind of easy to look forward and be like, oh, there's so much work to be done. But I think sometimes it's good to be present in the moment and realize there's a lot that we've done and a lot that we've done successfully, and celebrating those milestones will kind of keep morale high.

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Malin (08:13):

Obviously, you are from an underrepresented group as a black male, so just really curious, what guidance or advice would you give to other black males hoping to enter and thrive in the marketing industry or just the healthcare industry as you have?

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Jordan (08:28):

I think first, and this is definitely speaking on my experience too. I mean, I definitely struggle with imposter syndrome and kind of being in a room and I'm like, okay, I do not belong. And I think it's okay to acknowledge how you feel, but also recognize that the perspective you're bringing is super important, and sometimes you just have to tell yourself that, even if you don't believe it, just keep telling yourself that and you'll believe it. I think another thing that's super important is finding a mentor who's really going to champion your growth. And then finally I would say just focus on professional development. Look to where you can add value, try to add skills to your toolbox that can really set you apart. That's something that I try to do and something that I would say can definitely offer you that feeling of belonging, knowing that you have specific skill sets that are super valued.

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Malin (09:21):

I agree. I think that all those things are incredibly important, not only for underrepresented groups, but just people in general, young people who are hoping to get into different fields. You have to be able to find that mentor, and you have to be able to just think through, I do feel this way because I haven't done this before. But again, it goes back to that change, right? When you haven't done something before, you have to lean into that uncomfortability and eventually become second nature.

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Jordan (09:48):

Thanks for having me. It's been a pleasure to get to talk to you and reconnect here.

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Malin (09:52):

Absolutely. Well, that's all we have for today's Taylor Ten podcast. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next week.

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