TriHealth Health Care System Uses Working Metrics to Gain New Insights Into the Longer-Term Reliability of Vendors Bidding on Contracts While Selecting Suppliers That Will Help Carryout Its Mission to Improve Community Economic Conditions
Challenge
TriHealth, a $2B hospital system in Cincinnati, provides best-in-class health care, while also pursuing its mission to support its community. When making procurement decisions, its contract team wanted objective measures about the workplace practices of the companies that it was buying from. They knew that this data could give them important, new insights into which vendors have the most experienced and motivated workforce, with the highest likelihood of longer-term reliability and quality. It also fit with their mission to work with their supply chain to help support the community.
Solution
When TriHealth re-competed a $50M+, multi-year medical supplies contract, it included Working Metrics as part of its RFP process. Working Metrics helped TriHealth measure bidders’ job quality and diversity. They used the bidders’ scores and results as part of their selection process, adding to their evaluation of long-term supplier reliability. Doing so also highlighted the value that it places on worker equity. Going forward they are asking suppliers to continue to use Working Metrics as a KPI in their quarterly business reviews.
In making its assessment and selection decisions, TriHealth was able to look at different reports to compare the human capital performance over time for each of the bidders over time.
Health care is experiencing continued pressure on reimbursements, requiring us to drive down cost… but not on the backs of our suppliers’ workers. And this was something Working Metrics helped us look at. We know that we need to inspect what we expect, especially when it comes to supplier social responsibility. Working Metrics can be a tool suppliers can use universally to help move the needle.”
— Ken Macon,
Strategic Sourcing Director
