When Tiffany Birdwell first joined HHS, she had her sights set on a teaching career. But what started as a co-op fieldwork position for college graduation quickly evolved into a remarkable eight-year journey, taking her from a housekeeper at Cedar Park Regional Medical Center to a Vice President in two regions. Her story is a testament to the growth opportunities at HHS and her belief in paying it forward.
As a leader, Tiffany is committed to preparing her team by documenting and sharing lessons learned from her own direct experiences with new leaders. She believes that much of what is learned at HHS comes from direct experience with unexpected situations. Tiffany shared a personal anecdote to explain her approach: "I went months into my career at Cedar Park and didn't know how to properly clean an overbed table compartment". This experience taught her to assume new team members might not know certain details and to encourage open communication to prevent future struggles.
Tiffany's dedication to her team and her knack for problem-solving led her to develop an innovative P&L tool to address issues with Workday's reporting. By downloading cost center comparisons from Workday and creating a pivot table, she created a valuable workaround that helps directors and VPs track wages day-over-day and month-over-month. This tool acts as a makeshift variance report, providing her team with the data they need until a more comprehensive dashboard becomes available.
Now, Tiffany is back to teaching, a path she once considered, but with a new purpose. Through HHS' partnership with Southwest University, she teaches various subjects to HHS students, including business math and psychology. For Tiffany, this isn't just about sharing knowledge; it's about connecting with students to identify and recruit internal talent for advancement within the company. As she reflected on her own journey, she said, “Life really does come full circle!".
Tiffany's advice for others looking to grow their careers at HHS is both direct and powerful: be confident and speak up, even when surrounded by experienced colleagues. She emphasizes that speaking up provides a learning opportunity, even if you are incorrect. Her final piece of advice is to "have a commanding presence and make one's ambition for career advancement known within the company".