Through a variety of fundraising efforts, the employees of Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma (DLO) provided 310 food baskets and 213 turkeys to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) to feed families for Thanksgiving this year.
"The employees of DLO have partnered with DHS for many years now to provide meals for families at Thanksgiving time,” said Jim McKissick, DLO’s chief people officer. “This is entirely an employee-driven inspiration and event. Our employees hold fund raising events at our facilities from bake sales, breakfasts, lunches, and craft sales to some highly creative funding activities. They have great fun and try to outdo each other each year to increase our support over the previous year.”
Through the employee fundraising efforts, DLO staff purchased much needed Thanksgiving foods such as canned goods, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and dessert items.
Just before going off to purchase the food basket items, DLO received a call from DHS with a plea for turkeys. A company that normally donates 175 turkeys to go along with DLO’s food baskets was unable to provide their usual donation. Since DLO’s fundraising was already allocated to purchase food basket items, Tabitha Guyton, DLO’s human resources associate generalist, and Tina Moore, DLO’s customer support manager, visited several Oklahoma City metro Walmart and Sam’s Club locations to ask for turkey donations. Through their efforts and the generosity of Walmart and Sam’s Club, DLO was able to supply 213 turkeys to go along with the 310 food baskets.
“Our employees understand how privileged we are and want to share with those in need,” McKissick said. “And although they do have fun, the most joy they have is when they see the mountain of food being loaded onto the trucks and headed out to feed more than 300 families who need and deserve a good meal during the Thanksgiving holiday season.”
For the third straight year, Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma (DLO) has been named to the top 100 list of “Best Places to Work in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare magazine. Jim McKissick, DLO’s chief people officer, accepted the award on behalf of the company at the gala event in New Orleans.
The magazine evaluates both healthcare providers and suppliers from around the United States through a rigorous process to determine their top 100 companies. DLO moved up five spots from 2015 landing at 29th in the overall rankings, while finishing 21st in the supplier category. DLO was the only Oklahoma company to be included in the list of healthcare suppliers.
“We are very honored by our accomplishments at DLO and it’s wonderful to be recognized as a best place to work,” said McKissick. “DLO has outstanding employees who are proud to serve the patients and providers of Oklahoma. We couldn’t achieve these accolades without their hard work and dedication to DLO.”
DLO was also recently named to the “Best Places to Work in Oklahoma” list for the 11th consecutive year by okc.BIZ magazine.
Finding the right candidates with the necessary skills and personality for health care positions can be a challenge. In order to improve recruiting and retention efforts, Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma (DLO) has connected with Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla., to expose students to job opportunities available with DLO through tours at its Core laboratory in Oklahoma City. Carlo Ledesma, a DLO lab supervisor who also serves as the medical laboratory technology program director at Rose State, arranged the tours to give students additional insight into the day-to-day operations of a laboratory.
“It is a win-win situation for both the Rose State students and DLO by providing the students the exposure to the laboratory operations and giving DLO the opportunity to sell our job opportunities and benefits programs that can be available to them upon graduation,” said Ledesma.
Providing lab tours is just one of a variety of strategies DLO has instituted to improve its recruitment of key technical positions, such as medical technologists, phlebotomists, and specimen processing staff. DLO recently hired its first ever medical technology training and education manager to help create a program to support current and future needs for skilled technical employees at its laboratories across the state.
Rachel Davidson has worked at DLO for more than 14 years, starting as a specimen processor in Microbiology in 2002. During her time, she has also been a medical technologist and group lead in Microbiology, and most recently was the quality assurance specialist for DLO. Davidson will assist Kim Holloway, DLO’s chief operations officer, and Human Resources in the development of a new recruiting and training program.
“I am excited to take on this new challenge to help Oklahoma’s leading diagnostic laboratory,” said Davidson. “DLO’s success is a direct result of the highly skilled staff and quality standards we achieve for the patients and physicians of Oklahoma.”
Davidson, along with DLO’s HR and Marketing departments, will review current job descriptions, produce digital and print media for recruitment events, increase social media and job site postings, and examine the current hiring process for technical positions. The group also plans to produce a series of videos to educate individuals who are considering a health care career on the various job duties and required characteristics needed to be successful.
“Evaluating all aspects of our recruitment and hiring process will enable DLO to employ the right people to serve our patients and providers, reduce turnover, and create a wonderful work environment for all employees,” said Davidson.
DLO named to ‘Best Places’ list for 11th straight year
Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma (DLO) has been named to the “Best Places to Work in Oklahoma” list for the 11th consecutive year. The winners of the Best Places to Work in Oklahoma competition for 2016 were recently announced by okc.BIZ magazine and DLO ranked fourth of the 16 finalists in the Large Companies category.
“Being recognized as a Best Places to Work in Oklahoma award winner is proof that DLO’s employees have pride in their organization, are confident in their opinions, address opportunities for improvement and encourage fellow employees – all signs of a successful, thriving and healthy organization,” said Bill Mosteller, CEO of Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma.
“I am honored and humbled by the recognition that our employees receive by our community and throughout Oklahoma.”
The Best Places to Work in Oklahoma program, this year sponsored by Comtech Design Print and Mail, honors the state’s best employers. A third party surveyor, Best Companies Group, collected data from the businesses that entered the competition and then performed employee surveys to determine which companies had the best practices. Areas of examination included: Leadership and Planning, Corporate Culture and Communications, Role Satisfaction, Work Environment and Relationship with Supervisor.
The 2016 Best Places to Work in Oklahoma are:
Large Companies Category:
- Edward Jones
- Eide Bailly, LLP
- JE Dunn Construction Company
- Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma
- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
- INSURICA
- 180 Medical, Inc.
- First United Bank
- Capital One Auto Finance
- Mars Pet Care U.S.
- Safelite AutoGlass
- First Fidelity Bank NA
- Encompass Home Health and Hospice
- Cintas Corporation
- Guardian Security Systems, Inc.
- CompSource Mutual Insurance Company
okc.BIZ Publisher Bill Bleakley said, “The companies on the Best Places to Work in Oklahoma list truly understand how important strong leadership and a great corporate culture are to the productivity of their business. Their employees trust them, believe their jobs are secure, and they are encouraged to maintain a work/life balance.” Winners will be featured on okc.biz, in the official Best Places to Work in Oklahoma awards magazine and inside the September 28 issue of Oklahoma Gazette.
Oklahoma City, Okla. ̶ okc.BIZ announced today that 40 Oklahoma companies have been selected as finalists for the 2016 Best Places to Work in Oklahoma program, which identifies and honors the state’s best employers.
This is the eleventh consecutive year that Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma has been selected as a finalist for this annual award. The company ranked third overall in 2015.
“The DLO family has mroe than seven hundred members who have expressed their contentment and pride in working for our company," said Bill Mosteller, DLO Chief Executive Officer. "This is a testament to the spirit we have for taking care of our patients and for respecting each other. It is an honor to be a finalist. It's more of an honor to witness the loyalty and satisfaction our employees express, year after year, through the voting process."
Best Companies Group selects and ranks the competition entrants by collecting and analyzing data from both employer questionnaires and employee surveys to determine which companies have the best practices.
All 40 companies will receive the results of their surveys, which reveal their workplace strengths and weaknesses. Categories studied include: Leadership and Planning, Corporate Culture and Communications, Role Satisfaction, Work Environment and Relationship with Supervisor.
“The businesses honored as the Best Places to Work in Oklahoma are a testament to the outstanding culture in our state. This program proves that Oklahoma is not only a great place to live and raise families, it’s also a wonderful place to start companies and be employed,” said Bill Bleakley, okc.BIZ Publisher.
The 2016 Best Places to Work in Oklahoma finalists, in alphabetical order, are:
180 Medical, Inc. |
Allegiance Credit Union |
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. |
BIS Business Imaging Systems |
Capital One Auto Finance |
Cintas Corporation |
CompSource Mutual Insurance Company |
Delta Dental of Oklahoma |
Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma |
Edward Jones |
Eide Bailly, LLC |
Encompass Home Health and Hospice |
First Fidelity Bank NA |
First United Bank |
Foundation Healthcare, Inc. |
Foundation Medical Staffing |
Gemini Industries, Inc. |
Guardian Security Systems, Inc. |
High Plains Technology Center |
Industrial Controls of Oklahoma, LLC |
Insurica |
InterWorks |
JE Dunn Construction Company |
Mars Pet Care U.S. |
Mercury Network |
Monscierge USA LLC |
Nextep, Inc. |
Oklahoma City Indian Clinic |
People Source Staffing Professionals |
Public Strategies, Inc. |
Regent Bank |
Republic Bank & Trust |
Roderick H. Polston |
Safelite AutoGlass |
Southern Oklahoma Technology Center |
Sunbeam Family Services |
Swagelok Oklahoma | West Texas |
TBS Factoring Service, LLC |
VI Marketing and Branding |
Vox Printing |
okc.BIZ will announce the rankings of the Best Places to Work finalists at its annual awards reception and dinner on September 27th at the Petroleum Club of Oklahoma City. The event will feature Burns Hargis, President of Oklahoma State University as the keynote speaker.
Winners will also be featured on okc.biz, in the official Best Places to Work in Oklahoma awards magazine and inside the September 28 issue of Oklahoma Gazette.
CLIA