Megan Riksen:
Hello, and welcome to the Work Like a Laker podcast. I'm your host, Megan Rixon, and today we have one of our favorite types of episodes. We have another employer panel. So we'll be chatting with people from two organizations that offer roles across a variety of career areas. These are the types of organizations that could fit a student who is interested in almost any of our career communities. So this is a great episode for anyone listening who might be doing some career exploration because you're going to hear a lot about a variety of opportunities. So without further ado, I'd like to bring in my two guests. First, we have Katie Bourne, who is the senior director for human resources at Frederick Meyer Gardens and Sculpture Park. Hi, Katie.
Katie Born:
Hi, Megan.
Megan Riksen:
And we have Steve Smith, who is the regional manager for talent acquisition at the University of Michigan Health West. Hi, Steve.
Steve Smith:
Hi, Megan.
Megan Riksen:
Thank you both for being here. And Katie, let me start with you. Can you just kind of talk a little bit about, just a little bit about your background and your role that you're doing now, and then give listeners an overview of your organization that you work for currently?
Katie Born:
I would be happy to. I am Katie Bourne, and I lead the HR team over at Frederick Meyer Gardens in Sculpture Park. And I know that sounds like a mouthful. Yeah. So we'll just say Meyer Gardens from here on out.
Megan Riksen:
Okay, perfect. I was hoping we could get, just get to Meyer Gardens. Yeah. We can, we can get to
Katie Born:
Meyer
Megan Riksen:
Gardens. Okay,
Katie Born:
Great. Um, I have been with the organization for nine months now and leading that team through a lot of organizational change. And we are in a fascinating time of growth. So we are expanding our, a lot of our teams. And Meyer Gardens is a simple yet complex organization, I like to say, because we are a cultural institution. Mm-hmm. And we have a lot of industries that we kind of cross over in, which is food and beverage. We have programming. Most of you probably know the, our summer concert series.
Megan Riksen:
Yes. Very familiar.
Katie Born:
Yeah. Uh, art and collect - and curatorial from a museum type perspective. And then we have our food and beverage and cafe and a lot of culinary going on. Yes. Along with every admin type role that you could imagine from HR, marketing, um, IT, finance, all that to say to all of those organizations to support a very complex - Yeah. Institution.
Megan Riksen:
I like how you described that. That was great. All right. Steve, over to you. Same question.
Steve Smith:
Yeah. So work with University of Michigan Health West. Uh, a lot of you may have heard of us before as Metro Health - Yes. Or Metropolitan Hospital. Mm-hmm. We were actually founded in 1942 as Grand Rapids Osteopathic Hospital. Oh, I didn't know that. So
Megan Riksen:
We've had
Steve Smith:
Some name changes over the years. Uh, we currently serve about a quarter million patients across 30 locations in West Michigan. We employ about 3,500. Uh, we're a 208 bed teaching hospital and the hospital's at M6 and Byron Center Avenue in Wyoming. And we're a verified level two trauma center, a certified comprehensive stroke center, accredited chest pain center. And this past fall, we received magnet with distinction designation - Okay. For our nurses, which that places us in the nation's top hospitals. There's about 10% of hospitals in the nation that are magnet, and then there's about 3% that are magnet with distinction. Oh my gosh. We're very excited about that.
Megan Riksen:
Whoa, elite.
Steve Smith:
Right. Um, and then, uh, we've also been named one of the best and brightest companies to work for in West Michigan for 11 years in the last nine years, uh, consecutively.
Megan Riksen:
Wow. Okay. So I think all our listeners will realize why we brought in these two great people from two great organizations. Um, and Steve, I'll start with you on this one. When students hear your organization's name, they probably picture a couple of job types first. Um, what are the career areas or roles people most commonly associate with your organization?
Steve Smith:
I think we are probably like most hospitals and healthcare organizations. When you think of a hospital, your mind immediately goes to a registered nurse - Yep. Or a doctor. Yes. And what's, uh, surprising with that is that nurses and doctors, while they're the biggest, uh, employment groups - uh-huh. They only make up about a third of the positions.
Megan Riksen:
Oh, wow. Okay. Uh, within
Steve Smith:
Healthcare. Wow. Um -
Megan Riksen:
Interesting. Yeah. Okay. Great. And Katie, I know you, you gave us that nice little overview, but yeah, when people think Meyer Gardens, what are they thinking you're hiring for?
Katie Born:
A lot of times they think groundskeeper - Yes. Or landscape or botanist. But we are definitely a lot more than that. And actually majority of our employees actually come and represent in the food and beverage space, believe it
Megan Riksen:
Or not. Okay.
Katie Born:
Okay. So our cafe on site and we have concessions for those concerts and all throughout the park, that is a large, uh, hiring group. But then we also have the, the typical roles that you would think of when you think of supporting an organization. Mm-hmm.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. So can you talk a little bit more about that? Maybe some of the s - the areas that a student might be surprised that you offer? And, you know, it could be at any level, but I'd say, you know, think kind of at the entry level-ish area, first five years of someone's career that, that they might be surprised that they could do at Meijer Gardens.
Katie Born:
We have a couple of areas, philanthropy being one that you could come right in and start working with our, uh, fundraising and donors. We, we grow that space a lot. And we also have guest relations, which really is something that is covering a lot of the space across the campus. It's not just a tour guide. Mm-hmm. It is information and wayfinding for our guests that are coming in and wondering, where do I go? What do I do? And so we have a lot of positions there that are also very entry level where you can get your feet wet and then understand the complexity of what a cultural institution is.
Megan Riksen:
Very cool. Great. So yeah, then same kind of question over to you, Steve. What are people surprised when they, when they... I mean, yeah, it's a hospital. You, you think about the nurses and the doctors, but what are some of those other areas and especially in the entry level space?
Steve Smith:
Yeah. And with that, because you think nurses and doctors, a lot of times people think, "Oh, I have to have some sort of license or certification to be able to work there." Or every job is direct patient care to where you're face-to-face with the patient. And there's a lot of positions that aren't. Okay. Yeah. There's a lot of positions that don't require that certification. Um, you get some to where, like, if you think of a healthcare organization, it's almost like a mini city. Um, so like maintenance, a lot of people don't think about like HVAC and we have plumbers and electricians. Ah. We have carpenters. Gosh. Yes. Um, with food service, that's an area like Meyer Gardens where you can start entry level. And then we even have chef positions there that you may not think that a hospital has a chef, but we do.
Megan Riksen:
Oh, of course you do. Yeah, of course you have to. You gotta feed these people.
Steve Smith:
Yeah. Yeah. And then like, we'll see individuals like there's a materials handler position to where if you like being on your feet and running around, I tell people it's a great way to get into that - Oh, cool. And to be able to see everywhere and really be able to explore. 'Cause, uh, when trucks bring in deliveries, you're taking those off to put them in the warehouse and then you're going all throughout the hospital to every department, being able to stock supplies, stock closets, but you get to kinda see a little bit of everywhere. Mm-hmm. Uh, we also have patient transporters. Hmm. Uh, that like when a patient's getting discharged and being able to take them down that we have people that do that, entry level position, being able to get in and do that as well.
Megan Riksen:
What about some of like the business area functions, like more administrative? Are those entry level roles and like finance or I assume you have marketing, communications, those sort of things?
Steve Smith:
We do have those. A lot of times those are like once you've graduated out of college - Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Like in your finance or accounting or marketing. Yep. Perfect. But on that non-clinical side - uh-huh. Uh, you have, uh, there's patient registration. Okay. Uh, it's administrative when somebody is coming in say for to get their blood drawn or for an x-ray person that checks in or a patient service rep when you go to your doctor's office. The person that checks you in, um, or schedules your appointment that those administrative positions are a great way to start gaining that exposure, see what kinda goes into the administrative tasks.
Megan Riksen:
Mm-hmm. Awesome. Okay. Yeah. I think it is kinda fun to think about what are some of those other areas. And I know when I was a student, yeah, you have those top of mind things that that organization is known for. But I think, you know, both of your organizations are such a good example of dig a little deeper. We're always encouraging students to do some research and figure out what else is there. Talk to people who work there who can give you the inside scoop. Did you know you could do X, Y, Z even while you're a student before you graduate, right? Um, so let's, let's start with you, Steve. For students listening who are interested but not totally sure what path fits them yet, what are some ways that they can gain exposure or experience with your organization?
Steve Smith:
Yeah. And there's a, a few different ways. Uh, one of them is volunteering. Great.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah.
Steve Smith:
Um, the, and we have where you can volunteer both on the clinical side - Okay. Or the nonclinical side. Oh, that's good to know. Maybe volunteer and I wanna be in that clinical space. Um, and so you could do that. Or it's like, hey, maybe the clinical space isn't for me, but there's other areas where you - Cool. You
Megan Riksen:
Can start and you can volunteer. Yeah, because I feel like you hear, I mean, obviously a lot of students going into healthcare need some of those like volunteer hours and things like that, but that's cool that they offer it on the non-clinical side.
Steve Smith:
Yep. And it's just a, a way to kinda see, hey, what goes on? Yeah. Um, we also, uh, do job shadowing. Okay. There's a obshadow application where, hey, you know, I'm interested in this type of role. Mm-hmm. Um, being able to job shadow. Mm-hmm. Or, uh, you had mentioned talking to people - Yeah. That work there. Yes. Like just reaching out to do like an informational interview. Like, "Hey, I know you work at UM Health West. I'm curious about healthcare, have some questions." A lot of people, if you ask, "Hey, can I have 20 minutes of your time to talk to you?" People will take 20 minutes out of their day - Sure. To talk to you and be able to talk about what they do or what opportunities exist.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. That's great. Um, yeah. So Katie, do you... And it's very different. Um, you don't have anything clinical, I don't think. At Meyer Gardens, but yeah, what are, what are those places that students can kind of start dipping their feet in? It's
Katie Born:
Different, but yet the approach is same, I would say as Steve. Oh, okay. Yeah. So volunteering is actually probably the best way to get in and really see behind the scenes what, what a person might be interested in. We have actually over 600 volunteers. Oh my gosh. A lot of people don't realize that. Whoa. And we're working toward right now revamping that program and getting more people in to do what I would call episodic volunteering. Mm-hmm. So even if it's not something that you can commit to for a couple of hours every week, it's maybe for a concert -
Megan Riksen:
Uh-huh.
Katie Born:
We'd have you trained up and give you a little training. Mm-hmm. And then you are working outside with the concert and actually getting to benefit from good music as well at the same time. That sounds amazing. So volunteering is one way. I also agree with Steve, networking is a powerful tool. So LinkedIn, our trusted little networking for professionals.
Megan Riksen:
No, we still use it. It's - We still not use it. Going anywhere. No. And it's
Katie Born:
Easy to see who might you be connected with in a s - in a space or an area that is in Meyer Gardens and who can you reach out to or who knows somebody that is? So that is always a, a good place to start when you really don't know what you might want to do. I also often tell, and I actually just told the current i- intern in HR right now, my goal for her is to let her experience a lot of different things, a lot which she may not like in HR.m. And so it's just as important to figure out what you don't like and do some of the activities that you don't like so that you know when you're getting into the time to be able to commit to a career that you're, "Yeah, I'll stay away from recruiting or I'll stay away from, you know, employee relations from an HR perspective."
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. Or realizing, "Oh, okay, that's only gonna be 5% of my role. I can deal with 5% of - I can deal with it. That thing I don't like or whatever. Yeah.
Katie Born:
But for us too, uh, believe it or not, the food and beverage, I keep coming back to that. Yeah. That is you get a chance to meet the guests. You get to see the dynamic of how in- individuals are interacting with our visitors each, um, or throughout the campus. Mm-hmm. So I think that has also something that would be a good behind the scenes, could I work here type of role as
Megan Riksen:
Well. That's awesome. Cool. So you mentioned internships. Can you talk a little bit more, um, does Meyer Gardens offer internships? If so, like what majors or skillsets tend to align best with those opportunities?
Katie Born:
Sure. Yes. We do offer internships. And actually we're, we are evolving our internship programs. Great. So this year we've had quite a few of in - quite a few number of summer interns. We typically do it for the summer for 10 to 12 weeks. Mm-hmm. And we, it's for people that are going to school - uh-huh. And will be getting a degree at, within a four-year period. Okay. Mm-hmm. So everyone even in freshman year on - Oh, nice. We try to accommodate. So the skills that we're looking for really at this point are, one, in the major that you're in. So in the administrative roles, for instance, in HR, we would be looking for someone that is, um, knowing and can, is competent in, in their field of study for that. But really someone in a lot for all of our internships, someone that's just curious and, uh, learning agile as well as strong communicators and, um, presenters of just the, the benefits to guests of Meyer Gardens.
Katie Born:
That's great. So those would cro - those competencies would cross most of our roles. And then we do a lot of, um, gardener internships. Yeah. We do education and tour type. Th's
Megan Riksen:
A huge piece. Yes. Right? Yes. I, whenever I've gone there, there's always a school bus. There's always - There's something going on. Yeah. Yes.
Katie Born:
Uh-huh. And then also just from the, um, finance, HR, marketing, IT, the, the traditional roles there, we have internships as
Megan Riksen:
Well. So great. Good. Okay. So it might not always be called internship at U of M Health West, but talk to me about experiential learning beyond like just the volunteering, if someone was gonna actually, you know, kind of spend a semester with you or something like that.
Steve Smith:
Yeah. Yeah. And with the internships, and I like what you said, Kate, about the, with the internship being curious and a, uh, learner agile. Uh, because with those internships, it really is building on what you're learning in the classroom - uh-huh. And being able to put that into practice. And we do offer internships. Uh, they have to be for school credit. Okay. Mm-hmm. And we do have to have an affiliation agreement with the school. But for everybody listening, they'll be happy to know. We do have one with Grand Valley. Yes. We have a lot of students that come through and do
Megan Riksen:
Internships. Plenty. Plenty. That's great.
Steve Smith:
Um, you may think, uh, a lot of times in the clinical space - Yeah. That we get a lot of clinical rotations. So for nursing students or for social work students or exercise science lot of times they're in our cardiac rehab area. Yeah. Mm-hmm. But we also do have internships in those other areas like healthcare administration or like marketing - Okay. Or our patient experience - uh-huh. Finance. And a lot of times those, uh, they're on, I'll say a one-off basis. Mm-hmm. So you're not going to see a posting on our, uh, job board for it. The, it's more of a reaching out to our volunteer services and, "Hey, you know, I'm looking to do an internship in finance. I'm looking to do it, you know, this August through December." Mm-hmm. Uh, it is for school credit. Yeah. And then our volunteer services manager reaches out to the department like, "Hey - Oh, wow.
Steve Smith:
You know, I got Megan. She's looking to do an internship this fall. Can you take on an intern this fall?" And so it's more on that basis on - uh-huh. How we do the, the non-clinical ones where those clinical rotations are built into the
Megan Riksen:
Program. Yeah. You, you need those for your organization to operate - Yeah. I would imagine. Yeah. Yeah. There
Steve Smith:
Are a lot of internship opportunities in other departments
Megan Riksen:
Too. That's great. And I feel like that's so key to hear that it isn't just you're gonna go on a website and apply to a job and get an interview and then you have your internship. It might be, no, I need to, as Katie was saying, go on LinkedIn or I need to come to an event where you know a recruiter from U of M Health West is gonna be there and get your foot in the door, talk to someone, say, okay, oh, I need to talk to the volunteer services person - Yeah. To get kind of hooked up with the right person here. So
Steve Smith:
Yeah. And I think with that networking that it, I think we build up in our minds it's a lot scarier and harder than what it
Megan Riksen:
Is. Oh my gosh. 100%. That
Steve Smith:
Just reaching out and that ask. Yes. And I think students would probably be surprised how many people would say, "Yeah, you know, I can talk to you." Um, and be able to take that time out of it.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. Do you feel that too? I do.
Katie Born:
Yeah. I do. It's oftentimes the first just getting, overcoming the fear of - Oh my gosh. Oh, what if they say I can't do something? Right. Right. And really it's what if they just give you one little piece of nugget and maybe they can't help you, but somebody else can that they know. So you never know where that's gonna go.
Megan Riksen:
That's so true. That's so true. I feel like that's, that's helpful. I feel like we kind of bring that up on like most episodes of Work Like a Laker. It's like just start talking to people. It, it makes it so much less scary, doesn't it? Like once you have that conversation or, you know, we have students who have a lot of anxiety walking into a career fair, just do it. You have to just start doing it. Pick an organization you've never even heard of. That's kind of low stakes, right? You're not trying to work there. Just start talking to people and you might find that you do wanna work there, right? So, um, awesome. Okay. So my last question is what is changing in your industry right now that students should be paying attention to? And I'll start with you, Katie.
Katie Born:
So some, I'll answer it as something that we are challenged with - Yeah. At Meyer Gardens. Yeah. And that is given the economic uncertainty and different factors going on in our world - uh-huh. Discretionary income. So the amount of money that I have available to do something outside of, we'll call it the norm for my household is lessening and/or is being kind of questioned e - by each - Yeah. Uh, household. Mm-hmm. And so we are ta - being tasked to really think about how do we diversify our programming and our offerings so that if you have $10 to spend today, what are you gonna spend that $10 on? We'd like you to spend it at Meyer Gardens. Mm-hmm. And you could get this experience. So it's working through kind of the diversifying our audience and making Meyer Gardens a place that's accessible for everyone. And then also trying to make sure that it's a, a good value for that $10 that you have.
Katie Born:
Uh-huh. So I would encourage students to kinda help us in that journey. And if that sounds like something that's encouraging to you or just a good problem to solve, come join us because we need that thought process in how do we see an outlook for the next 10 years of what the gardens looks like instead of what's truly just in front of us today.
Megan Riksen:
Mm-hmm. Ah, that's, that's great. That was a really insightful answer. Thank you. Thank you. Um, yeah, same question. What's happening in your industry? Gotta be a lot. There's
Steve Smith:
A lot of different things.
Megan Riksen:
And what's changing? Yeah.
Steve Smith:
And so, um, I think one of the things in that students, and like everybody hears over and over and over is AI. Yeah. And so it is, but what that is doing is that it's, it's changing the way that we provide patient care and that we show up for our community. So it's automating some tasks. Mm-hmm. It's not replacing people, but it's allowing people to engage better with patients. Okay. Um, I think with the way, like, comes to mind our providers that - Okay. They have to where they don't have to sit there and type on their computer while they're talking to you, making all their notes - uh-huh. That they can just have a conversation. And then it's summarized for them, and then they can go through and edit those notes. So they can really focus on that conversation and talking to you about your health and things.
Steve Smith:
So I think with that too, and with the way technology is always evolving, that every position is going to require some form of digital literacy if it doesn't already. And I might argue that every position requires some little form of it. Uh-huh. And so I think, um, for us too, there's also a, a worker shortage in, like, some different positions as - Okay. More people are retiring that you can look at hot jobs lists and the demand projections, but like, yes, there's nursing, there's doctors, but then you get into, like, radiology and imaging modalities and there's going to be some higher demand jobs. Mm-hmm. Um, and I think if students focus on... One of the things in school is just learning how to learn and knowing how to learn, like, that can take you a long way. And, like, you know, just that communication, the critical thinking, and just being able to work through those things, those you can apply to any job.
Steve Smith:
And you had mentioned earlier about, like, just whether it's volunteering or getting into a position just to kind of see and explore, like, in food and beverage. And I think sometimes students might think, like, "Oh, well, you know, I don't wanna work in food and beverage my entire career or- or I don't wanna be a materials handler my entire career." Mm-hmm. Um, just that doesn't have... Your first job doesn't have to define your career or what that path is going to look like, but it's a starting point. Mm-hmm. 'Cause I'll sometimes talk to students and see where they will... They'll hold out, you know, "I really, really wanna work in this area," and they don't wanna explore other areas. But if you were to step into another area just to get started, that's where not only do you start learning for yourself, but now you are demonstrating internally to that company your work ethic, your responsibility, your drive and motivation, and that speaks volumes for you and can really help you.
Steve Smith:
So I'd encourage students to focus on not getting hung up on that first opportunity is where my path starts. Mm-hmm. That's where the exposure starts.
Megan Riksen:
I think that's so true. Spot on. We concur. We concur. Awesome. Well, unless there's anything else either of you have, I think we did a pretty good job covering kind of your fabulous organizations and all the many opportunities. Um, where should a student go if they want to learn more about your organization? Your website, is that a good starting point?
Katie Born:
For Meyer Gardens, yes. Okay. It would be our website. Yep. And we actually just revamped it, so hopefully it'll be easier to navigate. Yay. Fabulous. Yes. You'll see all the visitor and guest rela - um, facing content - uh-huh. To see really who we are. Mm-hmm. But also, there's a career page - Okay. Great. That would allow that for them to get
Megan Riksen:
To. Great. And same thing for you? It would be the same for us. Yeah. Okay.
Katie Born:
UofMhealthwest.org.
Megan Riksen:
Okay. Fabulous. All right. Well, yeah. We will include those links in the show notes. Thank you so much to both of you for coming today.
Katie Born:
Thank you for having me. Thank you for having us.
Megan Riksen:
I hope everybody enjoyed this episode, and we hope you tune in to a future episode soon.