Rebecca Mohiuddin– Central Ohio Primary Care

Rebecca Mohiuddin says she had no idea what human resources was when she was studying for the communications degree she earned from Mount Vernon Nazarene University in 1997.

Within months after graduating, she had started her HR career, and more than 25 years later, she knows she found her calling.

As chief human resources officer for Central Ohio Primary Care, Mohiuddin is helping the physician-owned health care company headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, attract, engage and retain talent throughout its operations.

Rebecca Mohiuddin| Chief Human Resources Officer | Central Ohio Primary Care

Mohiuddin leads a team that’s divided into three areas, one being HR operations, which entails onboarding, training and development, employee relations and tracking employee information. A second area is concentrated on compensation, benefits, performance management and wellness.

The third area manages recruiting by screening and interviewing job candidates, makes offers, and handles job fairs and social media. COPC has also added a director to manage diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“My team makes the difference,” Mohiuddin says. “Our goal is to be integrated into the business and be a driving force to help us succeed.”

Adding a lifesaver

COPC was founded by 33 physicians in 1996 and has grown to include more than 90 locations in six counties in central Ohio. The company has 488 physicians among its more than 2,200 employees.

While providing primary care for patients of all ages, COPC offers hospitalist care, three “SameDay Centers,” home and palliative care, cardiac testing, lab services, endocrinology, physical therapy, radiology services and more to 450,000 patients.

Mohiuddin and her team aren’t alone in facing labor shortages in the industry. She says Recruiting Director Jake Sharick offered an innovative way to alleviate some of the clinical staffing problems two years ago by creating a new position for a clinical assistant.

The clinical assistants provide administrative and clinical support at the individual practices, such as administering injections, interviewing patients, preparing treatment rooms for exams and measuring vital signs.

“It’s been a lifesaver in many of our offices,” Mohiuddin says, adding it’s well suited for someone who may have limited experience in a health care setting, such as a nursing home, but wants to gain more experience and grow in the field.

Getting the word out

COPC has refined how it posts its open positions by using a job board delivery service that offers market data and analytics for its posting algorithm. It has increased exposure to ads as opposed to more generalized job listing services, Mohiuddin says.

The company is also benefiting from a new UKG Inc. human resources information system that Savannah Schwartz, the director of HR operations, has helped integrate. The new HRIS allows the company to track and report on data and employee demographics to help inform performance management, training and development, and DEI decisions and programs. Schwartz also helped build the company’s first professional learning and development platform.

Susan Marsico, the total rewards director, has helped restructure the organization’s benefits packages and plans. Some new perks and benefits include free DoorDash memberships, a points-based recognition and reward platform named COPCelebratesYou! and the COPC Savings Marketplace, which provides discounts on attractions, travel and shopping, Mohiuddin says.

She also credits Sydni Howard, COPC’s DEI director, for working with the company’s DEI committee, which has led to COPC adding Juneteenth, which commemorates the final emancipation of people who were enslaved during the Civil War, as a holiday.

One benefit added in response to the identity theft worries stemming from fraudulent unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic provides employees with identity theft coverage at a reduced rate from Norton LifeLock Benefit Solutions.

Stacey Karom, the Norton LifeLock Benefit Solutions leader for the Great Lakes Region, says working with COPC has been a pleasure.

“We greatly enjoyed working with Rebecca Mohiuddin and the rest of COPC’s HR team in collaboration with their benefits broker, to support a successful launch and provide their employees with identity theft protection, device security and online privacy,” Karom says. “We couldn’t be prouder to help protect their most valuable asset—their employees.”

An unexpected career

Mohiuddin, a native of Lancaster, Ohio, began working in HR after a friend suggested she find work with Adecco, a temporary staffing agency. But when she interviewed there, she was asked if she wanted a job recruiting temporary staff for its clients.

She loved the work and was quickly promoted to be Adecco’s onsite manager at publishers McGraw Hill. Mohiuddin was then promoted to branch manager and oversaw seven locations before becoming a branch manager for Volt Services Group in July 2000.

In March 2002, Mohiuddin became an account manager for HUMAcare and managed a seasonal workforce of more than 500 for its client, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Mohiuddin left HUMAcare in March 2005 to become an HR team manager for Sequent Inc., where she worked with more than 400 field-based clients.

She joined the health care industry in April 2010 when she became HR director for Molina Healthcare Inc. Mohiuddin was promoted to assistant vice president of HR in June 2016 and held the position until she joined COPC in March 2019.

Mohiuddin was a 2021 finalist for HRO Today’s Leaders of Distinction for performance in adversity. She has served on the board of directors for the Human Resource Association of Central Ohio and as a trustee on the Board for Creative Living, a nonprofit that provides affordable and accessible housing for individuals with physical disabilities. She currently serves as an ad hoc member of the Special Olympics Governance Committee for Special Olympics of Ohio and plans to join the board officially in January 2024.

“Working for consulting firms doing HR helped me become more flexible and evolve in my career a bit differently,” Mohiuddin says. “Working in HR in health care is so rewarding because we all have an impact on patients’ lives. There is a strong sense of purpose and passion that comes from employees in health care and that gives me energy every day.”

View this feature in the Vol. IV 2023 Edition here.