In this organization, the functions of Human Resources (HR) are split across several departments. For example, the basic personnel functions for issues like HR policies and budgets and so on, are covered under the Financial Management and Reporting Manager, who in turn reports directly to the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). On the other hand, other aspects of managing the nursing staff are covered by the Nursing Support Operations Associate Director (AD), who also reports to the CNO. This includes functions that in other organizations would be part of the usual HR department. For example, staff recruiting, education and professional development, nurse accreditation and career planning and nursing informatics (information collection and study) are all function s of the Nursing Support Operations AD.

While perhaps not the typical organizational structure of other hospitals, this separation of function works well in this facility. The nursing functions are managed by those who have the technical, nursing-specific understanding needed to make appropriate decisions about staffing, training, recruiting, and so on. Meanwhile, they are relieved of the need to deal with more standard HR issues such as working with benefits, budget analyses, and so on. So in that sense the leadership is appropriately centered in those who have the specific expertise and training needed to make the best decisions. On the other hand, it can be confusing sometimes to determine who is the best person to go to for answers to a specific question or solve a specific problem. For example, questions about changing work schedule for either family leave or maternity leave involve consulting with the Nursing Support Operations Associate Director (to change work schedule) but also with the HR Policies and Budgets manager to understand the potential changes in benefits, insurance coverage and similar issues.