Eric Blair Johnson was placed as the senior director of human resource operations for Sanford Health System in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. With $4.2 billion in annual net operating revenues, Sanford is the largest rural, not-for-profit healthcare system in the nation, including 43 hospitals, 45 long-term care facilities, 250 clinic locations, and 1,433 physicians in more than 80 subspecialty areas of medicine, with a presence in 132 communities in nine states, as well as international sites in Ghana, China, and Germany. It is also the largest employer in the Dakotas, served by more than 27,000 employees. In his role, Blair provides vision, strategic leadership, planning, and guidance for the development, implementation, and management of effective and efficient human resources operations, in accordance with Center of Excellence strategy and plans. He partners with COE leads, human resources business partners, and business leadership to effectively administer, or improve the administration of, human resources programs and services related to talent acquisition, talent management, compensation administration, and benefit administration. Blair also supports the senior executive director of shared services in developing shared services strategies.
Before joining Sanford, Blair served as the chief human resource officer for the City of Phoenix, Arizona, the sixth-largest municipality in the U.S. In this capacity, he supported a workforce of 15,000 employees that encompassed seven labor groups, 150 human resources staff, and a department budget of $12 million. During his tenure, he implemented changes to help modernize the human resources value proposition, facilitating the transformation to a consultative, business partner model. He redesigned the talent acquisition model, created employment branding, developed tools for hiring manager use, and refreshed orientation programs and supervisory and leadership development programs, expanding diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency initiatives.
Previously, Blair served as the system human resources director for Dignity Health in Phoenix; as the senior director of human resources and administration for Epiq Systems/DTI in Portland and Phoenix; as the chief human resource officer for the Oregon Department of Transportation; as the director of human resources for the City of Vancouver, Washington; and as the director of human resources and risk management for Klamath County, Oregon. He began his career in the for-profit sector, holding human resource positions with Discover Card and Hilton Hotels Corporation.
Blair is originally from the West Coast, having grown up in Los Angeles and Oregon. He earned his bachelor’s degree in social science and his master’s degree in management from Southern Oregon University. Blair is a Six Sigma Green Belt, and has been certified by the Human Resource Certification Institute as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), by the Society for Human Resource Management as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), by the International Public Management Association for Human Resources as a Senior Certified HR Professional, and by the American Staffing Association as a Certified Staffing Professional (CSP). Outside of work, Blair enjoys hiking, gardening, and spending time with his family’s Bernese Mountain dogs.
QLK’s Jake Barto and Mike Quick led the search to recruit Blair to Sanford, where his duties began on April 3, 2017.
