In a fast-moving world, some changes still seem to evolve in slow motion. Finding a company that can meet your outsourcing needs and also help your own team accelerate through the opening salvos can be as daunting as it sounds. This paper will present examples of the advantages acquired when partnering with an outsourcer who is also a master of effective change management, especially in complex environments.
“Hello, Vee Healthtek. I’d like to discuss your hospital coding services. Is there someone who is available to speak with us on that right away?”
The next day, we’re onsite at a regional hospital, meeting with the leadership team who is sharing that they just fired their current coding vendor due to “irreconcilable differences.” However, if services don’t resume within one week, they will face a severe cash crunch.
So, what does it really take to swap out the batter here? Well, first, the hospital’s revenue cycle management leadership team has to find and vet a competent replacement. This client was familiar with outsourcing, and comfortable with sourcing globally. Their internal challenge was the ability to raise a new vendor integration to the top of their IT Team’s “To Do” list. There was (by design) no easy access to the health information systems holding their patients’ confidential health information. And if a new vendor was unprepared with their credentials, unable to coordinate the hospital IT team with their IT team, or not experienced enough to rapidly learn how to navigate the hospitals’ internal system, each step would take days, not just hours.
And then it would be that next week when cash wasn’t rolling in… But the cash did come in!
Once the decision to bring in an outsourced partner is made, there are many operational processes to restructure and replicate elsewhere. Now, a company’s internal expertise needs to shift from knowing how to perform an operation to managing a partner that is performing the operation. They also need to quell the internal disruption that comes with change.
The outsourced partner also needs to be an experienced change agent. It is the “stereo” alignment of both partners conducting the change.
Global consulting company McKinsey advocates that in managing change, the focus needs to be on ownership and commitment, in addition to artfully prioritizing initiatives, capabilities, and resources.
KPMG adds to the above by emphasizing how paramount the human issues are. That successful change management needs to do more than focus on KPI’s and redesigning processes. Access to a successful change is through the mastery of Communication, Culture, and Talent Management.
“Maybe after we’ve worked together for a year, we can talk about additional services from you.”
Four months later:
“Didn’t you say you can also handle our coding processes? Well, let’s get to it, then!”
Not that it was surprising the call came from this client much sooner than anticipated. We were providing accounts receivable services for a healthcare system that was backlogged beyond 120 days. Our results after two months were originally projected as not being realized until we were in month six. With expertise onshore in the US and backed by an operational powerhouse in India, we could charge through their backlog in minimal time.
The unexpected change that happened for our client was their confidence and trust in the outsourced model. The integration of our two teams succeeded both on a productive level and on an interpersonal level.
Nothing provides a feeling of security than knowing that if you reach out, the team you reach out to is dependably there. Having business partners who understand your communication style, your environment, and your constraints gives you the firepower to get your implementation challenges resolved just by picking up the phone.
Our internal processes and relationships are structured to move contracts and personnel as expeditiously as possible to solve “impossible timeline” client challenges. But really, it’s our teams that make the magic.
The strategic balance of onshore, offshore, and cross-functional expertise within teams that thrive on orchestrating change puts our clients over their “finish line” in record time.
