The average tenure of employees on the VPs team is 10 years.
Succession planning was revealed to be a common issue among revenue cycle executives during the recent HealthLeaders’ Revenue Cycle Exchange. The leaders agreed on its importance, yet many stated their organizations didn’t have the time to allocate towards it.
However, at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, Lynn Ansley, Healthleaders Exchange member and vice president of revenue cycle management, has made succession planning an integral part of the employee experience for her team and has seen great outcomes because of it.
Where to Start
Simply creating an organizational chart is a step in the right direction.
“When you look up an [organization’s leadership] chart, no matter where you’re sitting in that org chart, you want to know there’s a path for you to go,” Ansley told HealthLeaders. “Whether it’s up or even laterally across the organization.”
Succession planning then begins with an informational interview, where the employee is able to learn more about the role or department they’re interested in, qualifications, and discuss what they need to do to meet those qualifications.
During this stage, in particular, Ansley looks for potential leaders and will give them stretch assignments, which is a task where they have the chance to display their skills and capabilities as a leader.
They’ll be included in the organizational wide programs Moffitt’s development team puts together where they learn more about the organization and how different roles intersect with each other. Employees will also meet with their leader each quarter for professional development meetings to check their progress.
“When you look down in any area of my front, middle, and back-end shared services, there’s a pipeline of who’s up next for that leadership role,” Ansley said.
Different ladders within the organization require a particular HFMA certification, which, upon receiving the certification, makes them qualified to advance in the organization and increases their marketability should they ever decide to pursue other opportunities at a different organization.
Pictured: Lynn Ansley attends the 2024 Revenue Cycle Exchange.
Looking Forward
In addition to training opportunities, employees are encouraged to think about how and where they want to grow in the organization, especially now that the practice is growing.
“What I encourage our team members to do a lot is not just focus on the next six months, but look out a little bit further,” Ansley said.
“If the role that you think you want isn’t available today, we’re going to be multiplying the number of opportunities in the short term and into the next 10 years.”
The average tenure of members on Ansley’s team and leaders she reports to is 10 years. Because of this, she stated, the organization has a wealth of internal knowledge on their operations and processes, which contributes to a greater culture of continuous learning and improvement.
“We have a lot of, I call it ‘musical chairs’ in rev cycle, because it means that our team members are growing throughout all of the areas,” Ansley said.
“I’m not sure that there’s any more valuable of a team member that has sat in multiple seats on the bus and got to see the view from all of those different angles to see how the cycle really impacts one another.”
The HealthLeaders Exchange is an executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at our LinkedIn page.
To inquire about attending a HealthLeaders Revenue Cycle Exchange event, email us at exchange@healthleadersmedia.com.
Jasmyne Ray is the revenue cycle editor at HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
When looking at future opportunities for an employees, consider their capabilties across different departments.
Informational interviews can help executives identify employees with leadership potential.
Offering training opportunities allows employees to actively work towards their ideal role and well as develop new proficiencies they can add to their resume.