Rudy Braccili, Director of Accounts Receivable at Keck Medicine of USC, shares how the right philosophy around the quality of the team that's working your accounts can play a key role in revenue cycle success.
What is one leadership tip that sometimes gets overlooked in revenue cycle?
Rudy Braccili: "I think one of the most important things as a revenue cycle leader that we can bring or be doing for our organizations is putting people in the right chairs: giving people the right role, one that they're going to really excel at. It’s such a golden opportunity we have whenever someone leaves our organization, and we have an open position. It is just the highest priority thing we have to accomplish (as leaders) to find the right person (as a replacement), and then bring them on board and give them the time, attention, and education they need to get up to snuff with the policies and procedures and culture of our organization. (Making a good hire and giving them support) is going to pay off for years, if not decades to come."
"I think about my staff over the years, teams that I've led, and particularly talking now about hourly frontline individuals. You can always rank them: Say you have 30 people, and rank them high to low, from the best superstar to the weakest link. It's always possible with any group of people (to have high and low performers). And then think of those top three or four superstars, the ones that we go to all the time when really important tasks need to be done. Well, the opportunity (when you’re building a team) is to have 30 of them––30 superstars––with every single chair filled with the best in the business."
"So whenever we have an opening, I really remind myself how important it is to get the right person. And while I do support in a big way promoting from within, I also ask myself what's the likelihood that the best person for that role on the planet Earth just happens to be someone who's already on my team. That's possible, and quite often we do promote from within, but what's also true is to be open to really taking the time (to investigate options). I would rather have an empty chair than fill it with a mediocre person who is going to really sit in that chair for years and years, not falling below acceptable standards to where you need to move them out. But just day after day performing mediocre work, when the opportunity is there to have the best possible person in that chair instead. So I really think hiring well is the best thing we can do for any organization as a revenue cycle leader."
