RSi’s Hallmarks for a Winning RCM Client-Vendor Relationship
We recently asked Dustin Spencer, RSi’s Chief Sales Officer, for his perspective on the RCM client-vendor relationship.
First, tell us about RSi’s position in the RCM vendor marketplace.
Ah, the boring part first (laughs). We’ve been in business for 25 years and have continually evolved as an organization. We’ve experienced exponential growth over the last seven years. In that time frame, we’ve gone from roughly 60 to approximately 650 team members through organic, word-of-mouth growth. Winning a 2023 Best in KLAS award alongside a Top Workplace designation are two feathers in our collective caps that we are very proud of this year.
First, tell us about RSi’s position in the RCM vendor marketplace.
Ah, the boring part first (laughs). We’ve been in business for 25 years and have continually evolved as an organization. We’ve experienced exponential growth over the last seven years. In that time frame, we’ve gone from roughly 60 to approximately 650 team members through organic, word-of-mouth growth. Winning a 2023 Best in KLAS award alongside a Top Workplace designation are two feathers in our collective caps that we are very proud of this year.
What are the hallmarks of an excellent client-vendor relationship?
We believe in the CAFE system throughout the organization, whether Operations, IT, HR, etc. CAFE is an acronym with four distinct components: Clarity, Alignment, Focus, and Execution. Would it make sense if I walked through each of those and how they apply directly to our client relationships?
Absolutely! What does CAFÉ look like in application, beginning with Clarity?
Clarity for us begins with the realization that we are not the right fit for every provider. There are no perfect processes or vendors, so we aim to work for people and in areas where we are the best fit. We get things wrong, as do other revenue cycle vendors, but we want to be upfront about our imperfections and our pursuit of getting it right every single time.
Does Alignment mean something different than how most people define it?
We embody Alignment in our victory condition revenue cycle methodology. We are transparent with every client about our goals for the relationship and how they marry theirs. There are two endpoints we are militant about achieving:
- Every client is a reference. The only acceptable reason for someone working with RSi not to be a reference is when the relationship is still new. As I mentioned earlier, we have grown entirely organically at this point due to our clients’ endorsements.
- Every client utilizes RSi for multiple service lines. There are many reasons you buy anything from anyone the first time, right? Compelling marketing, charming salespeople, impressive presentations, neat tech, etc. However, you only buy from someone twice because of the results they deliver. That is our end goal; we want to put the providers we serve in a position where they seek our support in additional service areas. Once we’ve received a second investment, we know we are on the right track relationally.
With these two victory conditions, how do you build a process around their achievement?
Great question. This is our capital-F Focus in the CAFE model. Baked into our implementation are CDOs, which stands for Client-Driven Outcomes. These are typically three binary, measurable outcomes that fit into a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) framework. These are entirely at the provider’s direction and set the course for our first quarter benchmarks following “go-live.” We reassess these with the client each quarter to ensure they are still the outcomes at the top of their list. As we consistently meet and/or exceed expectations, we build trust around our performance at an accelerated rate.
Let’s summarize: Clarity is ensuring the right fit, Alignment is – and I love how you said this – marrying RSi’s goals with the provider’s, and Focus is building our process around client-driven outcomes.
Exactly! You said that far more succinctly than I did (laughs).
So that brings us to Execution. Walk us through that.
Execution is an organization-wide expectation. Our language around execution is the RSi Performance Pathway. Simply stated, it is the following throughline:
Leaders create the culture, culture generates behaviors, and behaviors drive results.
A litany of RFP-friendly answers surrounding our hiring, training, incentivization, tech stack, security, etc., fit within that statement. However, execution has to be lived out, not just something said or written down somewhere.
I’ll distill it this way. If we are an excellent fit for a provider expectation-wise, have alignment on the mutual goals of each organization, are focused on delivering on their core outcomes, and adhere to the Performance Pathway, execution becomes automatic.
You make it sound very simple.
Well, it is. Simple doesn’t necessarily equal easy, don’t get me wrong, but we excel at doing what some people would call boring tasks at an extraordinarily high level. That’s our niche and in my opinion, the most significant factor behind our sustained growth.
That feels like the perfect note to end on. Thank you for taking the time.
Anytime!