Real Stories. Real World.

In these unprecedented times, it’s more important than ever to treat our biggest challenges as opportunities in disguise. On the S3 Comply team, we’re no stranger to this approach; most of our client relationships start with seemingly insurmountable challenges, from the avalanche of disparate data to the weight of aggressive deadlines. By working through these challenges, we not only make the immediate burdens disappear, but also strengthen our ever-growing client partnerships.

In light of the challenges we’re ALL currently facing from the pandemic (in work and in life), our team has found much value in reflecting on the times we turned our biggest challenges into wins for our clients – because those successes frequently offer learnings that can be applied to our current challenges.

So, we got to thinking about some of our biggest wins from the recent past, and we’d like to share one of our favorites…

The Situation: A Retirement, a Vacant Position, and a Giant Backlog of Reporting Work

One of our largest clients was starting to flag issues with the transparency reporting of one of their vendors. For many years, the vendor’s Finance Analyst had provided solid reporting to our client, but when she retired – the vendor didn’t fill her role, because the Finance Director assumed he could take over her responsibilities.

Our team provided the needed training, but the Finance Director struggled with finding the time to do the work, as well as with the vendor’s internal system challenges, which were creating hurdles in the process.

After several extensions and missed due dates, it was clear the Finance Director needed help to save the vendor’s much-valued relationship with our client.

The Approach: Short-Term Fixes and Long-Term Solutions

“We decided to fly out to meet the vendor’s team in person, and they were happy to have us onsite,” said Bill LaTorre, Client Manager. “It was clear there were a lot of issues contributing to the situation, and fortunately, our team is adept at moving to the back of the ‘movie theater’ to see where each team member is coming from. We survey everything happening – and listen to every point of view – so that we can come up with solutions that work.”

The first step, of course, was tackling the six-month backlog of reporting. S3 Comply’s proprietary software tool, HCPHUB®, was used to quickly ingest the required data and prepare the transparency reporting.

“The in-person meeting also included a collaborative discussion to identify long-term fixes,” said Greg Warrington, TITLE. “From the CFO to the members of the clinical team, everyone was very open, and we enjoyed the opportunity to facilitate the process, and to see the team members learn from each other – and from us – and to come up with a series of lasting solutions.”

To start, the S3 Comply team helped the vendor understand the client’s specific reporting requirements, including the precise level of detail needed.

“As an example, the vendor wasn’t fully aware of all of the data items that are considered reportable,” said Greg. “So, the education component was critical to make sure everyone at the table knew the target we needed to hit.”

Because the vendor’s budget and systems were limited, the team came up with several practical solutions.

“Using HCPHUB, we created a workaround for the gaps in their systems by mapping an efficient template for collecting the needed data,” said Greg. “The vendor also hired a new Finance Analyst, and we provided early training – as well as coaching along the way to help her gain confidence in the process.”

And the vendor’s transparency reporting has been successful ever since!

“While we were happy to help eliminate the bottleneck of data, the biggest impact definitely came from the pragmatic, cost-efficient solutions that are ensuring the flow of critical reporting data is up-to-date and up-to-quality,” said Bill. “It was a win for the vendor, who had really been struggling, a win for the S3 Comply team, and a win for our client – exactly the outcome we always want!”

What Wins are You Celebrating?

We hope you’ll join us in taking the time to reflect on YOUR biggest wins, because they can offer plenty of learnings for current and future challenges.

Celebrating our past successes also reminds us of a very important fact: we’ve got this! Our days may be filled with new challenges right now due to the pandemic, but by working together, we can tackle anything that comes our way.

So, keep celebrating those wins! In the meantime, we’re here, we’ve got this, and we’re ready to help you achieve your next win.