By Laurie Morgan, Capko & Morgan
Recently, we worked with a primary care practice of nine doctors that had been acquired by a regional healthcare player. The regional group had a corporate culture that was friendly, but still very businesslike and professional. A year into the acquisition, the parent organization could see their new practice was not adapting to the culture – and they brought us in to try to help.
Acquired – on their terms
The free-wheeling doctors were not bothered by the culture mismatch. In fact, this new combination was partly driven by a previous failed merger with the state affiliate of a national health system. That earlier merger had failed because the practice’s culture clashed severely with the formal, hierarchical one of the health system that acquired them. Instead of trying to adapt, the physician owners had stubbornly expected to maintain the autonomy they had when they were independent. Aggravated by the constant demands that they change, the doctors had sought out a rescue acquisition from their new parent – hoping the smaller, friendlier regional corporation would be a better match for their practice’s casual vibe. However, having experienced one unpleasant experience already, the doctors hedged by negotiating acquisition terms they hoped would clearly permit them to maintain a separate culture.
Their requirements included maintaining their own separate phone system and EHR; refusing to match their staff job titles and descriptions to the corporate standard; setting their own rules for managing drug and device rep relationships; and maintaining different office hours from the rest of the system. The parent company had never allowed a division to maintain separate systems and policies before, but because adding a primary care practice in the area had been an important strategic goal, they reluctantly obliged.
The doctors were quite proud of this negotiating coup, but their new parent was losing patience fast. There were negative consequences for the practice, too – like dramatically increased stress for staff members, who were frequently forced to work on multiple systems and mollify upset patients who were confused by the inconsistent policies. Constant billing problems – mainly due to using two different EHRs – also taxed the team, and cost the parent corporation significantly. Even the reps who served them were tripped-up by the practice’s irregular rules. Plus, everyone missed out on potential benefits like clearer career paths for the practice’s employees and higher profit-driven bonuses for the doctors.
Swimming against the tide
As any rep well knows, whether you’re working within them or selling to them, organizations of all cultures and sizes have their advantages and disadvantages.
Learning quickly how things get done inside your employer’s framework is critical to success. Deliberately swimming against the tide – even if you’re a superstar whom everyone wants to accommodate – is eventually going to take a toll on you and your results. Once that happens, people’s frustration and annoyance start to outweigh the high hopes they had for your glorious potential.
The decision to merge with a large system is a difficult one for any practice. Sacrificing the practice’s culture for the corporate one may seem like too high a price. But how the team adapts is a big determinant in the success of the merger – and everyone’s job satisfaction. Doctors who are afraid of a possible bad outcome may try too hard to maintain their autonomy – and unintentionally make a tough situation much worse.
Reps see the good, bad and ugly of corporate life throughout their careers. You learn so much about adapting to changes – whether it’s your firm being acquired by a multi-national conglomerate, the unexpected obsolescence of your product, your own choice to start fresh with a different company, a leap-of-faith with a start-up, or any of dozens of other career scenarios. When one of your practices is acquired by a large organization, it can be a threat to your business – but it’s an opportunity, too. As an experienced corporate warrior, you can offer a gentle nudge in the right direction that can help your physician client navigate one of the trickiest transitions of his or her career.
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