Healthcare
4 min read

9 Steps to Recession-Proof Your Healthcare Call Center
Michael Blumental Chief Revenue Officer, Hyro
9 Steps to Recession-Proof Your Healthcare Call Center

Every industry aspires to be labeled “recession-proof,” but only one sector has consistently earned this distinction – healthcare.

 

While other sectors flailed during the Great Recession of ’08, healthcare jobs and national expenditures rose steadily, reflecting similar patterns witnessed in previous US recessions. 

 

But this economic downturn is different. 

 

From April 2019 to April 2020, health employment fell by 8.2% (a whopping 1.3 million jobs). And things aren’t looking any brighter today. In 2022, health systems faced their worst financial year since the start of the pandemic, with approximately half of US healthcare organizations ending the year in the red.

 

There’s no other way to phrase this: The healthcare industry is no longer recession-proof—and nowhere is that more evident than in healthcare call centers.

 

Healthcare call centers serve as critical communication hubs for patients and providers, playing a vital role in facilitating access to services, providing support, and enhancing the overall patient experience. In many ways, they act as the first line of defense for every healthcare system, but they are also the first to bear the brunt of economic shockwaves.

 

With this in mind, let’s dive into the nine steps you should consider to recession-proof the operations of your call center. Steps that, if scaled correctly, can be applied to the broader organization as a whole.

Identifying Priorities Despite Economic Uncertainty

When asked what a recession is, legendary Morgan Stanley CEO Jamie Diamond replied: “something that happens every seven years.”

 

If history has taught us anything, it’s that recessions come and go. Yet many organizations become overly fixated on the current economic climate and lose sight of their long-term goals. 

 

This is a mistake. 

 

Strategies solely focused on crisis management have inherent limitations. Research firm Gartner found that during recessions, “winners spur innovation, change strategy, and take risks, while others are eaten away by conservatism and cost-cutting.”

Source: Gartner

While economic downturns necessitate tighter budgets, continue prioritizing digital transformation initiatives that can streamline call center operations and improve patient satisfaction. 

Unlock Potential by Identifying and Addressing Weaknesses in the Patient Journey

Here’s the bottom line. A well-designed patient journey directly impacts patient loyalty, retention, and, ultimately, net patient revenue. Analyzing gaps in the patient journey can help healthcare contact centers identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies in their processes, remove redundant steps, and enhance overall efficiency. 

Boost Patient Loyalty Through Enhanced PX

Patient experience (PX) is critical in an increasingly selective and competitive healthcare landscape.

 

88% of consumers now believe that the contact center experience is just as important as the quality of services rendered by a company. Moreover, 73% of consumers say they expect companies to understand their unique expectations and needs. And perhaps more strikingly, 66% of customers admit to being less patient with companies slow to adapt to shifting expectations. 

 

In other words, focus on PX or risk being left behind.

 

Positive PX establishes a reputation for trustworthiness and patient-centeredness, leading to increased referrals and boosted net patient revenue. And the data backs this up. During the 2008 financial downturn, organizations prioritizing consumer experience rebounded faster and outperformed the market by three times the average, according to Forrester research.

Source: Forrester Research

Maximizing Reach with Omnichannel

Prioritizing omnichannel strategies can enhance the overall patient experience and strengthen the competitiveness of your healthcare contact center.

 

Omnichannel is about providing patients with more choices, allowing them to select the channel that best suits their needs.

 

Patients in remote or rural areas may prefer telehealth or virtual communication options, while others with urgent medical needs require channels that offer real-time responses.

 

The more communication pathways you provide, the more revenue-driving patient requests you can capture. 

Boost Agent Retention

It should come as no surprise that healthcare call centers often struggle with agent retention. The high-stress nature of healthcare contact center work, and frequent exposure to patients’ medical concerns and emergencies, can lead to burnout and emotional fatigue among agents. Additionally, demanding and irregular work schedules, including night shifts and weekends, can disrupt work-life balance and negatively impact agents’ job satisfaction.

 

While there’s no easy fix, there are established strategies you can employ to address these challenges. Namely, promoting work-life balance, providing competitive compensation and benefits, offering opportunities for career advancement, and leveraging technology to help agents do their jobs more efficiently. 

Improve Scalability and Flexibility With Adaptable Solutions

Healthcare contact centers often face sudden call volume surges, leading to long hold times and overwhelmed queues. And traditional solutions like hiring more agents or outsourcing are costly and impractical during a recession. To handle surges effectively, invest in flexible solutions such as automated call routing, cloud-based platforms, and AI-powered virtual assistants for efficient workflow management during peak periods.

Prioritize Technology For Today and The Future

Prioritize scalable technology that aligns with your long-term growth plans. For example, automation solutions can provide immediate relief by automating common customer queries such as FAQs, current public health advice, and so on. At the same time, choose technology with the potential for expanded capabilities in handling more complex issues, such as Rx management and appointment scheduling. 

Composability as a Mindset

Composability, as defined by Gartner, is the ability to create an organization using interchangeable building blocks. Embracing composability allows for agility and flexibility, enabling you to quickly adapt to changing patient needs, regulatory requirements, and industry trends. 

 

As for specifics, composability means leveraging APIs and containers to seamlessly integrate separate systems such as EHRs, telehealth platforms, CCaaS, CRM, and automation. It means finding solutions that can easily integrate with any combination of common platforms and self-built systems and be swapped out hassle-free when needed. 

Prioritize Efficiency Now

Looking at previous recessions, a trend emerges: the most resilient companies focused on increasing operating efficiencies earlier than their less resilient peers. Here, the emphasis lies on implementing immediate efficiency-boosting technologies such as automation tools, speech recognition software, predictive analytics, CRM integration, and cloud-based solutions. These solutions offer quick cost savings and free up staff to concentrate on more complex efficiency-boosting projects.

About the author
Michael Blumental Chief Revenue Officer, Hyro

Michael is Hyro’s Chief Revenue Officer and an accomplished tech executive with over ten years of experience building and scaling successful customer-focused operations for global B2B companies. Michael spent 14 years as a professional folk dancer, which makes a ton of sense, given her swift moves and seemingly endless energy.

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