Nordic was recently recognized for having the single largest number of positive responses across all consulting firms in KLAS’ Healthcare Consulting: Who can help with current and future needs? This report compares feedback gathered from 176 providers on their opinions of success attributes and common struggles with their third-party partners. In this report, Nordic stands alone with the largest number of success attributes identified by the organizations we partner with. Hear from Josh Kalscheur, Nordic’s Advisory Services practice director, about what Nordic believes is the “secret” to providing effective strategic consulting.
At Nordic, we believe consulting success is built on quality consultants, commitment to our client partners, and proven solutions. Consulting success has to be built upon the collective knowledge across the whole company, not just a handful of good consultants. In addition, we believe that what makes a consulting organization different and particularly successful in the strategic consulting space is not just the years of HIT experience, but the approach. Credentials and practical, applicable experience aside (both of which we feel are clear attributes of Nordic’s Advisory Services team), it’s the attitude and personality that can set an organization apart and provide clients with the best tools, advice, and judgement to be successful. What about the consultants themselves? The approach we feel leads to success is one of top-tier, experienced consultants who provide first-rate strategic services to partners through expert guidance, integrity, and, most importantly, relationship building. Let’s break down each of these.
Expert Guidance
We see each strategic engagement as an opportunity to not simply solve the problem at hand, but to have the foresight and proactive thinking to guide our partners in preparing for and solving the potential next problems to achieve organizational goals and enact meaningful, sustainable success. Strategy is a process of combining experience with insight to solve the big problems and challenges our partners face; to see the opportunity in each new regulation, acquisition, implementation, and business demand. It’s in our nature to ask questions, to listen intently, and to apply deep expertise in guiding a strategy that solves problems instead of creating them. A successful consulting team is hungry to unravel the knots, provide advice partners can use, and offer expert guidance that matches the needs of the healthcare organizations with whom they partner, rather than their own revenue goals.
Integrity
We feel an Advisory Services consultant team should be built around individuals with integrity, whose character matches ours, a mission-driven organization committed to improving healthcare. That means talented, bright individuals who are particularly passionate about simply doing a great job. These teams should be focused on following a set of core beliefs that can be used to guide all interactions and decision-making, internally and with their client partners. At Nordic, we call those beliefs our maxims (see graphic). We take great pride in understanding expectations and needs and exceeding those expectations every time. Where some consulting firms may be particularly focused on selling more of their own services or telling providers what they need to do and how they need to do it, we believe the best strategic approach is one of collaboration, helping partners to understand the benefits and pitfalls of the different options in front of them. The best teams come equipped with the desire to roll up their sleeves and dive into the details to help ensure their partner’s success, which in turn leads to their success. That is something we at Nordic believe fully; this is true to our core.
Relationship
Finally, and most importantly, we feel relationships come first. While a successful team works hard to fulfill the needs of client partners, the long-term goal must be to build a lasting relationship based on mutual respect, consideration, and collaboration. The successful consultant is interested in working across all appropriate operational stakeholders to ensure adoption of whatever project or solutions they’re working on. From their internal team to their front-line advisory consultants, the best teams have experience and build relationships throughout the organizations with whom they partner – executive, operations, clinicians, and IT, with the ultimate goal always focused around happier, healthier patients. Sometimes, the best thing for a relationship is to admit when you don’t have an answer. No one does all the time. We see each engagement as an opportunity for the successful advisory team to prove again that it’s the best, brightest, and most committed partner. The team is eager to be flexible, compromise, and do what it takes to lift partners to the next level. That’s the backbone of excellence and who we strive to be at Nordic.
Here at Nordic, we think healthcare organizations in need of strategic consulting are not looking for an individual with specific experience and knowledge. They’re looking for a strategic partner with the kind of depth of services, guidance, and commitment that organizations like Nordic can provide. It’s in the strength of the relationship that we help solve problems together. It’s not simply identifying solutions for an organization. It’s working with our partners and listening to their needs in order to find the right path. Then, it’s great to have industry-leading experts on the same team who can execute on those plans. Nordic’s Advisory Services strives to offer the best strategic consulting by being exactly who we are – a trusted advisor with proven results. Thank you for reading!
Interested in discussing Nordic’s approach or Advisory Services in more detail? Feel free to reach out – josh.kalscheur@nordicwi.com. I’d love to connect.
