Kristin Scott

Q&A with Kristin Scott, director of member services & corporate culture at Capstone Health Alliance

August 02, 2019
by John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter
Steve Jobs once said, “It’s not the tools you have faith in – tools are just tools – they work, or they don’t work. It’s the people you have faith in or not.” North Carolina’s Capstone Health Alliance had this notion in mind when it developed ten points for establishing an office culture that encourages team work for improving the services they offer to clientele.

Kristin Scott, Director of Member Services & Corporate Culture at Capstone Health Alliance, recently sat down with HealthCare Business News to discuss the fundamentals for creating this type of office environment, and the advantages it offers to its employees, clientele, and as a whole, the business.

HCB News: The first thing that strikes me is that you have a role at Capstone that many companies do not have. Can you tell me a bit about your day-to-day obligations as director of member services and corporate culture, and also how your background prepared you for the position?

Kristin Scott: I have been blessed to have an eclectic background that could not have prepared me more thoroughly for this role. My undergraduate degree is in Sociology and I have a Master of Arts in Counselor Education. I put myself through graduate school working as a medical recruiter and have always had a strong interest in organizational development and solution focused therapy. Working as a Career Counselor at the University of Tennessee, practicing as a psychotherapist, and recruiting have all prepared me for this position.

My responsibilities here at Capstone are two-fold.

I work in the member services side, where my focus is to identify areas for continued improvement. Uncovering an opportunity for improvement is most often found through member surveys and one-on-one interviews. I may explore a new initiative that will bring value to our members or look at ways to enhance a current member service. A few years ago, we had members identify the need for more education around supply chain topics. So, Capstone created a member-led council to develop an education platform focused on priority learning objectives relevant to our members. Now in it’s second year, the Capstone Learning Academy provides access to educational topics through online learning modules, with a quiz to measure learning and certificate of completion to celebrate a participant’s commitment. This ultimately results in growth for our members individually as well as organizationally.

The other side of my job falls in the human resources, corporate culture space. Corporate culture is often described as an organization's goals, strategies, structure, and the way a workplace interacts with customers, coworkers, and the community. Capstone’s corporate culture has been named This is Us. It the “nature” of our organization and what we expect from one another as team members.

In addition, we want to make sure that we help ensure work/life balance for our team. We recognize that employees have other interests and priorities outside of the office. Capstone strives to enhance our corporate culture ~ we want our employees to be proud to be part of the Capstone team.

HCB News: How have attitudes toward corporate culture evolved in the last few years?

KS: There are several changes taking place in most companies that have organically allowed corporate culture to evolve. Two that stand out:

Unemployment rates are low, making a lot of positions available, but with few people to fill them. It takes time, money and energy to onboard a new employee. Back in the day, if someone left a position, you had another person in line waiting to fill it immediately. We’re not in that place anymore. We are in a space where if we have employees that are doing their job and exceeding expectations, we want to make sure we are keeping them. An intentional focus on our employees and assuring they know they are a valued teammate is of extreme importance.

Secondly, many companies are taking on remote employees, and need a way that individuals can feel connected to their organization when they are not in the office every day. Being a company of 24 employees, roughly two-thirds are in the office at least once a week. The other third is not. Trying to find a way to have that connectivity and implement corporate culture has become an area that companies must address.

HCB News: From a business standpoint, how does nurturing a more positive and inclusive corporate culture impact the bottom line?

KS: I believe it touches everything we do as a company. Every conversation or phone call, anything we touch, we want it to come across as friendly, helpful and warm. That does not mean we have to agree on everything, but we do have to honor each other in knowing that we’re trying to work towards a common goal. It takes a village; however, everyone needs to know that their voice is heard.

HCB News: Capstone has 10 principles for its corporate culture. How were those created?

KS: Capstone Health Alliance President and CEO Tim Bugg and I attended a meeting where a facilitator discussed the importance of organizations’ focus on corporate culture. This sparked our interest. We then sat down with our leadership team to identify areas that are important to us in our company culture. We started with a huge list and narrowed to areas that really resonated with us. Our desire was to identify principles that we could really take throughout our culture overall. Once the Leadership Team narrowed the list, we shared with all employees during a team meeting to get more feedback and word smith. This led to the creation of This is Us.

We work with members, supply partners and each other. We also participate in community events. It doesn’t matter who you’re dealing with. Everyone should receive that same level of attention. This is Us has become an expectation in our organization here at Capstone.

HCB News: The 5th item calls for the practice of "blameless" problem solving. What does that mean?

KS: This is one of my favorites. It is so easy for any of us to become focused on a problem that we get stuck in figuring out where the issue originated instead of working towards a solution. Creatively applying a focus on working towards a solution in a meeting, rather than digressing into whose fault it is that the issue arose in the first place leads to more productivity and less finger pointing. This is not to say that an issue never needs to be addressed, however. Making sure it is addressed at the right time and place is the key.

We are holding ourselves accountable for that space versus always trying to divert the problem on someone else. That way, it’s not anybody’s fault that the process isn’t working, but raises the question of how we can come together to find a way to improve.

HCB News: What are some suggestions for other companies looking to implement a better corporate culture?

KS: Get to know your employees. It’s hard if you’re a larger company, but it can start anywhere. Assuring team members know they are valued and appreciated is necessary.

We do employee“shout outs” or“high 5’s”that we highlight in our team room. It’s a board where we post things from our members or suppliers, and anything in the community that is a shout out to our employees or to the company as a whole.

Once a year, we do internal shout outs to one another and display them on the board. Everyone in the organization sends something to me, expressing their appreciation for coworkers in the organization. Team members are then able to see what’s been said about them, but they don’t know who said it. I keep that anonymous. It’s not about “who gave the accolades.” We’re focusing on celebrating one another’s success.

We do different types of gatherings, such as lunch and learns; we have read Radical Candor, a book about giving constructive criticism in a clear but kind way; and team trainings to focus on how we relate to one another and our work place preferences.

For people’s birthdays, I send out a personal birthday card to each person and tell them what they mean to our organization to let them know we’re celebrating them that day. I mail it to them versus just putting it in their box. Little things like that authentically mean a great deal to employees.

HCB News: What is one of the most important or surprising lessons you've learned since taking on your position?

KS: People need to be heard. I think that’s the biggest lesson I am reminded of daily in this role. It is important for companies to create this relevant space in a transparent way, that others know is safe.

The HR, corporate culture driver must be approachable and available. At the end of the day, people want to know and feel they matter. Knowing that their work makes a difference and that they are valued will make for a better corporate culture for all teams.