Top 5 takeaways for successful change management in healthcare

In this special guest post, Mitch Mann from MaxorPlus shares his experience leading change in healthcare, highlighting what works, what doesn’t, and key takeaways to drive success.

If you’ve ever had to call your pharmacy benefits provider, you know it’s rarely because something’s going right. At MaxorPlus, we get that, and it’s exactly why we’re committed to showing up differently.

We’re not just a pharmacy benefit manager. We’re a team of people who believe managing medications should be simple, supportive, and centered around real human needs, because behind every prescription is a person counting on us to get it right. That means leading with empathy, empowering our agents, and building systems that work for everyone.

Over the years, we’ve learned a few hard-won lessons: moments that challenged us, pushed us, and shaped how we show up for the people who rely on us. If you’re leading through change, growing your team, or simply trying to make every interaction count in a high-stakes industry, these five takeaways might strike a chord.

1. There’s no room for bad—or just good enough—experiences.

“It’s healthcare,” I say this a lot, and it means something. People aren’t calling us because they’re having a great day. They’re usually trying to get access to something that affects their or a loved one’s health. That makes every interaction critical.

When someone reaches out, it’s often under stress. Maybe their medication is delayed. Maybe they don’t understand their benefits. Maybe they’ve been transferred too many times already. In that moment, they’re not comparing us to other pharmacy benefit managers, but to the last great experience they had anywhere.

That’s why consistency is so critical. We can’t afford to deliver excellent service to some and mediocre service to others. Every interaction needs to reflect care, urgency, and clarity. In this business, a great experience isn’t a differentiator; it’s an expectation.

Takeaway: Start with a shared vision.

Before transforming the contact center, we brought everyone to the table—executives, frontline agents, and key stakeholders. We defined what “great” should look like and why it mattered. When people help shape the vision, they’re more engaged in making it real. Change feels like something we’re doing together, not something being done to us.

2. Every interaction is an opportunity to build—or lose—trust.

Across MaxorPlus, we handle roughly 40,000 interactions a month. That’s not just a number—it’s 40,000 real people who need help and 40,000 opportunities to make a difference in their lives, often times with life-saving medication. And in every one of those interactions, we either deepen the relationship or risk eroding it.

Trust doesn’t come from getting everything perfect. It comes from showing up with empathy, taking ownership, and resolving issues with transparency. This kind of reliability is what clients remember and share with their coworkers and families. And in a business where referrals and satisfaction drive renewal and retention, it matters.

Takeaway: Choose a partner, not a vendor.

When we set out to modernize our customer experience, we didn’t just look for the cheapest option; we looked for a true partner. Talkdesk aligned with exactly what we were looking for. They understood our needs and goals and became an extension of our team. This mindset—seeking alignment, not just functionality—helped us avoid short-term fixes that don’t support long-term success.

3. Culture can scale—if you’re intentional about it.

Before COVID, our operations were based in just two cities—Amarillo, TX, and Phoenix, AZ. Today, our 150-person team is spread across more than 20 states and 30 cities. The shift to remote work has been a game-changer in many ways. It has allowed us to tap into talent we might never have found otherwise. People who are passionate about service, bring diverse perspectives, and want to make an impact. However, as we grew geographically, we knew we had to proactively maintain alignment.

From day one, we have invested in onboarding programs that connect new hires to our mission. We made communication a priority with open feedback channels. And most importantly, we reinforced that every role, no matter where it sits, contributes to the member experience.

Takeaway: Adopt a “you spoke, we listened” mindset.

Throughout our transformation, we didn’t just ask for feedback—we acted on it. And we told people when we did. That loop—listen, adjust, follow up—has created a culture where people feel seen and heard. As I often say, customer service is a people business, and culture drives everything else.

4. Technology should empower people, not replace them.

When I first stepped into this role, one of the biggest pain points was our technology. We were using tools that didn’t speak to each other. Agents had to jump between systems, and supervisors couldn’t see what was really happening in real time. It was frustrating, inefficient, and made everything harder than it should’ve been.

Our turning point came when we partnered with Talkdesk with the strategic decision to modernize how we support our people. Now, our tech stack is streamlined. Agents get contextual information fast. We have better visibility into trends, issues, and coaching.

Technology is critical for routing calls, leveraging AI, and providing access to better tools to free up our people to be more human, not less. The human touch is what drives great, consistent member experiences, and the technology should empower that, not replace it. Great service doesn’t come from great tools alone. It comes from great people with the tools they need to thrive.

Takeaway: Empower your agents.

We give our agents real-time access to post-call surveys and KPIs. That transparency helps them self-manage and continuously improve. It also reinforces our hire-to-retire mindset—creating an environment where people grow, thrive, and stick around because they know they matter.

5. Members must be at the center of every decision.

We’ve all sat in meetings where metrics dominate the conversation: average handle time, first call resolution, NPS, CSAT. And don’t get me wrong—those are important. We track them, learn from them, and aim to improve them. But numbers only tell part of the story. If you don’t understand why someone is frustrated or what made an interaction exceptional, you’re missing the point. Last year, for example, we had over 50,000 post-call surveys, and we earned an average score of 4.8 out of 5.

That’s why we constantly ask: “What would this feel like if I were on the other end?” That member-first mindset shapes how we build policies, design scripts, create escalation paths, and coach our teams. It reminds us that speed means nothing without empathy, transparency, and real solutions. Putting the member first isn’t just good CX—it’s good business. When people feel heard and cared for, they stay, recommend, and trust.

Takeaway: Be a student.

Healthcare doesn’t sit still, and neither can we. Whether it’s a new piece of technology, a fresh approach to coaching, or an emerging best practice, we make a habit of learning. Our team reads, listens, pilots, and iterates because the best way to honor the people we serve is to never stop getting better.

This work still inspires me every day.

Healthcare is complex, emotional, and incredibly meaningful. It constantly pushes me to grow because there’s always something new to learn, new technologies to explore, and new ways to improve the member experience.

I’m proud of the work we’re doing at MaxorPlus because I know it makes a difference. Every call, every email, every chat is a real person reaching out, often at a vulnerable moment. We’re not done. We’re learning. We’re adapting. And we’re committed to delivering on our promise to members, one interaction at a time.

If you’re navigating a similar journey, I invite you to watch the full webinar. In it, we explore these issues, share real stories, and discuss what it takes to build a more human-centered experience.