Transcription:
Our Needs Have Changed: Thriving with Post-Pandemic Mentorship

Intro: The following SHSMD Podcast is a production of DoctorPodcasting.com.

Bill Klaproth (host): On this edition of the SHSMD Podcast. We're going to talk about the importance of mentorship. And how to thrive in a post pandemic mentorship. So let's talk with Jan Holland, mentor and Megan Stinchcomb, mentee, who will be part of shish meds virtual conference this year on October 12th. So let's get you mentored. Right now.

This is the SHSMD Podcast, rapid insights for healthcare strategy professionals in planning, business development, marketing communications, and public relations. I'm your host Bill Klaproth. And in this episode, we talk with Jan Holland. Vice-president of marketing and corporate communications at Cox Health and Megan Stinchcomb marketing manager at Mayo Clinic. You're going to learn more from Jan and Megan at SHSMDs virtual conference this year on October 12th, please visit shishmed.org/connections to learn more and to get yourself registered.

Jan and Megan, welcome to the SHSMD Podcast. As you know, we start every episode of the SHSMD Podcast with rapid insights. One quick tip someone can use to make their marketing communications better today. Jan let's start with you give us your rapid insight.

Jann Holland: Hello, Bill and team. Rapid insight that I'd like to share is that virtual teams can feel like their work is invisible to leadership, to their board of directors and to the system as a whole. So I think we need to think through more intentionally about how you showcase your team's work, and that can be done in a variety of ways, such as presenting quarterly dashboard reports to leadership and even inviting leadership occasionally to participate in your virtual staff meetings to say hello and have a better understanding of the work that's being done. The visibility to leadership I know that when I've done that the team members really appreciate, and that they know that their work is being seen across the system.

Bill Klaproth (host): Thank you for that rapid insight, Jan. Absolutely correct. Make sure you let leadership and the board of directors in the system know all the good work that's being done. Great point. Thank you for that, Megan. You're up next? Give us your rapid insight.

Megan Stinchcomb: Sure. I think my tip is similar to Jans. People still want to feel purpose in their work. And now that so many healthcare marketers are working remotely, it's more important than ever to really think through ways for the team to feel the impact of their jobs. So a few ways to do this could be bringing a patient or a physician into a team meeting to share a testimonial, or maybe sending your team into the hospital to experience a patient needs for themselves.

Another part of that would be to consider authenticity and making sure that creating a sense of purpose isn't a one hit wonder or a one time initiative, it is something that you consistently do in the office, with so many health care marketers or motivated, not only by a passion for marketing, but also the connection we have to helping patients and the communities we serve get well and stay well.

Bill Klaproth (host): Yeah, another great point, Megan, thank you so much for that rapid insight. We appreciate it. And Jan and Megan, thank you for being here. We look forward to your participation in SHSMDs meds virtual conference this year on October 12th. You're going to be talking about our needs have changed, thriving with post pandemic mentorship. So Jan, let me start with you. Let's first talk about some of the challenges that have been facing healthcare marketers professionally. Can you share with us some of those unique challenges that healthcare marketers are facing?

Jann Holland: Absolutely. In contrast to perhaps, in a non-clinical setting in a non-health care setting, healthcare is 24/7 and the needs, don't stop when you leave your desk at five or six or seven, or whenever our marketing professionals leave their office during the day. So frequent access to, computers. We're always on our phones that can create a little exhaustion. And we have to make sure that we take time for self care. So again, healthcare is 24/7. That can be one of the challenges unique to healthcare marketers. When we talk about our customers and our clients, we have a wide variety of those, right?

We've not only got our patients, but we also have our internal constituents. And you think about providers for example, we speak very different languages. And so we need to make sure that when we are exploring a new project, a new campaign that we're on the same page in terms of the way that we're explaining attribution modeling, for example. Or different languages that may be marketing, speak that are not healthcare speak, provider speak, and vice versa. And make sure that we're coming together and we're collaborating on not only the messaging, but how we will measure the impact and make sure that everyone's on the same page.

So again, making sure that people are speaking the same language, is incredibly important. And then I would also say that, COVID has really changed the way that we work. And so there can be less of visibility to the work that marketing is being done. And sometimes if you're not a recipient of that digital advertising or that digital message or that targeted message, there's often that perception that nothing's being done, that you're being quiet. And so you need to make sure that marketing is sharing the work that they're doing and there are wide variety of ways to do that.

And I touched on some of that with the quick tip, but making sure that you're circling back with those teams that you're working on with those projects, to make sure that you share the ROI and make sure there's clarity around the success, or the ways to improve, a campaign and a project.

Bill Klaproth (host): Yeah, those are some really good points. Again, making sure the team is aware of all the good things that are happening, the team and the leadership as well. So it doesn't seem very quiet, like is anything going on in there? Well, There's a lot happening here and here's what's happening. So letting everybody know of what's going on is really important. And then you said, make sure people are speaking the same language, another great point, Jan. So thank you for that. Megan, let me ask you a question. So many people view remote working as more efficient in terms of less time spent commuting or navigating the physical office environment. So what have you learned in terms of remote working challenges in the healthcare space?

Megan Stinchcomb: So in marketing we're often expected and we want to collaborate, but that might be too much of a good thing sometimes. And lead to collaborative overload. In the Microsoft 2022 work trend index.,I found that of the workforce is considering leaving their jobs in the com.Ng year. and it's not just about pay. It has to do with unsustainable workloads and some of the most compelling data was the increase in time spent collaborating.

So just a quick example, weekly meetings via Microsoft teams increased by 252%. 6 billion more emails were sent in 2021. And the majority of meetings occurring on teams happened ad hoc. So instead of having the office drive by or hallway conversations, those have been replaced with digital collaboration, which wall can be good. It call us a lead to collaborative.

Bill Klaproth (host): Yeah. Wow. That's quite a statistic. 43% of the workforce has considered leaving the workforce. Is that right megan? Is that what you said? 43%.

Megan Stinchcomb: Yes. Due to unsustainable workload, not pay.

Bill Klaproth (host): Wow, that that is quite as stat. And we've all heard of the great resignation. Easy to understand when you hear that stat. So, Jan, let's talk about that and the great resignation when it comes to people leaving the workforce, how does mentoring potentially help guard against that?

Jann Holland: Right. And you think about when comes to workforce, it's not unique to healthcare that there are it's, you could see it in retail wide variety of industries, where people have said, I'm done and I'm taking a break and I'm tapping out on this. But then we know that people need to want to work, need to work. And for those individuals who actually say that healthcare is the area that they want to remain in. Sometimes that could be where mentorship can really come in and help is to help grow their network, to help individuals clarify and set goals and to serve as an accountability partner.

Those are all, the other reasons why, to a lesser extent, people might be leaving their job is they, quit their boss, right. Or they quit because there's a lack of opportunity or a lack of perceived opportunity. And so a mentor can help open an individual's eyes to career paths, to connecting them to individuals who may help them see a new path, a new opportunity, to connect them to new projects. What we try to do in our marketing department is when someone says I want to learn more, I wanna grow in my position. we've had individuals who've worked on performance improvement projects, on innovation rollouts.

And a wide variety of other projects that help them have more fulfillment in their job because they're learning more about innovation and new product rollout and performance improvement that occurs throughout the system. And we've seen that, that leads to job satisfaction. So I think mentorship can help connect people. It can help clarify goals. It can help people, in terms of learning and questioning and creating a safe space and helping them grow their network. in addition for those individuals who may be working remotely, it's a great place to have a work friend.

Because sometimes we know that individuals, especially if an individual works out of his or her apartment, there can be feelings of isolation and lack of connectedness, and a mentor can help with that as.

Bill Klaproth (host): Yeah. Having a work friend and I'm wondering Jan, with mentorship, you kind of feel like, Hey, I have somebody that's in this together with me. I'm not alone. Is that right?

Jann Holland: Right, exactly. They can be your partner and growing your career. And like I said, your network and just answering questions and helping remove obstacles sometimes. and Megan and I will get into this, when we actually have our presentation, sometimes it's a safe space to talk to someone that you don't directly reported to that. You can bounce ideas off of be a little bit more vulnerable with, and that's a great space for a mentor to fill.

Bill Klaproth (host): Right. Good point, Jan. So we've outlined some of the challenges healthcare markers are facing like the great resignation, remote work, the 24/7 nature of the job. One of the things we haven't really talked about is. How the pandemic really has changed things and how COVID-19 disrupted so much. And all the challenges that have come with that. Megan, can you talk about that?

Megan Stinchcomb: Sure. So coping with the big changes brought by COVID 19 include limited access to business partners and clients, brand new work routines and looming uncertainties, such as fear of diminished opportunities and career derailment. Am I ever gonna get promoted? Is my work ever seen? Will I ever reconnect with people in a meaningful way professionally? So our needs have changed and the ways mentorship can help with that are thinking through, potential mentoring avenues.

One can be virtual mentorship, which is when, if your workforce is widely dispersed, virtual mentoring may be your only option. And it might even be more appropriate for your work culture if you work in a Mar tech environment. It offers flexibility, but it could also be challenging for some individuals to build rapport, as opposed to meeting in person. Some other methods to think about would be reverse mentorship where a executive or more senior person is the mentee. And then they're mentored by a more junior person.

And that could be on a specific topic or technology. And then another possibility is, Schiffman mentorship, which is kind of a hybrid. It has a virtual mentorship component, but also replicates many of the features of a traditional mentorship program.

Bill Klaproth (host): So Megan, you mentioned the SHSMD mentorship program, which you and Jan are both a part of. In a mentor, mentee pair, if you will, although you said you kind of go back and forth, sometimes you mentor Jan. Although she is technically the mentor, you're the mentee. But if you could talk about the value of the SHSMD mentorship program. What is unique about it? And how has it been valuable to you?

Megan Stinchcomb: Well, I think Jan deserves all the credit as a mentor and she's a wonderful one. But yeah, we've, exchanged ideas back and forth many times. I think what makes the SHSMD mentorship program unique is what Jan had alluded to earlier, which is that, you have somebody who understands not only the challenges you face as a marketer, but also the uniquenuances of working in the healthcare industry. Where you're under, unique pressures. You have to do things that are HIPAA compliant and SARC law compliant and meet the needs of different audiences that are very specific to your industry.

And you may want to tap into a sh SHSMD mentor who understand your industry, but also doesn't have skin in the game. If you're being vulnerable about a challenge you have at work or a skill you want to develop, that's not one of your clients at work, who's necessarily thinking, oh, well, if Megan opens up to me about this, maybe she's not gonna do a good job on my next project or something like that. So that unique combination of expertise and understanding with the ability to be vulnerable is, really outstanding, I think.

Bill Klaproth (host): Yeah, that's wonderful. Thank you for sharing those thoughts and Jan, how about you? Can you tell us about the SHSMD mentorship program from your point of view?

Jann Holland: Absolutely. One of the benefits that I see also is that when we work within our own system, you can problem solve with individuals who are your peers or leaders within the system. But we only know what we know, right. Sometimes we can get tunnel vision on this is how our system handled it. But if you have a mentor within the industry, but outside of your market, but they're maybe a like market size, etcetera, or similar in their healthcare system size, you can understand how other systems are solving problems. And I feel like that's been really enlightening.

And one of the ways that as Megan and I have moved from different system to system, you have a wider perspective on, how problems can be solved, how projects can be run, etcetera. So I feel like that's another great way, that the SHSMD mentorship program is a benefit, especially also maybe smaller healthcare systems where they may not have. deep of a bench of individuals who are perhaps in marketing, then you have this opportunity to learn from someone, whereas that, maybe you all actually report to that person.

And to Megan's point, you wanna learn from someone who's maybe more seasoned or who's more experience in the industry and. Not necessarily someone that you report to, you want a wider perspective. Maybe you wanna bring those ideas back and impress your supervisor with the research that you've done and the opportunities that you're bringing forward, because you've got a larger network. And that's also facilitated by Schmid membership and the mentorship program.

Bill Klaproth (host): Yeah, those are really good points, Jan. And I know that mentoring in my own career has been invaluable, whether I've been mentored by someone to help me in my career when I needed advice and suggestions or coaching or feedback, and then turning around and mentoring other people, helping them in their career. It is a great process. So this is really interesting. What you said before we started the interview.

You said, well, I'm the mentor, but actually we kind of switched back and forth. I've learned a lot from Megan. So I guess maybe I'm answering my own question, but. It sounds like no matter what phase of your career that you're in, even if you're at tenured, professional longtime executive. You always can be mentored. Is that correct?

Jann Holland: A hundred percent. when I started at Cox Health here in Springfield, Missouri, I had been working for 30 years in marketing, but this was my foray into healthcare marketing. And my supervisor at the time had said, why don't you shadow some healthcare systems and asked questions and talk with your peers? And I thought, oh my gosh, that's a fantastic idea. And I went and received a lot of good information from a healthcare system that, Megan had been associated with prior.

And I was so impressed with her willingness to just answer questions and educate me at the time she was doing a lot of really great work in terms of physician marketing, physician education, physician network building, and had created a really robust program. And that's an area that I had never worked in before. And we had a fantastic conversation and I really feel like she's a subject matter expert for that. And I've continued to tap her for those insights. And now as. Moved on in her career there continue to be ways that I learned from her on a regular basis.

I would also say we are in an environment, I mean, like so many industries, in marketing, it's changing constantly. And it's not just that something's falling off and something's replacing it. It seems like our toolbox just continuously gets added to. There are individuals who now are moving up through, in their experience and they may have, for example, more experience in social media. Whereas when I was early on in my career, that wasn't even a tool in my toolbox. And so being able to reach out to individuals and say, Hey, what is your thought on this?

Tell me your experience in it? That may have been a, an actual job that they held and they can kind of bring you up to speed quickly in an area of marketing expertise that maybe you hadn't had experience with previously, just because it continuously changes. For example, my daughter just added me to her Be Real network. And so I've been doing Be Real with her and all of her friends. And it's so interesting now I've seen it in Becker's. I've seen it I've believe in SHSMD, it's kind of the buzzy thing now.

And had I not had my daughter who is 26, who's actually in medical school, say, mom, you need to try this out. I don't know that I would've been exposed to it. I can't say that my peers are on Be Real right now, but I'm really excited that I am because it's teaching me another tool in the toolbox, as it relates to social media.

Bill Klaproth (host): Such a great point about learning a new skill. And that just goes to show you how the shish. Med mentorship program. Really does work both ways. So as we wrap up, Megan, can you tell us more about your session then you're going to be presenting at this year's SHSMD virtual conference on October 12th. It's titled our needs have changed thriving with post pandemic mentorship. Can you tell us more about that and what we can expect?

Megan Stinchcomb: Sure. So traditionally mentorship has focused on career growth and while this remains important, there are other benefits associated with mentorship that we need in today's workplace. So including social connection and emotional reassurance. So our session will touch on those things and be really intentional about the new needs that mentorship can help to address. And then we also will be having an interactive session. There will be a lot of audience engagement and it's gonna be a great time.

Bill Klaproth (host): Well, we know this is going to be a great session on October 12th, as you are part of this year's virtual conference. And I thank you for mentoring us. On this podcast Jan and megan thank you so much for your time we appreciate it.

Jann Holland: Thank you.

Megan Stinchcomb: It was a blast. Thank you.

Bill Klaproth (host): And once again, that's Jan Holland and Megan Stinchcomb, and you can learn more from Jan and Megan cherish. virtual conference. This year coming up on October 12th, visit S H S M D .org/connections. To learn more and to get yourself registered. And if you found this podcast helpful and how could you not please share it on all of your social channels and please hit the subscribe or follow button to get every episode. This has been a production of Dr. Podcasting.com. I'm Bill Klaproth. See, ya.