Independence Blue Cross’ “Competitive Dynamics: Key Insights for Healthcare Leaders” Web-based learning experience was designed to support the following corporate goals:
- Equip approximately 200 directors with a baseline level of knowledge about the current state of the health insurance market
- Increase utilization of competitive insights in goal-setting and decision-making
- Increase use of internal and external resources for staying informed of developments within the competitive landscape
Program Details
Developed by Independence University in partnership with the Corporate Research, Strategy & Planning department, this mobile-friendly, interactive course contains three sections:
1. An exploration of three key trends impacting the market
2. A look at important recent developments among the company’s main competitors
3. A virtual tour of resources available on Independence Blue Cross’ internal corporate research site
Each section includes key information related to that topic, links to related information, and strategically positioned “ask yourself” questions designed to encourage directors to consider how they can apply the insights learned to current business challenges. The course focuses on the competitive landscape from a big-picture perspective while intentionally pointing directors to internal and external resources to further their knowledge of current trends in the health insurance market.
Independence University anticipated it would be a challenge to convince directors to take 30 minutes out of their day to engage with the course. One way this was addressed was by giving the course a novel look and feel that contrasted with previous e-learnings. The course was built in Articulate Rise, resulting in a unique Web-based, mobile-friendly experience with the vertical feel of an interactive news piece, containing embedded videos, images, and interactions. The course also linked out to a third-party site for the course evaluation, to provide a fresher, more intuitive survey experience than the company could achieve with its intranet. This learning experience was made available to directors and above on all mobile devices.
The course content and communication plan for launch was thoroughly reviewed and approved at all stages by Independence Blue Cross’ executive vice president and chief strategy and communications officer. The initial e-mail invitation to engage directors in the training also was sent by the EVP and chief strategy and communications officer. Additionally, the communication plan called for significant involvement from other senior officers, including:
- Providing a templated e-mail to officers to personally encourage their directors to participate
- A reminder sent from the EVP and chief strategy and communications officer approximately one month after course launch
- Conducting targeted outreach to officers to put competitive risk on leadership meeting agendas
Results
Competitive Dynamics has resulted in demonstrable behavior change and responses to the calls to action presented in the learning experience:
- Independence Blue Cross saw a 113 percent increase in enrollment in the listserv for daily coverage of industry developments and competitive dynamics in the time following the launch of the learning experience compared with the previous quarter.
- The organization saw a 31 percent increase in submissions to its competitive insight platform in the 90 days following the launch of the learning experience compared to the preceding period.
- Leaders in the Sales division found this learning so valuable that they requested to distribute it to their entire workforce and include it as part of their Sales Certification program. Leaders in the Enterprise Risk Management division requested to use this learning as part of their Risk Management training for all associates. This expanded distribution would increase the number of associates offered the learning by more than 10 times.
