Regence Blue Shield (previously King County Medical Blue Shield) has accomplished extraordinary results in just one year.

By applying the Tor Dahl methodology and process, Regence Blue Shield was able to quickly identify where and how it should focus its resources to produce the most dramatic improvements in performance and customer service. All obstacles to high performance were clearly defined and systematically eliminated through an employee-driven, “grass-roots” implementation process. Here are just a few of the most significant accomplishments from the project:

• Record sales growth through Enrollment Process Innovation teams:
  • Targeted 25% — achieved 36.2% plus a 25% growth in groups
• Record customer retention of 98.1%
• 62% reduction in the inventory of unprocessed claims (from 176,000 to 67,000)
• Dramatic increase in the National Industry Score (NMIS) from 81 to 98.6.
• 127% increase in the number of claims that were automatically processed (from 16.2% of the claims to 36.8%), resulting in a significant reduction in processing costs.

These results were accomplished because everyone was engaged in a systematic and exciting implementation process focused on breaking the unique logjam at Regence Blue Shield. A climate of high performance and increased employee satisfaction was created. It was all employee-driven to ensure buy-in and maximum impact of the actions. Here are just a few of the many new and innovative projects currently underway at Regence Blue Shield:

Balanced Scorecard
Each team developed a balanced scorecard to track the most important measures of productivity and customer satisfaction for their team, including key financial measures, customer measures, internal process measures, and measures on learning and growth. The scorecards are aligned with the overall business needs of the organization and assist each team in being self-managed.

Integrated Incentives
A balanced, integrated incentive/competency based program was developed to create alignment between corporate goals, division business needs, team business needs, and a revision of individual incentives to promote better teamwork and more productive work habits.

Communication Sessions
Regular communication sessions are held for several hundred employees to discuss weekly performance such as the claims inventory status and balanced scorecard measures. The employees also discuss innovative ideas and share resources flexibly across teams to meet critical business needs. The meetings are held in an exciting high performance manner and have evolved into a very powerful forum for communication, information sharing, and teambuilding. They foster organizational learning and help build relationships. All the branch operations are linked to the sessions to utilize the full capability of the resources and achieve maximum impact of the knowledge that reside within the organization.

Yearn to Learn Campaign
This campaign was established to foster a learning organization. It is a continuing education program designed to introduce employees at Regence to a variety of highly relevant topics of interest throughout the year. Special seminars, training sessions, discussion groups, reference books and materials, and leadership and employee forums all contribute to a stimulating and exciting work environment at Regence Blue Shield.

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