Organization Background
Experity was formed in 2019 out of a merger between Practice Velocity (PV), a firm founded by Dr. David Stern in 2002, and DocuTAP (DT), PV’s largest competitor, as a way to bring two winning cultures together. Experity offers an urgent care operating system including EMR & practice management software, patient engagement software, revenue cycle management services, and teleradiology services to about 5,700 urgent care clinics—about half of the nation’s total—across all 50 states.
Challenge
Find a system that could help the merger of two company cultures thrive together by pursuing shared goals.
Solution
When the new company was formed, Stern encouraged his executive team to embrace the principles of The Great Game of Business® (GGOB) right from the start—especially their core value of “Share Openly”—which help form the core of what they now call the “Experity Success System (ESS).”
Results
Despite the worst economic downturn since the 2008 financial crisis, Experity saw annual recurring revenue increase by 10% year-over-year while EBITDA came in $15 million above their 2020 plan—which helped every Experity employee earn a $2,500 bonus. “The GGOB system/methodology/philosophy has been one of the biggest shapers of our culture as we have worked through integrating our two businesses,” says Jennifer Wood, Chief People Officer. “Having people focused on common goals/critical numbers, and all winning or losing together has helped to break down silos and put everyone on a level playing field with regard to goals and processes. Keeping things fun and being able to reward people and teams because we are winning the game has also helped in forming Experity's culture.”
“The Great Game of Business is an amazing team-oriented program, it helps to get days going on the right track and it also helps to create a positive goal-oriented environment. It’s an amazing feeling when we accomplish goals both long and short term as a team. The company bonus is always awesome to receive, but it also helps to know that everyone's work is appreciated, and it helps show that it takes all of us as a team to reach our goals!”
~ Nikki McGuire, Medical Biller
Spotlight on the Pandemic
When the pandemic hit, Experity’s revenues initially plunged over 30% as people stayed in their homes and stayed away from urgent care centers. “Urgent care got lost in the shuffle,” says Wood. Due in part to Experity’s efforts to promote the value of the urgent care industry in the fight against COVID-19, revenue rebounded and hit record high levels after a few months. Experity’s team was able to get their financial results back on track—while also seeing some other cultural benefits. “The pandemic forced us to get creative and to try new things,” says Wood. “With people working from home, our Huddles and daily stand-up meetings helped keep the company glued together. It also helped convince some of our skeptics who hadn’t quite bought into post-merger culture and the requirements of the Experity Success System. Now, these are the folks who say they couldn’t even imagine starting out their day without connecting with their fellow team members.”
MiniGame™ Spotlight
At the onset of Covid-19 and the move to working remotely in March of 2020, Experity remained focused on working with their teams to optimize communication, daily standups, daily commitments, drivers, and team Priority One Goals (POGs)—which are the basis for what Experity calls “MaxiGames.” As with traditional MiniGames, MaxiGames are designed to change behaviors and drive results. But unlike a MiniGame’s typical three to six-month timeframe, Experity’s MaxiGames last an entire year. “We’ve taken the MiniGame concept to the next level,” says Wood.
“GGOB has been instrumental in affecting the culture and engagement of our employees since the merger of DT and PV. We have a common operating system that was born out of the concepts of GGOB that has helped to pull everyone in the same direction, so we are no longer "us" or "them" but now we are Experity.”
~ Joan Van Kessel, Executive Assistant
What’s Next
The majority owner of Experity is a private equity company—which means the company will eventually look for some kind of exit—either taking the company public or selling it in a few years. That could result in a big payday for the associates of Experity in the next few years thanks to their financial stake in the business through the Experity Synthetic Equity Program (ESEP).
“As we all know, the last year has been extraordinary. Having The Great Game of Business as part of our management cadence provides information and security about the health of our company. This has been vital when so many companies have struggled, and employees wonder "what's next!". We have been fortunate to hire more employees in the last year. The open book concept has been a way to attract top talent and to integrate them.”
~ Kristin Tews, Technical Writing Manager
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