Short-Term Wins, Long-Term Strategy: CRM at Boston Children’s Hospital

// By Jane Weber Brubaker //

Managing change is hard, even for innovative organizations like Boston Children’s Hospital. “That’s something I hear in all the businesses I’ve worked with, from GE to Cigna to here,” says William Gagnon, senior director of global digital strategy and customer engagement at Boston Children’s.

Change is risky, and healthcare organizations are risk-averse for a good reason: People’s lives are at stake. But resisting change has its own set of perils. Even if you’re ranked #1 like Boston Children’s, if your competitors out-innovate you and start solving stakeholder pain points, you could be left behind. So how do healthcare organizations overcome resistance and embrace meaningful change?

William Gagnon, senior director of global digital strategy and customer engagement at Boston Children’s

Digital transformation at Boston Children’s is laser-focused on making the shift to a customer perspective—and customers include a range of stakeholders, from internal physicians and referring physicians to patients, families, and even clinical operations.

A key component of Boston Children’s transformation strategy is implementation of a CRM system. Marketing has taken the long view, and over time has negotiated with individual departments to get all the pieces in place—a price it’s willing to pay to be able to accomplish the objective: a personalized, streamlined digital experience for all stakeholders. “If we look at things from a stakeholder’s perspective, [the question is] really, how do people want to be treated?” asks Gagnon.

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