Arkansas Inc. Podcast: RelateCare COO Eibhlín Payne

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TRANSCRIPT

Eibhlín Payne:

This is Eibhlín Payne, Group Chief Operating Officer at RelateCare, and you are listening to the Arkansas Inc. Podcast.

Olivia Womack:

Welcome To the Arkansas Inc. Podcast. This is Olivia Womack. I serve as Director of Business Development for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. I've been a guest on this podcast, but this is my first time being in the studio to host. In my role as Director of the AEDC Business Development Team I get the opportunity to work with wonderful executives, just like we'll hear from later in this podcast, from companies from a wide range of industries as they evaluate their next expansion. Some of these companies are based in Arkansas, but in many cases they're across the country or even outside of the US. In March of 2023, RelateCare based in Waterford, Ireland, announced that it would be establishing a location in Sherwood, Arkansas, to support the back-office functions for hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States. This expansion will create 255 jobs in the central Arkansas area.

RelateCare provides patient access and patient engagement solutions to lead healthcare organizations around the world through its technology platforms. The company has seen rapid growth over the last decade and currently employs more than 1,400 people in Ireland and the United States, with 500 of those jobs added in the past year alone. Today I'm excited to welcome Eibhlín Payne, Group Chief Operating Officer of RelateCare, as our guest on the Arkansas Inc. Podcast. Eibhlín has lived and worked in Ireland, the UK and the US, and worked across multiple industries including healthcare, entertainment and gaming, telecoms, automotive, and hospitality, and retail, her experiences in global operations' best practices, service delivery and support, contact center, international leadership, organizational transformation and change management. She's led large scale workforces in the USA, Europe and Asia, and has a background in reinventing traditional operations into fully integrated multi-channel customer experience strategies. Eibhlín is an alumnus of Trinity College in Dublin. Eibhlín, welcome to the Arkansas Inc. Podcast.

Eibhlín Payne:

Thank you very much.

Olivia Womack:

Eibhlín, I just read your brief bio and you have a myriad of experience, and I was just curious what got you into your current role at RelateCare?

Eibhlín Payne:

Well, I have, as you know, worked in many different industries, hospitality, automotives and so on, and always in service delivery, contact center type operations. And I immediately prior to joining RelateCare, I was the Vice President of Global Customer Support for a video game and entertainment company with operations all around the world and I was living in California. And I was there when the COVID pandemic began. So, aside from the obvious impacts of lockdown, not being able to travel and see my family and so on, for the very first time I really was truly conscious of the importance of healthcare to society. I guess over my lifetime I've been blessed with really good health, so I've thankfully had fairly minimum dealings with hospital systems wherever I lived. But in the environment of the Global Pandemic, I had the luxury and privilege of being able to work in my home.

But there were hundreds and thousands of workers out there, all around the world, risking their own health and lives to take care of others, especially back in those early days when it was such a big unknown. And the realization there over the latter part of 2020 started to have a profound impact on my thinking and what I was doing and what could I contribute. So the opportunity to work for RelateCare arose and it seemed serendipitous. I was able then to put my years of experience in operations, service delivery and people leadership to good use. I could join a rapidly growing company that was supporting those frontline healthcare systems that had come under such pressure throughout the pandemic. So, I think really it was that feeling that I could get a sense of purpose and give something back, that made me take that move, which was in April 2021 when I joined the company.

Olivia Womack:

Yeah, that's awesome. I think a lot of people during the COVID Pandemic really realized the importance of healthcare and supply chain and customer service in healthcare. So, I think that's a very important point that you mentioned. Could you maybe talk a little bit about what services RelateCare provides? How do you talk about your work to your family and friends?

Eibhlín Payne:

In terms of the services we provide, really our aim is to help ease the administrative burden on hospital management systems, which is in a variety of ways to enable them to better focus on clinical PET care and patient experience. We provide consultancy support and that will help to optimize back-office functions, access centers, we can help design logic workflows, optimized scheduling and so on. And then we also provide partner solutions in administration and contact center support and in telehealth with nursing support. So, we often operate as an extension of a hospital's own team and its appointment centers.

Olivia Womack:

Eibhlín, we talked about the COVID-19 pandemic and how that changed the ecosystem and the face of healthcare. So, I was curious, what are some of those major trends that you're seeing in the healthcare industry, in the post pandemic world, that are driving change in innovation?

Eibhlín Payne:

Yeah, you're right. I think the pandemic really did accelerate the development of digital health solutions, from telehealth to at-home testing. We all got used to consulting with our doctor from our homes just as a start. So, there's been a kind of a revolution in approach to patient care and creating opportunities for integrated health data ecosystems going forward. If we think about the improved access to health data that we have these days, that really gives healthcare providers the ability to deliver a level of personalized care, optimize outcomes, strengthen patient relationships, and ultimately reduce costs.

So, the combination of robust data and digital solutions is also going to drive the integration of AI in healthcare, offering much more potential for streamlined operations and research acceleration and so on. And of course, optimization and efficiency are always important and continue to be a lot of the trends we've seen. And in the post pandemic financial challenges, there's been a lot of workforce challenges right across the industry. So many healthcare organizations now are really focusing on streamlining those operations to include digital solutions that enhance workflows and patient care coordination and delivery.

Olivia Womack:

I agree. I think definitely the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated trends that may have taken longer to be adopted as far as using technology in the healthcare sector, but it sounds like the COVID-19 pandemic caused people to be forced to use technology in a way that they hadn't before, so maybe increased adoption along the way.

Eibhlín Payne:

Indeed.

Olivia Womack:

One of RelateCare's clients is the Cleveland Clinic. Could you maybe talk a little bit about how RelateCare works with the Cleveland Clinic and some of the services that y'all provide to them?

Eibhlín Payne:

Sure. We've been working with the Cleveland Clinic for around 10 years now and we support them in their scheduling of patients, their appointment center. We really operate as an extension of their appointment center in Cleveland itself.

Olivia Womack:

Great. Could you maybe talk a little bit about what your favorite part of your work with RelateCare is?

Eibhlín Payne:

Probably the people I come into contact with. I meet so many people within the company, with our clients, both sides of the Atlantic in Ireland and in the US, people from all walks of life and healthcare, and working in healthcare, and having to access healthcare, I think it's a great leveler. So you meet people kind of on a level setting all of the time, and that's really fascinating and enjoyable to me.

Olivia Womack:

That's great. Yeah, definitely being able to focus on the mission of serving patients better, I think, is a very good mission to strive towards. In March of 2023, RelateCare announced, as we mentioned, that it would be establishing a location in Sherwood, Arkansas, to support back-office functions for hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States. And this is a great opportunity for central Arkansas. So I just would like to know a little bit more about why this expansion made sense for RelateCare and what your experience has been like so far here in Arkansas?

Eibhlín Payne:

Before March 2023, and in fact in the middle of 2021, we had started to hire people to work remotely in Arkansas after our Director of Professional Services had a chance meeting with a recruitment specialist in Little Rock. And we were really delighted with the caliber of the people that we hired. So much so that within a year we had almost a 100 employees there spread across the state, but with a concentration around the Little Rock area. And the demand for our services was ever-increasing, so it really made sense for us to establish a physical location there to compliment our operations in our offices in Ohio, and that was why we opened the fourth patient coordination center back in March.

Olivia Womack:

So how have things been going so far since you started in March?

Eibhlín Payne:

Really well, since that opening day back in March, we've hired another 40 people in the area, and we're currently setting up a nurse triage partnership with a hospital in Washington State. Because Arkansas is a Compact state, we're hoping to hire over 20 nurses with Compact state licenses in Arkansas between now and November.

Olivia Womack:

Could you maybe explain a little bit of what the Compact state means for those of us that aren't in the healthcare industry?

Eibhlín Payne:

Indeed. So, every state has its own nursing licensure. So, nurses register to work in a particular state, usually where they live, but there are a number of states in the US that have what they call Compact Status, where they are interchangeable. So if you apply for a Compact state license in the state that you live in, it's usable in the other Compact states. So it's not every state is Compact, but Arkansas, thankfully, is one of them and very recently Washington State became one as well. So that means that people who have an Arkansas Compact state license can support nursing and patients in Washington State.

Olivia Womack:

Very helpful. Thank you for the explanation. How have you found the workforce in Arkansas and what would you say to other executives who are considering locating a facility or an office here in the state?

Eibhlín Payne:

Really delightful. We've been very fortunate with our hiring from the days when we were hiring remotely, to recent months when we've been hiring for in-office working. And I think what I would say to anyone who is thinking about hiring in Arkansas is really to focus on trying to make local community connections, because word of mouth really goes a long way when you're new to an area as an employer. Some of our best hires are people who have been recommended to us by existing employees.

Olivia Womack:

Some of us at AEDC had the chance to spend some time with you and the RelateCare team when you visited back in March. So, what surprised you most about Arkansas?

Eibhlín Payne:

I think probably the weather. In my visits to Arkansas, I have experienced all the extremes. Extreme heat, ice storms, tornadoes, torrential rain, and I guess I had always assumed prior to visiting Arkansas for the first time and spending some time there, I'd always just kind of envisaged that it was almost desert-like and that was far from the truth. So I think that was the biggest surprise to me.

Olivia Womack:

That's funny. Yeah, definitely. In Arkansas there's a saying that, "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes." Because it will change that quickly. I don't know how you experienced it, ice storm and all the different things that you experienced while you were there. I don't know how long you were there. It sounds like it could have just been a couple of days.

Eibhlín Payne:

It was over a few trips, no, it was over a few trips. But yeah, there was gorgeous sunshine and then a tornado the next day on one of my trips, so that was quite a surprise.

Olivia Womack:

Sure. Doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it can be very interesting. Eibhlín, what do you like to do outside of work?

Eibhlín Payne:

I'm pretty low-key and low energy outside of work, I guess because I'm with people so much in my working life, so I don't do anything too strenuous. I like dining experiences. I like going to music concerts and theater, do a lot of reading, I still do a lot of gaming, hanging out with my small groups of friends. And I like to travel, although I do it a lot for work, I like to travel in my downtime as well.

Olivia Womack:

What's kind of an underrated country that you've been to that you would recommend other people go to?

Eibhlín Payne:

Juno. There's a little island in the English Channel called Jersey, which is the original Jersey, not New Jersey in the US. And it is like a mix of England and France. So it's actually British. It's a British jurisdiction. It's not part of the United Kingdom, but it's part of that jurisdiction, but ownership of it has passed between England and France many times over the centuries. So it's almost like you're living in an English-speaking country with all of the advantages that brings, if you're a native English speaker who doesn't have any other languages, but you kind of get the French culture and food. So it's somewhere that I like to visit. And certainly my friends in the US, it's not a place that many people have heard of, so it's always somewhere I recommend.

Olivia Womack:

Okay, I'm booking my trip after we get off this podcast. What are some books or podcasts or other resources that have inspired you or helped you along your career?

Eibhlín Payne:

Oh boy, where would I start? Let me see. I think my go-to is always Steven Covey and The Seven Habits of Successful People. He usually, I find something in there to inspire me a lot of the time. My favorite is, "Seek first to understand." People, very often, quick to jump to judgment or want to get their point across, self-promotion and everything that comes with that, but I think there's an awful lot to be said for seeking first to understand the context of a situation before you offer your own opinion or try to impose your own solution. So I think that's a pretty key one for me. Something else, if I go back really to my early career, and I think when I was first starting out as a graduate out of college, Ken Blanchard, some of those basic business books, The One Minute Manager, things like that really got me started in my management career. And then over the years you pick up lots of different learnings. So it's a good thing to keep learning, keep reading, always be open to new things.

Olivia Womack:

Yes, I agree. I think if we can all keep learning and, like you said, seek first to understand and then be understood, I think that would solve a lot of problems that we see in the world today.

Eibhlín Payne:

Indeed.

Olivia Womack:

Awesome. Well, this has been a great conversation and really appreciate the time that you spent with us and your investment in the state of Arkansas. And I can't wait to see more success for RelateCare and the team here in Sherwood.

Eibhlín Payne:

Thank you very much.

Olivia Womack:

I've had a wonderful conversation today with Eibhlín Payne, Group Chief Operating Officer of RelateCare. Eibhlín, thank you so much for spending time with us today and hope you have a great rest of your day.

You've been listening to the Arkansas Inc. Podcast, this is Olivia Womack, Director of Business Development at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. You can subscribe to the Arkansas Inc. Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you listen to other podcasts. For more information about the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and to sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit Arkansasedc.com. And feel free to connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Thanks for listening.