Effective Change Management in Healthcare: Smart T&E Strategies for Organizations

Change is a constant in healthcare. From evolving treatments and patient care strategies to rapid advancements in digital transformation, the industry is always moving forward. But with that progress comes complexity—especially when it comes to managing travel and expenses (T&E) efficiently.

Today, healthcare professionals are more mobile than ever, making an effective T&E management system essential for operational success. It not only streamlines costs and compliance but also enhances the employee experience—critical in an industry facing ongoing talent shortages.

But implementing new systems in healthcare comes with unique challenges. Beyond choosing the right digital T&E solutions, organizations need a strong change management strategy to drive adoption and long-term success.

The Landscape of Change in Healthcare

Healthcare organizations face distinct challenges when implementing new systems and processes. Unlike other industries, healthcare institutions must maintain continuous patient care while managing healthcare organizational changes. This creates an environment where resistance to change is often heightened due to several factors:

Budget Constraints: Healthcare organizations must carefully balance investment in new systems with patient care needs

Staffing Limitations: Recent industry-wide downsizing has left many back-office teams understaffed and overwhelmed

Patient Priorities: Staff naturally prioritize patient care over learning new administrative systems

Complex Workflows: Healthcare professionals have unpredictable schedules and diverse travel needs, from emergency patient transport to conference attendance

These challenges can significantly impact user adoption rates and the overall success of T&E solution implementation. However, with proper planning and execution, these obstacles can be transformed into opportunities for improvement.

Change Management Models in Healthcare T&E

Successful change management in healthcare requires a structured approach that acknowledges both organizational and individual needs. There are several change management theories in healthcare. One is the ADKAR change management model, which provides an excellent framework for implementing T&E solutions.

Awareness

• Communicate the need for change clearly
• Share specific examples of how current T&E processes impact efficiency
• Demonstrate how automation can help understaffed back-office teams manage workload

Desire

• Create enthusiasm for the change by highlighting personal benefits
• Address concerns about learning curves and time investment
• Show how the new system will free up time for patient care

Knowledge

• Provide comprehensive training materials
• Offer multiple learning formats to accommodate different schedules
• Create quick-reference guides for common tasks

Ability

• Implement hands-on practice sessions
• Provide ongoing support during the transition
• Offer peer-to-peer learning opportunities

Reinforcement

• Celebrate early wins and share success stories
• Monitor adoption rates and address challenges promptly
• Recognize and reward change champions

Building a Strong Change Management Healthcare Plan

Developing a solid change management plan in healthcare requires careful consideration of the unique organizational dynamics present. Success depends on creating a structured yet flexible approach that acknowledges the complex interplay between various departments and stakeholders. This starts with creating a well-defined plan with clear goals, timelines, and deliverables.

Strategic Timeline Development

Change management strategies in healthcare should start with defining your objectives and establishing realistic timelines that reflect your environment's unique rhythm.

Rather than implementing rigid deadlines, successful organizations create adaptive implementation schedules that acknowledge the ebb and flow of patient care demands. This might mean planning major system transitions during traditionally slower periods or implementing changes in phases to minimize disruption to critical operations.

It’s important to account for the varying schedules across different departments when implementing healthcare change management. For example, emergency departments may require different training windows than administrative units. Additionally, building buffer time into the schedule proves crucial when unexpected patient care priorities arise, ensuring that the implementation remains on track even when immediate healthcare needs take precedence.

Comprehensive Stakeholder Integration

The complexity of healthcare organizations demands a multi-layered approach to stakeholder engagement.

At the executive level, visible leadership support serves as the cornerstone of successful implementation. Leaders must not only endorse the change but actively demonstrate their commitment through consistent communication and resource allocation.

Clinical staff representation brings valuable insights into workflow implications and potential impacts on patient care. Their involvement from the early planning stages helps identify potential challenges and ensures that the new system aligns with clinical priorities. Similarly, IT department participation ensures technical compatibility and security compliance, while finance team involvement helps optimize expense management processes and reporting capabilities.

Perhaps most crucially, back-office staff input shapes the practical aspects of implementation. These team members, who will work most directly with the new T&E system, can provide invaluable feedback about current pain points and desired improvements. Their perspectives help shape training programs and support systems that address real-world needs.

Strategic Resource Planning

Effective resource allocation forms the backbone of successful change implementation. Healthcare organizations must carefully balance the demands of system implementation with ongoing operational needs. This begins with establishing dedicated training time that accommodates various work schedules, including night shifts and rotating schedules common in healthcare settings.

Support staff availability must be carefully planned to ensure adequate coverage during both the implementation phase and ongoing operations. This might involve creating a rotating schedule of super-users who can provide peer support while maintaining their regular duties. Technical infrastructure requirements need thorough assessment and planning, ensuring that all necessary hardware, software, and network capabilities are in place before implementation begins.

Comprehensive documentation and reference materials serve as crucial resources throughout the change process. These should include both quick-reference guides for common tasks and detailed documentation for complex processes. Materials should be accessible in multiple formats – digital, print, and mobile-friendly – to accommodate different working environments and preferences.

Developing Tailored Change Management Strategies

Healthcare organizations face unique challenges when modernizing their T&E systems. Success requires a carefully orchestrated approach that considers the diverse needs of clinical and administrative staff while maintaining operational efficiency. By developing targeted strategies that address these specific needs, organizations can ensure a smooth transition to modern T&E solutions.

Building a Champion Network

Identifying internal champions who understand both healthcare operations and the benefits of automated expense management is key. These champions become the driving force behind adoption, serving as a bridge between technical implementation teams and everyday users.

Selection of these champions requires careful consideration of organizational dynamics.

The most effective networks include representatives from various departments – from intensive care units to outpatient clinics – ensuring that all perspectives are considered during the implementation process.

Technical expertise, while valuable, should be balanced with strong interpersonal skills and credibility within the organization. Natural leaders who already command respect among their peers often make the most effective champions, as they can influence adoption through both formal and informal channels.

Implementing Strategic Communication Plans

Communication in healthcare environments requires a nuanced approach that recognizes the 24/7 nature of operations and diverse staff schedules. A well-designed communication strategy for T&E modernization must reach staff across all shifts and departments while remaining relevant to their specific needs.

Regular email updates serve as the backbone of communication, providing consistent information about implementation progress and highlighting success stories. However, these updates must be concise and relevant, recognizing that healthcare professionals often have limited time for administrative communications. Department meetings offer opportunities for hands-on demonstrations, showing how new T&E tools can streamline common tasks like submitting emergency travel expenses or reconciling conference attendance costs.

Digital resources play a crucial role in supporting continuous learning.

On-demand training videos and documentation allow staff to access information when it fits their schedules, whether that's during a quiet night shift or between patient rounds. Mobile updates through push notifications help keep staff informed about important deadlines and system changes, particularly beneficial for healthcare workers who may not regularly access desktop computers.

Navigating Contemporary Healthcare Challenges

Modern healthcare organizations face several unique circumstances that impact T&E system implementation. High staff turnover, a common challenge in healthcare, requires training programs that can be quickly deployed to new hires without straining existing resources. These programs should focus on essential functions first, gradually building expertise through practical application.

Mergers and acquisitions, increasingly common in healthcare, demand T&E systems that can scale and adapt to organizational changes. Modern solutions should offer flexible configuration options that accommodate different organizational structures and approval hierarchies, ensuring continuity of operations during transitions.

The rise of remote work, accelerated by recent healthcare trends, necessitates robust virtual training capabilities and remote system access. This includes ensuring that mobile apps and web interfaces are intuitive enough for quick adoption by new users, while still maintaining the strict security protocols required in healthcare settings.

Compliance Considerations

The healthcare industry is highly regulated. So, managing travel and expense processes requires detailed attention to a complex web of compliance requirements. Each type of travel carries its own unique set of regulatory considerations that must be meticulously tracked and documented.

For example, complying with HIPAA regulations will require any expense documentation to protect patient privacy while still maintaining adequate records for reimbursement and auditing. For healthcare professionals who travel as part of their job, this delicate balance requires sophisticated tracking systems that can separate sensitive patient information from necessary expense details.

Research Grants

Research grant travel adds another layer of complexity to expense management.

You must carefully document how travel expenses align with grant requirements and funding restrictions, often requiring separate tracking mechanisms for different funding sources. Similarly, medical conference attendance brings its own set of documentation requirements, particularly when pharmaceutical companies or medical device manufacturers are involved in sponsoring events.

Continuing Medical Education

Another area of note is Continuing Medical Education (CME), which presents unique tracking challenges as well.

Healthcare organizations must maintain detailed records of all CME-related expenses to ensure compliance with licensing requirements and professional development standards. This includes tracking the direct costs of educational programs and associated travel expenses and time allocations.

Download our eBook, Top 5 Reports in Travel and Expense for Healthcare Organizations, to learn specific ways you can be more strategic about employee spending to ensure every dollar is used properly.

Streamlining Compliance by Automating Processes

Automation will be a key part of a modern T&E solution. It can streamline compliance and provide comprehensive audit trails. This has become especially important in today’s environment where finance teams are working with reduced staff from downsizing and layoffs. Back-office teams seem to be getting smaller over time, so you need help. It is not about doing more with less. It’s about refining systems and processes that reduce the manual burden.

Having a smaller finance team makes it harder to spend time on strategic activities, like looking for trends that can add to the bottom line. Automation allows you to focus your time where it matters the most and let your T&E platform worry about many of the details, providing you with the data you need to manage your spend.

Automation provides significant benefits to help you alleviate the administrative overhead and remain compliant, such as:

• Standardized approval workflows
• Built-in policy enforcement
• Automated audit trails
• Digital receipt management
• Real-time compliance checking

A modern T&E solution with robust automation tools can also create significant efficiencies to make everyone’s job easier. For example:

• Digital receipt capture and processing
• Automated expense report creation
• Integrated policy enforcement
• Automated approval routing
• Streamlined reimbursement processes

With the right T&E solution, you can also leverage mobile capabilities that enable a more seamless workflow. Digitally capturing receipts on the go simplifies the reporting process and avoids data entry errors when compiling expense reports.

By simplifying the end-to-end process, you can deliver a better employee experience at the same time you are strengthening and improving your spend management — and enhancing back-office productivity.

Implementing a New T&E Solution and Managing Change

Implementing a new T&E solution in healthcare organizations requires a carefully planned and executed change management strategy. Success depends on understanding the unique challenges of the healthcare environment, building strong support networks, and leveraging automation to address staffing limitations.

Done right, the result is a more efficient, compliant, and user-friendly process that supports both administrative staff and healthcare providers in their essential work. With proper change management strategies in place, you can maximize these benefits and ensure successful adoption across all departments as part of the digital transformation in the healthcare sector.

SAP Concur enables leaders to navigate industry changes and make informed decisions with conviction – providing them with the right perspectives, insights, and tools to move quickly while mastering costs, compliance, and cash flow.

See how SAP Concur solutions can help healthcare organizations like yours to continue to deliver exceptional care while controlling costs, reducing manual tasks, and ensuring compliance.