Along with their farsighted vision, Directors are strategic planners with proficiency in streamlining business processes, defining continuous improvement, accelerating employees’ strengths, and building robust teams to conquer any obstacles in managing Operations, Marketing, and Clients.

They are pioneers in transition management with a flair for generating/mining new business channels while stabilizing operations/service delivery across various projects in multiple geographic locations.

Bhiju Raj as the Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Omega Healthcare Management Services, Florida, United States, aptly fits the profile described earlier.

A double MBA holder from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies in Customer Relations Management & Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, in Advanced Sales and Marketing Management, a certified Lead Six Sigma Black belt certified professional who is also a Project Manager certified by PMI, Pennsylvania, U.S; Bhiju Raj has a vast experience of over two decades and expertise ranging from Operations, Sales and Marketing at Quess Corp, QuSicent Technologies, Engage2Serve, Minglebox; to his present Directorship position at Omega.

The mighty leader and one of the top-most valuable Directors globally, Bhiju Raj, spoke in an exclusive interview with CIOLOOK INDIA, discussing his professionally transformative career and his and Omega’s future. The highlights of the interview are given herein.

Sir, please tell us about the saga of your leadership from the beginning and how you have made Omega excel in its niche.

I have always been passionate about leveraging effective communication to build brand equity, credibility, and stakeholder trust. Starting my career as a customer service representative in 2000, I grew to join Omega Healthcare as a Director of Marketing Communications.

Throughout my 23-year career, I have juggled various roles and handled multiple global locations. Tech and automation have always been close to my heart, owing to my stint as a PMP -certified Project Manager. Still, I have never been too far from my love for Operations and Marketing/Revenue Operations. The role at Omega Healthcare was the perfect fit for me to create an impact.

With a good understanding of building brands and a keen eye on achieving business objectives by effectively leveraging marketing and communication channels, my role entails being a trusted advisor to the Senior leadership in India and the U.S.

My work involves working closely with the Senior Leadership team and leading critical change communications.

What inspired you to venture into the business area, and what new dreams are you nurturing to keep you motivated?

Creativity and growth have motivated me throughout my career. I am always seeking new ideas and concepts. Handling Marketing Communications for an IT-led Healthcare organization, I have been fortunate enough to build a career in a challenging and rewarding field. My inspiration for venturing into the business area was two-fold: first, a desire to make a positive impact on people’s lives, and second, a passion for marketing, innovation and problem-solving. This field’s tangible impact on people’s lives excites me, and I am confident in using my skills and knowledge to make a difference.

I love the idea of using creativity and strategic thinking to develop solutions to complex challenges. The healthcare industry has many opportunities for innovation and improvement, particularly in revenue cycle management.

We are already making a difference in the industry. Still, I want to expand my organization’s reach and impact by expanding the services to new regions and collaborating with other organizations to develop new solutions.

What leadership skills, values and qualities do you think your clients admire most in you and your company? 

Effective leadership is essential to any business’s success. I encourage my team to set high standards for work, hold themselves accountable for their performance and continuously strive to improve.

Please brief our audience about Omega Healthcare, its USPs, and how you are currently positioned as one of the best product/service/solution providers. 

Omega Healthcare is a trusted partner, helping improve financial outcomes through technology and clinically enabled transformational solutions for healthcare and life sciences organizations. The company’s platform-based services are tailored to the unique needs of our clients. Solutions encompass point/bundled solutions and fully managed services and help increase revenues, decrease costs, and improve the overall patient-provider-payer experience.

Omega Healthcare has over 32,000 employees across 12 delivery centres in the United States, India, and the Philippines. We are committed to creating true partnerships that deliver on the goals of every healthcare company we serve.

Our ability to scale, innovate and deliver is how we help our healthcare client organizations improve their bottom line. We are proud of the following:

• 32,000+ Skilled employees.
• $10 Billion in Accounts receivable collected annually.
• 500+ Bots designed and delivered to leading healthcare companies.
• 118+ Million Medical charts coded annually.
• 650,000+ Patient support calls handled per month.
• 145 million transactions handled.
• Omega Healthcare codes 16% of all emergency medicine charts in the U.S.
• Nearing 20 years of continued delivery excellence.

We strive to recruit and develop the best talent into exceptional employees through our internal training programs. It allows us to retain a high percentage of our team, capturing their expertise and passing it on to our clients. Omega recruits and trains our coders through our in-house training academy, OMCA, to ensure that only the highest quality talent works with our clients.

As an experienced leader, share your opinion on how adopting modern technologies like A.I. and ML impacts your industry and how your firm adapts to the change.

The right technology can reduce waste and improve financial, clinical, and administrative outcomes. However, buying, managing, and maintaining the latest technology can be too complex, costly, and resource intensive for many organizations. Omega Healthcare believes in innovation, including extensive use of A.I. and ML, enabling our services and clients’ successes. We invest in technology so our clients don’t have to.

With technology, we have Increased efficiency as automation reduces manual workflows and optimizes staffing. Greater productivity: Streamlined workflows improve the speed and output of core processes. Data and analytics help reveal actionable insights, and automation gets it right the first time, reducing waste and complexity and improving accuracy.

Considering the current industry scenario, what challenges do you face, and how do you drive your firm to overcome them?

A few challenges that Healthcare faces today include embracing digital transformation, suitable audience segmentation, brand reputation management, and quantifiable ROI measurement.

To overcome these challenges, we infuse the latest industry trends and technologies for handling end-to-end Revenue Cycle Management for Provider health systems, Payer, Pharma and other clinical offerings to stay ahead of the curve. We leverage data and analytics to gain insights into customer behaviour and preferences.

Identifying each audience segment’s unique needs and preferences, we tailor our messaging accordingly.

What would be your advice to budding leaders who aspire to excel in their career graph like you?

All I can advise to budding leaders who aspire to excel in their career graph is that:

– Keep developing your skills and stay updated with industry trends and technologies.

– Building a strong network will help you gain valuable insights and establish new partnerships.

– It is essential to be adaptive and flexible, open to new ideas and willing to adapt to any changes.

– Take on new challenges and step outside your comfort zone.

– Finding a mentor will be incredibly beneficial as they can guide you and offer industry insights.

– Effective communication is essential.

– Set clear goals and track your progress. The focus should be on delivering results.

How do you envision scaling Omega’s operations and offerings in the future?

I would want us to focus on the following major areas

• Innovation
• Expansion
• Strategic partnerships
• Digital transformation
• Talent acquisition
• Brand positioning