Brummitt Group

06/18/2026

On the Generous Benefits Podcast, Amanda Brummitt and Jessica Taylor explore coaching as a leadership skill. Jessica returns to the show to explain how leaders can coach their own teams, what coaching looks like in real conversations, when its the right tool, and why proactive coaching strengthens performance and trust.
Jessica walks through practical methods like the GROW framework, examples for team meetings, how HR leaders can use coaching daily, and safe, practical ways to use AI to role-play and design coaching questions.Catch Jessica's previous episode here: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-w4rsm-1a87377.

06/17/2026

Amanda Brummitt had so much fun catching up with Sarah Matt MD, MBA on The Clinical Realist podcast about her favorite topic.....Patient Experience. We grateful that Dr. Matt cares enough about patient experience to really dig into it, because this is a topic that too often gets dismissed as a soft metric when it is actually a margin driver, a retention imperative, and the thing many AI rollouts forget.

A few things from the conversation that every healthcare leader needs to know:
-Patients are shopping, and they are usually doing it on their worst days. In any specialty with competition, there are a ton of things that can go wrong before a patient ever reaches the exam room.
-The first phone call matters more than almost anything else. A warm, calm human who answers questions, even for the sixth time, is often the difference between a scheduled appointment and a patient who says they will call back and never does.
-Friction accumulates by accident. No one sets out to make care hard to access. If you want to see it, secret shop your practice. You'll be shocked.
-Technology should be built for patients, not just the organization. If you are going to call it patient experience, test it on patients. If it did not make their life easier, call it what it really is.
-Embrace AI rather than shame it. Patients are using Dr. Google, Dr. Claude, and Dr. ChatGPT either way. Give them trusted prompts and trusted resources so the conversation happens with you instead of around you.
-And the part leaders cannot ignore: it is cheaper to keep the patients you have happy than to throw forty thousand dollars at marketing while they walk out the back door. Watch your no-show rate and your patient attrition. Those numbers tell the truth.

Thank you, Dr. Matt, for the thoughtful questions and for caring about this work the way you do. Worth a listen if you lead a practice or health system.

Patient experience gets treated as a soft metric. Amanda Brummitt, ...

06/04/2026

Host Amanda Brummitt speaks with attorney Amanda Hill about employment agreements, key contract terms, and how HR leaders should approach hiring, termination, and negotiation. They cover termination notice periods, the importance of clear compensation and bonus language, and strategies for amendments and standardizing contracts.
The episode dives into non-competes and non-solicits—what they protect, recent Texas changes for physicians, buyouts, and how to handle disputes—plus practical advice on picking your battles, using lawyers strategically, and the lasting importance of not burning bridges.

05/14/2026

Host Amanda Brummitt speaks with Samantha "Sami" Hickert about how everyday, five-minute interactions build trust, engagement, and a people-first culture. Samantha shares concrete habits leaders can use immediately, including the 10-5 hallway greeting, meeting prompts, quick "pick-me-up" photo shares, short feedback polls, rounding, recognition, and a personal user manual to understand team members.
The episode emphasizes consistency and visibility from leaders: schedule five minutes daily to connect, collect and act on feedback, and make small, stacked actions that shift culture and improve retention, performance, and wellbeing.Connect with Sami at https://www.connectionovereverything.com/.

04/30/2026

In this episode Bret Brummitt breaks down tiered and narrow provider networks, reference-based pricing, and community-owned health plans, explaining how these models work and why employers are exploring them as cost-saving alternatives.
He covers member steerage strategies, concierge support, trade-offs around access and coverage, and practical guidance HR leaders can use to align benefits with organizational goals and local providers.

04/29/2026

Understanding patient experience starts long before the exam room, especially for families dealing with chronic and complex illnesses. It begins on the phone, in voicemail messages, in appointment reminders, and at the front desk.

So, if you want to improve retention and referrals, start by understanding what patients, parents, and caregivers are carrying when they walk through your door. Keeping existing patients and referrers happy is more efficient than constantly finding new patients.

🗒️ Start With Your Front Desk

Front desk roles are some of the hardest jobs in healthcare.

They manage intake, insurance verification, scheduling, phone calls, rescheduling, upset patients and parents, late arrivals, and clinic delays. They are often expected to move quickly while maintaining warmth and accuracy.

If you’ve never worked the front desk, sit with your team for a day and just watch, listen, and observe. How often do the phones ring while a family is checking in? How frequently must staff switch between systems? Do tense conversations escalate when schedules run behind? What could make their job simpler and the patient’s experience better?

Ask your team:

What is most stressful about interacting with patients and parents?

What makes intake hard?

What questions do you wish you had answers to?

What do parents say that you do not know how to respond to?

Common answers often include:

“I don’t know how to explain insurance rules.”

“Parents get frustrated when I can’t give exact wait times.”

“I don’t know what to say when a child is having a meltdown.”

These conversations reveal friction points that leadership may not see.

Support staff with:

Scripts for difficult conversations

Quick-reference insurance guides

Escalation pathways

Permission to pause and reset

🗒️ The Actual Front Desk or Window

Whether it is a literal check-in window or the first human interaction, ask:

Do families feel seen and acknowledged?

Not processed, rushed, or dismiss. Rather, seen.

If there is a literal check-in window, keep it open. Always. Creating a physical barrier between patients and staff closes communication.

Professional presentation reinforces trust:

Visible name tags

Clean uniforms

Neutral scents

Organized spaces

End with sincere farewells: “We’re glad you came in today. Travel safely.” or “We look forward to seeing you next week. Can’t wait to hear how that school project went.”

Parent and patient experience is not a single initiative.

It is a series of small, consistent behaviors.

Empathy.

Clarity.

Warmth.

Preparation.

Follow-through.

If you need help mapping your patient journey, scripting challenging conversations, or training your team, we are glad to support you. Because families do not remember your policies. They remember how you made them feel.

04/09/2026

Welcome to the Generous Benefits Podcast with host Amanda Brummitt. In this episode, coaches Jessica Taylor and Kenzi Judge explain what executive coaching is, how it differs from consulting, mentoring, therapy, and life coaching, and when organizations should invest in coaching for leaders. They discuss credentials like the Professional Certified Coach, internal vs. external coaches, using assessments and 360 feedback, measuring return on investment through performance and retention, and best practices for selecting and evaluating coaches.
The conversation emphasizes using coaching proactively—during promotions, transitions, and for high-potential leaders—and highlights when coaching may not be appropriate, such as for remediation. Listeners will learn practical guidance for HR and employers on building a coaching program, making the business case, and choosing the right fit for their organization.

04/03/2026

Most physicians aren't salespeople, and that's okay.

But in year one, before the referrals are flowing and the reputation is built, you have to put yourself out there.

That means reaching out to potential referring clinicians, getting face-to-face, and doing something most people skip.

Ask questions before talking about yourself!

Find out what their patients need, what their practice cares about, and then position yourself as the answer to that.

The physicians who ramp up fastest aren't the best self-promoters, they're the best listeners.

Struggling to get out and visit other clinicians? Let's talk. I can share strategies to help you get over the awkward, cheat sheets to know what to say, can train someone on your team to help, or will even go with you!

Thanks Grant Taleck for pushing me to share this message!

04/02/2026

Host Amanda Brummitt talks with Joyce Odidison about reframing resilience as a systems issue, not just an individual trait. Joyce explains her nine-dimensional well-being model and how leaders, benefits, and culture can prevent burnout by addressing strain early.
The episode offers practical steps for employers and employees—measuring resilience, encouraging constructive conflict, and creating psychological safety—so organizations can retain people, reduce absenteeism, and support sustainable performance.