Cultural Connection in IT Managed Services for Healthcare: A Q&A With Linda Janiszewski

Technical skill is important, but success in healthcare IT managed services relies on a shared cultural commitment.  

We sat down with Linda Janiszewski, CTG’s Solution Architect, who’s a subject matter expert on healthcare consulting, technology, and integrations, to discuss the importance of cultural integration between managed services providers (MSPs) and their clients.  

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CTG: We recently sent out a CHIME market survey involving healthcare organizations’ experience with managed services. What were some of the insights from that survey? 

LJ: We had a question asking about the primary concerns clients had using IT managed services. The highest answer, even above security risks or reliability, was integration with culture, team, and processes.  

I think that result is telling and it makes sense. The results show us that managed services providers have to be good partners beyond the actual services. Managed services teams engage in long-term partnerships. It’s not a six-month engagement like you might expect with a temp worker. These contracts often last three to five years, so the cultural connection is critical. 

CTG: Who are typically the main players in these managed services agreements? 

LJ: Since managed service agreements are generally multi-year agreements and the cost modeling is a key component, the decision makers tend to be at the Director level and above (e.g., Vice Presidents, CIOs, and similar C-suite leaders). Of course, their leadership team is involved in ensuring alignment on the value proposition and planning the success metrics. 

CTG: What are some of the ways your team has built rapport with clients or prospective clients interested in managed services? 

LJ: A lot of what resonated with a recently onboarded client was how my team came to the table and talked about how we do this in collaboration with them. We explained how our partnership is based on trust and a “can-do” attitude. We’re not just talking about our services matter-of-factly, but the way that we approach working with their team. Those little details make a difference.  

Another factor is tenure. We’ve shown our emphasis on culture through the amount of time we’ve spent in partnership with many of our clients, some of which we’ve been supporting for 19+ years. That really resonated.  

CTG: You emphasize experience. Can you tell us more about that? 

LJ: Yes, we’re rooted in experience. We’re driven by performance and KPIs, yes, but we’re really grounded in client satisfaction and trust. Collaboration, seamless integration, teamwork, flexibility, and trust.  

Then, beyond that, we’re guided by the patient experience. We ensure we’re aligned such that patients, caregivers, and the community of care receive stellar service and support. 

CTG: What does that cultural connection look like in practice? 

LJ: I remember I was excited to help run the managed services for a children’s hospital. My office was their office. I lunched with them and I went to events with them. At some point, you couldn’t tell that my business card said CTG.  

That’s the beauty of having such a strong integration. You’re so integrated that you know you’re part of the team. 

CTG: What are some of the principles your team uses to keep these managed services relationships going so strong and build that tenure? 

LJ: There are five pillars we share with clients. One is patient safety, emphasizing the reliability of systems. That is absolutely crucial. Another is risk management, making sure testing is comprehensive and quality is high as we collaborate with vendors or operation partners.  

Next, along the lines of culture, we discuss communication. We want to make sure the communications we have with operations are both clear and proactive. Alongside that, as a fourth pillar, we also want to support joy as much as possible. We want to intentionally create a positive experience when end users are seeking support. The fifth pillar is conflict management. We want to track trends and course correct as needed, which is easier if you already have those healthy communication lines open. 

We show clients that we understand healthcare. We take this seriously. Given the emphasis on communication, we also share the importance of cultural alignment in making all this work as smoothly as possible. 

CTG: “Thank you so much for your time, Linda.” 

LJ: “Thank you.”