Customer Service Manager

Linda S. Biermann

** ******** ***, ****** *****, MD 21117

Cell Phone: 410-***-**** / Email: *********@*******.***

OBJECTIVE

Seeking a career opportunity within a growing organization where I may utilize my benefit implementation, management, customer service, administration, organizational, and data/statistical analysis skills.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

xG Health Solutions powered by Geisinger Columbia, MD

Manager, Client Implementation and Support (Laid Off 1/12/17) 9/2015 to 1/2017

xG Health Solutions is a start-up company utilizing Geisinger Hospital’s proven methods to power long-term success for providers and payers through analysis, care redesign, technology, and an unmatched depth of expertise. In addition, a training solution, xGLearn, for care management training was part of the portfolio.

Key responsibilities:

Responsible for leading and supporting the successful implementation of xGCare for our initial client, Geisinger Health Plan, a large insurer in PA. xGCare is a software solution to simplify and prioritize care management by facilitating consistent application of best clinical practices, eliminating redundant activities, minimizing documentation time and maximizing the use of non-licensed clinical staff.

Managed day to day maintenance of xGCare software including the utilization management, wellness, and care management modules. Also, responsible for 3 large hospitals to manage and support their analytics projects, xGLearn Care Management Training, and assistance to meet and maximize DSRIP quality goals.

Management of client requests, scoping of enhancement and change requests, project management, monitoring IT development and help desk work to ensure all contract commitments are met, ensure proper UAT is performed and client sign-off is obtained, assist with contract development and pricing, leading monthly governance executive steering committee meetings with the client, reporting progress and updates to senior leadership at client and internally regularly, weekly team meeting with internal and client team members to review progress and discuss new requests.

Management of IT Vendor to ensure all system enhancements were clearly understood and delivered meeting all agreed upon schedules. Included all enhancements were thoroughly tested.

UnitedHealthcare Columbia, MD

Specialty Benefits Implementation Operations Manager 5/2011 to 9/2015

•Managed a large team of Implementation Managers (IMs) responsible for the implementation of custom dental and vision plans for key and national accounts, including several large blocks of private healthcare exchanges.

•Responsibilities included managing the implementation of assigned accounts, including, but not limited to proper interpretation of sold documents to properly prepare a detailed implementation outline to submit to the Dental and/or Vision Installation Analyst to properly configure the dental and vision eligibility and claims system. In addition, the Team monitors and verifies client structure and eligibility is loaded properly, ordering of ID cards, verification ID cards are created and mailed by the vendor, and facilitating prior carrier claim file is loaded, as applicable.

•The scope of this role also included: Setting team direction/goals, resolving problems and providing guidance to members of the Team, overseeing of Team Leads and IMs, adapting departmental plans and priorities to address any operational challenges, influencing or providing input to forecasting and planning activities.

•Key performance metrics were monthly client service ready goal, VITAL Signs (employee annual survey), IM form and field quality, and client survey results. Under my tenure, all goals were met or exceeded.

•Additionally, I provided staff guidance, mentoring, and assistance as needed. Teamwork, integrity, compassion, proper focus on the client/member experience, innovation, and delivering quality results was promoted and encouraged.

•I worked closely with many internal partners including, Underwriting, Sales, Sales Support, Product Development Team, Provider Network, Plan Installation, IT, Claims, Contracts, Billing, Finance, Legal, and Eligibility Teams to ensure the client was properly implemented by all partner Teams.

•Successfully led a Lean Project with the Contracts Team to improve productivity and accuracy which resulted in a productivity improvement of 80% and a 15% improvement in accuracy.

•Created reports and an improved dashboard for the IMs to help the Team Lead and the IMs better monitor work queues and ensure all implementations were completed timely.

•A programming error was identified which affected the proper claim reimbursement for certain procedures for a large population of clients. Under my lead, clients were immediately put on claims hold to minimize the exposure, IT was quickly engaged and a resolution team formed to determine root cause and resolve the error. Once all clients were systematically corrected, I also successfully negotiated a plan with the CEO of Dental to make the client whole and allow the members to retain the overpayments on their claims to preserve the client and the member experience.

•Implemented regular Team Huddles to ensure IMs had proper focus for the day, address any questions, encourage teamwork, and rebalance workload as needed.

•Continually reviewed processes to find ways to improve productivity and quality. Successfully automated the detailed plan implementation document which improved productivity by 20% and quality by 5%. In addition, staffing was freed up to work on some special projects.

•Served as a member of the BAR Committee to review complex cases to ensure our internal system capabilities could accommodate the RFP request. Alternative solutions were also offered where possible to ensure the client’s expectations could be properly administered.

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield of MD Owings Mills, MD

Sr. Human Resource Analyst 11/2009 to 2/2011

(Laid Off – Downsizing)

•Functions included gathering and reporting metrics to monitor employee turnover, headcount, corrective actions, affirmative action, absenteeism, overtime, internal training results, and new hire statistics to assist each business unit, as needed. Performed trend and benchmarking analysis each month and as needed.

•Assist Strategic Planning and all field HR Client Consultants by performing additional research, as needed, to explain high turnover, overtime, temporary help, as needed.

•Participate in numerous surveys to gauge how the Company compared with other similar companies of the same size and industry (Saratoga, PwC, Aon Hewitt, BNA, BCBS of KA, and SHRM, to name a few).

•Prepare a weekly Radar Report for VP of HR to communicate highlights that occurred in each department in HR during the prior week. In addition, prepare a Monthly Dashboard for each Division as well as a Quarterly HR Report for the CEO and VP of HR.

•Responsible for assisting with reporting data for the CEO, VP of HR, and Board of Directors to assist in decision making for the annual salary and benefits budget for the entire Company. In addition, assist with preparation of the HR Annual Budget Request presentation for presentation to the CEO and the Board of Directors

•Monitor the HR annual budget each month by preparing monthly budget reports for Senior Leadership.

Included highlighting and identifying areas exceeding budget dollars and why.

•Responsible for Capital Assets Budget, running queries from Oracle and PeopleSoft, severance calculations and communicating severance amounts to Finance, responding to budget inquiries, and other reports or special projects, as needed.

Group Benefit Services (GBS) Hunt Valley, MD

Manager, Account Installation & Renewal Services 5/2003 to 11/2009

•Responsible for managing the Account Installation, Renewal Services, and Broker of Record Teams for a large third party administrator. In the past, also managed the Quality Review, COBRA Administration, and Automated Billing Reconciliation (ABR) Team. Products administered: Medical, Dental, Vision, Rx, Life, AD&D, STD, LTD, HSA/HRA Accounts, FSA Accounts, and COBRA.

•Managed a staff of 16 to 20 employees.

•Coordinated and assisted with carrier audits and internal accounts each month. Also, prepared detailed account reconciliations for presentation to the carrier and/or clients, as needed.

•Collected monthly data from each department in Administration for reporting and trend analysis for the Executive Committee.

•Prepared a detail report for the VP of Administration each month to help identify staffing and training needs.

Overtime was also tracked to ensure annual budget constraints were not exceeded.

•Worked closely with carriers to ensure all carrier guidelines/administrator agreements were met and/or exceeded. During my tenure, the Department met and exceeded all carrier goals to achieve the maximum bonuses available for the Company.

•Instilled teamwork within my Teams and ensured all goals were met each month. Instituted many checks and balances to ensure high quality results.

•Trained staff on various carrier systems, as needed. In addition, conducted lunch and learns to train staff on Word and Excel each month.

•Consistently met monthly service ready goals to ensure a good client and member experience.

•Worked closely with Brokers and Clients to ensure customer satisfaction and assisted in employee meetings, as needed.

•Drafted a Broker Newsletter each month to accompany monthly renewal notifications each month.

•Automated the monthly renewal mailing to improve accuracy and timeliness of the mailing to Brokers and Clients. This enabled the Company to eliminate 1 1/2 full-time employees saving approximately $70,000 per year.

•Worked closely with internal and carrier IT Departments to help trouble shoot any transmission errors discovered. This included carrier specification reviews to ensure fields were being pulled and populated correctly on the daily carrier files.

Aon Consulting, Inc. Owings Mills, MD

Team Lead/Administrative Project Manager (BAOS Team) 01/2002 to 5/2003 &

(Laid Off - Department was relocated to Winston Salem, NC 5/2003) 02/1998 to 01/2001

•Held many roles during my tenure including Team Lead, Administrative Project Manager, Senior Plan Administrator, and Plan Administrator. In addition, volunteered and assisted with pension calculations for several months until a new Pension Analyst was hired.

•Management of multiple Fortune 500 clients for the Benefit Administration Outsourcing Services Department for a large international consulting firm.

•Define, translate and document detailed system, plan and business process requirements by reviewing and analyzing source documents for new client implementations.

•Present requirements to clients to obtain agreement on provisions of the plan and consult with clients on areas to optimize the system and enhance the customer experience through administrative best practices.

•Provide subject matter expertise to client, configuration and quality assurance team, shared services, and supporting services on plan provisions and ongoing processing concepts.

•Assist with internal acceptance testing including identifying test scenarios, and participating in test plan walkthroughs by providing feedback on test plans covering complex functionality, executing tests to ensure proper functioning of the systems, logging issues and participating in the debriefs. In addition, led external acceptance testing sessions, answered any questions, and obtain client sign-off.

•Transition requirements knowledge by leading the requirements hand-off meeting with Ongoing Teams and acting as a resource for questions during the transition.

•Lead and facilitate ongoing updates for all requirements documents for plan provisions, administrative events, interface documentation, and delivery channel documentation for clients in ongoing delivery. Leverage others where appropriate.

•Manage the delivery of Annual Enrollment.

•Record and review project scope document/plan with internal team to ensure project stays on track meeting both budget constraints and client commitment deadlines.

•Provide support for training and tool development for Ongoing Teams by reviewing plan, creating client plan tip sheets and overviews to respond to inquiries appropriately, reviewing Customer Service training materials, and facilitating the training of Customer Service Representatives.

•Coach less experienced Plan Administrators. Monitor associate performance to ensure results are achieved in an effective/efficient manner.

•Leverage talent/resources on the team to generate results to meet the needs of the clients.

Oxford Associates Baltimore, MD

Manager of Health & Welfare Services 02/2001 to 01/2002 (Returned to Aon Consulting, Inc.)

Licensed health and welfare professional responsible for the management of the Health & Welfare division of a mid-size consulting firm.

EDUCATION and TECHNICAL SKILLS

Villa Julie College (now Stevenson University) Owings Mills, MD

Bachelor of Science Degree – Computer Information Systems (3.36 GPA) Graduated 2002

Masters of Science Degree – Advanced Information Technologies 9 credits completed

The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA

Bachelor of Science Degree – Business Administration Graduated 1986

Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, Visio, Project, PowerPoint, WebEx, FACETS, CITRIX, Orbit, Rosetta, SBM, PeopleSoft,

Business Objects, JIRA, AS400, Wonderbox, SharePoint, Salesforce

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