Naji: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the podcast for purpose-driven healthcare leaders, striving to make life better around the world by leading their teams with genuine care, servant leadership, and love. I’m Naji your host for this podcast, joined today by Andrew Bunton Vice President of Omnichannel customer experience and at CVS Health, Andrew leads the efforts to create a differentiated, frictionless pharmacy experience leveraging cvs, digital and physical assets. He has worked at CVS Health for 10 years, including leading the retail pharmacies, development, and management of clinical services, retail health services strategy, and new product development. Prior to CVS, Andrew worked at Bain and Company and also as Vice President in the corporate and investment banking group at Bank of America. Andrew, I am so excited and honored to have you with me today.
Andrew Bunton: Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited about this.
Naji: First, I would love to hear your personal story. What’s in between the lines of your journey from purely business to banking and now leading in the healthcare industry?
Andrew Bunton: Yeah, I’ve, I’ve always been driven by wanting to make an impact and, and it’s, uh, and it’s interesting cuz I think even when I was in college, you know, flirted with maybe going into ministry and kind of thought, thought some about that.
Um, but ended up seeing that that was not my, my calling. Um, but, um, but then, uh, had an experience, um, had an experience at the Tuck Business Bridge program that kind of opened my eyes to. You know, just how invigorating and, and exciting the business world, you know, really was. And that’s what kind of lit my fire and desire for going into business.
Um, but along the way had always been looking for, you know, how can I make sure I’m making as big an impact as as possible, um, you know, through, um, you know, through business. Um, and that’s, and that’s really. Brought me to, you know, to focus on the healthcare space where I, I feel like I can kind of give back using the talents that, that, that I, you know, that I have, you know, leadership, you know, analytic, capability, strategy, toolkit, Um, you know, but, but, you know, make a difference, make a difference for, for folks.
Um, and, and so, uh, that that’s really, you know, been, been part of, part of that journey.
Naji: You definitely are doing a huge difference leading such a, such a large organization. So with CVS Health, uh, and specifically you’re using, and you talked a little bit about it, uh, data analytics, omnichannel, We hear a lot about omnichannel and all, you know, all of us in a healthcare want to get and become an omnichannel company.
So you’re reading those efforts. Uh, can you, can you tell me a little bit your definition of what omnichannel means?
Andrew Bunton: Yeah. At at, at the end of the day, for us, it’s really, you know, how do we meet our customers where, where they’re at. Um, and, and if, if a patient really wants to get their, say their medications delivered, um, you know, at, at, at at home, making that as easy as possible, if they want to come into the pharmacy, that’s great as well.
But how do we take a lot of the friction that’s historically existed within the pharmacy industry, you know, out and, and. You know, give, give the patient more power, you know, right at their fingertips to, to control their, you know, their medication and their overall, you know, health, health regimen. Um, it’s interesting and, and healthcare, you know, so much comes down to the little micro barriers, um, in terms of, you know, taking the right steps.
Um, and so what, what we’ve seen is, is if we can really focus on making things as easy as possible, you remove a lot of those micro barriers. And really help help patients to, you know, to stay on their medication therapies and live, you know, healthier, more active lives. So when
Naji: you started this transformation or this journey around omnichannel, I imagine those are large changes for the teams, especially when you have physical retail stories and, and now moving into digital, we face the same in the corporate word with, uh, with pharma.
Uh, obviously how, what is the key capability in your leadership style and the way you led those teams to be able to deliver, uh, on the omnichannel strategy?
Andrew Bunton: I think a lot comes down to, um, really, you know, energizing, exciting the, uh, the team around, you know, the, the, the art, the art of possible, you know, what, what could actually be, you know, delivered at the end of the day if, if we really get this right.
Um, and so a lot of it’s kind of starting with the patient and kind of grounding it in the. What is the, what is the patient looking for? What are some of the pain points that exist for our patients today? Um, and then how can we, how can we work to close, to close all of those gaps and getting folks excited about a world in which we really could deliver, uh, a frictionless pharmacy.
Um, and then, and then as we go, um, you know, it’s great to have some, some quick wins to really, you know, start to energize folks and, and get folks excited about, you know, about what, what is, uh, what is possible as we also work on some things that, that take a little bit longer, um, and, and, and are gonna require more persistence to, to chase after.
Naji: I love it. The art, uh, the art of possible. And you share, starting with the patients, and you, you said in the beginning, your purpose driven, uh, leader, and this is what made you ca come to healthcare. Uh, also, so how do you make sure that the patient is alive? When you’re leading large organizations for your teams, many time we get into, you know, our operational things into our, uh, the weed of what we need to deliver, like the website, how it’s looking, what, what we need to do a little bit more, a little bit less.
And we forget that actually at the end of the day, we are helping a patient live better. Do you, do you have any tips for leaders in healthcare on how to make sure that the patient is alive? Whatever we are doing, uh, in, in our work daily.
Andrew Bunton: It’s a great, uh, it’s a great question. Um, and I think that, that there’s a lot of things that, that can be done.
Of course, it starts with grounding it in the consumer, the consumer research and kind of keeping that, that front and center, like what are the jobs to be done, what are the, the real things that we need to be working on? Um, but one, one thing that’s really helped. Thus along the way is making sure that we have some, um, some design thinking, you know, experts who are in charge of really monitoring and tracking the overall customer, you know, customer experience as we go.
What, what if, what sometimes can happen is, um, is when you have folks who are pushing on certain features or certain innovations, um, you know, that might be a great success, but it might conflict with something. That, that’s being worked on. So, so at the end of the day, making sure that there’s some folks who are really tracking the overall customer experience and how everything is kind of coming together at once.
And then as, as we go really, you know, testing, testing out innovations on, on patients. And so, Not, not working all the way until something is fully developed and then launching it and seeing what happens instead. Um, you know, ex exposing, exposing, you know, customers to, to prototypes, um, and, and, and really getting there, getting their feedback and, and what, what they use it and what do they like about it, what don’t they like about it, Cetera, et cetera.
To make sure that we’re kind of staying grounded and really what are our patients looking for and what’s gonna resonate with.
Naji: I love that you’re, you’re talking really about those iteration and innovation that you can go fast with, you know, like MVP and test and improve. Uh, I’m, I’m interested to know how in a large organization you manage to.
Push those ideas in and more from a leadership standpoint. Right. It’s, uh, because usually large, the, I’m feeling the larger the organization is, the less nimble sometimes it becomes. So how did you manage to get this, uh, culture or mindset in your team?
Andrew Bunton: Yeah. Um, I, I love, I love continuous improvement. I love thinking about kind of iterative, iterative design.
Um, and, and at the end of the day, I mean, I think the, the, the nice thing with it is it, it really aligns incentives as, as well. Um, you know, if, if you, um, it’s very difficult to, to fund something when you don’t have a proven business case. Um, but if you can, if you can go test something out, even if it’s in a very scrappy manner.
And show that patients are really interested, um, and, and show some of the potential benefits that can come from it. Um, then it becomes much easier to kind of gain the, the, the capital, the operating, um, the operating expense that, that you’re looking for to actually fund something. Um, so it’s nice. Is it, it’s actually kind of aligned with.
You know, doing kind of quick snap tests, doing mini tests to, to then build out a business case. Well, you’re also making sure that it’s grounded in, you know, in the customer and what they’re looking for. Um, and then, and then keeping, keeping the team focused, you know, focused on, you know, on that. And, and what I’ve found is, uh, is generally.
Teams love to test. Um, it’s really invigorating and it’s, it’s fun to be, you know, on, on the front lines actually executing, you know, executing something at a, at a super small scale. Um, so, so I found actually teams, teams generally embrace that and, and, and would, would prefer to test things and, and then of course the solution is so much better for having done it anyway.
Naji: Andrew, I, I wanna look a little bit, The last two years, I imagine the challenges for you has been even more, even bigger than the normal transformation that you were leading. Like ha having to immediately move into practically digital, the vaccine, the platform, all that you have done with appointments, scheduling.
I, I, I just like being. Customer, I imagine all that you had to deal with at a national level, uh, to make, uh, to make this happen. Uh, how, how, how did you really reinvent those things and be able to serve patients more? Your personal, uh, experience, I would say as a leader to make sure that, uh, your teams are delivering.
Andrew Bunton: First I would just say, you know, I think the, the real, the real heroes at the end of the day are, you know, our, our pharmacists, our technicians, our front store staff that were kind of on, on the front lines, you know, throughout, you know, throughout the Covid, the Covid pandemic, Um, you know, because, uh, because they, they, they, uh, they were the ones who, you know, who actually.
Stood up so many of the, the things that we brought to life, whether it was the, you know, the covid testing or the, or the Covid vaccine or, um, you know, uh, providing people access to, um, to, you know, p, p and E. Um, and so at the end of the day, they, they, they were the true, you know, they were the true heroes at, at the end of the day.
Um, I think it, um, we were, we were challenged. I mean, I think that it was a. Period of, of unprecedented, um, transformation, whether it is the, you know, the ability to, um, you know, to, to really quickly, um, ramp up our delivery capabilities, um, to make sure in those early days of the pandemic we could, you know, deliver, uh, you know, patients their prescriptions for those that didn’t feel comfortable coming in to, to pick it up.
Um, you know, making sure that we were. You know, um, you know, sending out new kind of cleaning protocol and things like that. Um, changing our, our hours of operation to make sure that we were, you know, reflecting the needs of, of the community. Um, standing up the, you know, the, the testing, you know, the testing and vaccine.
Um, I think at the end of the day, um, a lot of it came, came to really making sure, um, that, that for our, you know, for our colleagues, for our teams, we were keeping, you know, front and center, the real purpose behind it all. Um, you would think that that was easy to do, you know, in the pandemic, but sometimes it could be challenging when, when folks are working really long hours and, and having to invest, you know, so much.
Um, but at the end of the day, you know, really constant reminders and celebrations of, of just the magnitude of the, of. You know, of the, uh, the purpose of the, of the work and where, where it was all, you know, heading, you know, heading.
Naji: Sure. Thank you for that. And definitely we, we celebrated them in the beginning of the pandemic and we should never forget to celebrate all the frontline workers, pharmacists, physicians, technicians, all of those all the time. Um, looking back at those experiences, uh, would you have done something different when you look back at.
And what is the one thing that you wanna make sure that you’re gonna keep on doing moving forward?
Andrew Bunton: I think. I think one thing that, that it’s definitely opened my my eyes to is, is kind of the, the, the importance of work life balance. And of course, you know, we’ve all, we all talk about that a great, a great deal, but I think it, it helped reinforce for me, um, you know, the, the, the import of, of, you know, you can’t just.
Talk about it. You need to be very mindful. You need to be watching out for, you know, for colleagues that, um, that, that you, you know, uh, to make sure that there is no, no burnout and being much more kind of proactive, um, you know, proactive and kind of managing and managing through it. Um, because I, I, I would say, um, you know, it was a, it was a challenge.
It was a challenge throughout the period, just where I think throughout, throughout the, throughout the pandemic, um, at every, at every turn, you’d think like, Okay, we’re gonna push through. For the next month, and then it’s gonna be better. And, but then it would be another twist in turn, you know, within the pandemic, uh, a as as we went.
So it ended up being a long time running for a lot of folks. And I, and I think that’s the, that’s the piece that it kind of helped open my eyes to is just the, the, the importance of, of being, you know, of being much more proactive and having, and having a lot of dialogue with patient, with our, you know, with our colleagues in terms of how.
How they’re feeling, how they’re managing and encouraging folks to take, to take time off. It was also in a period to remember where a lot of folks weren’t taking vacation because, you know, because they, they’re used to vacation being someplace that you, that you travel to. And so, and in the pandemic that wasn’t happening.
But, uh, you know, making sure that folks are even taking staycations and things like that. I think that that’s definitely, you know, been much more of a priority for me, you know, and it was a big learning coming, you know, coming through, through the experience.
Naji: Are you able to, uh, to maintain this now moving forward?
Because it’s definitely something that we’ve seen in all organizations and a lot of organization. Talked about wellness, talked about life, uh, life work balance. But now after two years being in the pandemic, we see those kind of. Pointing down and, And now it’s, Yeah. Yeah. It’s worth life balance, but maybe not as we expected it or as we said about it, like how you make sure, how are you making sure that this is truly now embedded since that was one of the big learnings for you
Andrew Bunton: Yeah, I, it’s, it’s interesting. I think one of the things that, that I’ve, that I’ve worked on and tried to do is, is having, you know, the, the shadow of a leader. I mean, a lot of it starts for your team. It all starts with you a, a as a leader. And so, um, you know, making sure that, that I’m, I’m practicing the things that, um, You know, the, the, the things that, that, that, that I preach.
And so, um, taking, taking, you know, pto, um, you know, um, being okay with kind of, um, you know, stopping work at, at, at 5, 5 30 in the evening when I can, like the things, things like that. I actually had an experience with a, um, with someone on my team who I respect, uh, greatly, who, who gave me the feedback on.
Um, I know that you’re sincere about work life balance, um, but if you, if you stay at work until six 30 every night, then everyone else is gonna stay at until at work until six 30 as well. And so, you know, being mindful of, uh, of, you know, of the actions that, that, that you take as a leader. Um, and also having, like I mentioned before, proactive conversations with folks and making sure that, that where you see a little smoke, where you think that, that they’re, that they’re, you know, perhaps working too hard.
How can you do something about that?
Naji: I love it. Leading by example and yeah, actually kind of walking the talk , this is, this is really crucial. I, I will now give you one word and I would love to get your reaction to this word. So the first, the first word is leadership
Andrew Bunton:. Hmm. Um, I, I’d say servant leadership, um, for, for me it is, it, it is, you know, how, how can you as a leader, um, really, you know, empower, empower, um, your, your colleagues, you know, invest, invest in them.
Something I’m passionate about is, is like really making sure that you have an eye on what’s important for the colleague. Um, really what are they working toward? Where do they wanna get in their career? What’s, you know, what is it that really drives them? Um, so that then you can be structuring the work, you know, around, you know, around that.
Um, and, and, and making sure that, that, at the end of the day, it’s not just the output, it’s the, it’s the journey. The journey as well, and that they’re gaining from, from that, you know, from that journey. What about in. Ooh. I, I, I’d say, uh, I’d say mini test. I, I mentioned it before. I, I love, I, I love to, you know, to test out, you know, to test out new, you know, new concepts, challenge, you know, challenge the status, you know, the status quo.
Um, I’d also say, Diversity, um, you know, diversity brings, you know, brings innovation, you know, innovation to it. And so, um, you know, it’s, I always strive to have a, a diverse team and, and that, that of course means, you know, racial, ethnic, uh, diversity, but also like diversity of background as, as well. Um, we’ve had a lot of success in, in kind of having our, our teams be comprised not just of folks who have, you know, MBAs say, but also we have, you know, pharmacists on the team, technicians on the team.
People from more of a public health background, kind of all, all collaborating, you know, together to bring, um, to bring, you know, innovations, you know, innovations to, to the.
Naji: Can I double click on this one?
Andrew Bunton: Uh, well, you know about it, right? Like diversity comes inclusion, uh, especially when you’re talking about a lot of diverse backgrounds and diverse thoughts and innovation.
How are you making sure in a large organization this is actually happening and those who have a totally different experience, different plans, that worst things, their ideas are being heard and. It, it’s a great, it’s a great question. Um, and, and something that that, that, um, that you do have to be really, really mindful of in terms of how are we, and, and it’s interesting.
It’s not with that, it also brings into, into account like diversity of personalities, you know, And so a lot of times like. How are we making sure that we are pulling insights out of folks who might be more introverted or, or, you know, and, and making sure it’s not just the extroverts who are kind of dominating, dominating the, the, uh, the conversation as well.
Um, At the end of the day, a lot of it is, you know, is, is again, getting to making sure that you’re setting that right culture and that it is one where, where everybody’s voice, you know, you know, can and, and should be heard is making sure people feel safe and feel, you know, and feel that, that, that sense of, of belonging to.
Um, I often refer to it as kind of a work family, you know, that, that at the end of the day we’re, we’re a work family. Like how everyone plays, you know, plays a role as part, you know, as part of that, of that family and everyone belongs. And then hopefully that’s kind of empowering folks to be confident in kind of having their, their, their message, their message heard
Naji: Customer experience. As a marketer, I had to ask you your lens on this .
Andrew Bunton: Yeah. Uh, customer, customer experience. It, um, I guess I’ll say feedback channels. Like what are all of the ways in which we are truly listening for, you know, for what that customer experience is. Um, and so that’s something that’s definitely been, you know, I’ve learned a.
Through, through time and, and that you have to have a lot of different listening channels. Um, and so, you know, whether it’s, um, how are we making sure that we’re getting, you know, great customer feedback in as near real time as possible? How are we making sure that we’re listening to what our frontline colleagues have to say and kind of taking their recommendations and hearing from them, uh, how we can help them better, you know, better serve our customers, you know, as it as, uh, as well.
Um, how are we doing cons? A lot of consumer research, making sure that we’re staying ahead of, uh, not just like, what’s the feedback on what we have now, but what are the, what else are, are our patients looking for? How else can we, you know, really be, be helping them as as we go.
Naji: The last one is Spread Love in Organizations.
Andrew Bunton: Yeah, I’m, I, I’m passionate, I’m passionate about spreading love. At, at, I mentioned before that, um, at one point I had thought about even, even going into the ministry. Um, I think for me, what I’ve kind of realized is that you can minister in most any role that, that, that you are in. Um, and so for, for me, it’s, it, it is, you know, how, how do I make sure that.
um, you know, whether it’s a, a, you know, peer peers, whether it’s leaders, whether it’s my, my team, um, that I’m treating people as a a as people, as people first and as, and as colleagues, and as colleagues second, um, and really investing and really investing in people and sometimes it. It takes forms in the most, in the smallest things like I, I’d say, you know, even though I’ve, even though I lead a large team, it’s important to me that I have, uh, touch bases with, with everyone on the team at, at, at least, you know, at least, and some periodic basis to make sure I’m really getting to know folks and kind of hearing from them.
What they’re, what they’re looking for in their career and kind of, and engaging and kind of that, that, that level of, of dialogue. Um, so yeah, I, I’m, I hope, I hope that I’m bringing love to, uh, you know, to, to CBS and other places that I work every day. I love
Naji: that. Uh, any final word of wisdom, Andrew, for healthcare ideas around the world.
Andrew Bunton: Um, what I always tell people is, you know, is, is find, find your passion. You know, fi find your passion. Um, and um, and I think what I’ve been, what I’ve been impressed by is if, if you find your passion, you can identify it. Um, In most any role, you can start steering more and more of your day toward, toward that, uh, toward that passion.
And if you find your passion, then, then chances are you’re gonna be working alongside people who share a very similar passion. And, and, and that’s what helps with kind of bringing together that, that, that, that work family, because you, you’re, you know, you’re together, you know, driving toward, you know, you know, big audacious goals, you know, together.
Naji: Thank you so much again, uh, for being with me today, Andrew.
Andrew Bunton: Yeah, this has been great. Na said, Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.
Naji: Thank you all for listening to spread love and organization’s podcast. Drop us a review on your preferred podcast platform
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