Remember what employees were told when this started?
“When our membership shifts, we need to shift our organization accordingly.”
That was the story.
Membership changed. The healthcare environment changed. Centene had to respond. The VSP was presented as part of adapting to those realities and positioning the company for the future.
For the people actually living through it, that meant deciding whether to take a separation package, watching friends and coworkers disappear, wondering whether layoffs were next, and being told over and over about transformation, simplification, and the mission.
It sounded like Centene was reacting to circumstances.
Now listen to the story Sarah London told investors. Centene chose not to “hunker down. Instead, leadership decided to “redesign and transform the company.”
They are asking:
“What are the capabilities that we need and what talent do we need?” And the destination?An “industry-leading cost structure.”
That's not quite the same effin’ story, is it?
One story sounds like: Membership changed, so unfortunately the organization has to change with it.
The other sounds like: We are deliberately redesigning the company, deciding which capabilities and people we need, exiting business that doesn't produce sufficient returns, and engineering a lower cost structure.
And here's what really pi---s me off. While employees were living through all of this uncertainty, Centene's financial condition was improving.
Q2 net earnings: $1.09 BILLION.
Operating cash flow: $3.59 BILLION.
Adjusted EPS guidance: raised to more than $4.80.
Marketplace strategy: margin over membership. Businesses that can't produce sustainable economics? Leave them.
People and capabilities that don't fit the redesigned company? Well, now we know the question leadership says it has been asking.
What happened to our membership?
What talent do we need?
How do we get through this difficult period together?
What capabilities do we need?
How do we protect the people carrying out the mission?
How do we achieve an “industry-leading cost structure”?
And THAT is the part every Centene employee who survived should understand. This wasn't necessarily a storm you survived. It was a company being redesigned around you.
And if reducing the cost structure is part of the strategy, better financial results don't necessarily mean the danger has passed. They may mean the strategy is working.
So when another town hall rolls around and you're told about the mission, transformation, simplification, resilience, or whatever this week's vocabulary is, remember the vocabulary leadership uses when the audience changes.
Employees got the story about circumstances. Investors got the story about strategy. Employees heard why change was necessary. Wall Street heard what Centene was building.
Same CEO.
Same company.
Same transformation.
Very different effin story.
And the people left behind now get to carry that mission with fewer coworkers, less institutional knowledge, more work, and absolutely no reason to believe leadership has finished asking:
“What talent do we need?”
NoCenteam free advice: You’re being fed false truths. Run as fast as you can. There’s life after these charlatans.