Numotion is stronger than ever, says CEO

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Numotion Strong, the theme for the company’s National Leadership Conference this year, has a double meaning, applying not only to the business but also to its employees, says CEO Mike Swinford.

“In a world where we couldn’t feel further apart (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), we’ve never felt closer as a team,” he said. “I don’t thing that’s ever been more true.”

Numotion streamed the three-day conference to all employees in late January, mixing business updates with inspirational panel sessions on disability inclusion, a virtual expo and fundraising
activities.

Business strong

Numotion hit “record low cycle times” in 2020, Swinford said, with help from bots that automate the insurance verification and prior authorization processes.

“We took out weeks,” he said. “We’re faster from evaluation to delivery than ever, by a country mile. We’re shooting for 30 days as a median. We’ll have outliers, but we have to continue to drive efficiency.”

Another highlight in 2020 was Numotion’s medical supplies business, which has tripled organically in the past four years. The company also added an inorganic boost to the business in January when it announced it had acquired Wheeler’s Medical Supply, a provider of intermittent catheters and incontinence supplies with a presence in Florida and Georgia.

“That’s just become a tremendous business,” Swinford said.

Employee strong

Numotion has acknowledged the strain of the pandemic on employees by, among other things, not extending the conference into the weekend this year and giving employees two floating holidays in 2020.

“We’ve been through a lot, and we’ve been concerned with the mental well-being of employees and keeping them energized,” Swinford said. “With 2,000 employees working from home, it’s a different environment. People get video conference fatigue. People aren’t moving around as much. We’re encouraging people to find that time to re-charge.”

The conference’s keynote session by Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray, who traveled the 500-mile Camino de Santiago through Spain, with Skeesuck in a wheelchair, helped to hit home that “we’re stronger when we work together,” Swinford said.

“We’ve seen what can be accomplished,” he said. “That’s never been more powerful than in 2020. They rallied around one another through hurricanes and fires, on top of the pandemic.”