Trust Is the Real Deliverable: A Conversation with Brandi Lynch, Principal Implementation Project Manager

Building Trust, One Implementation at a Time: Q&A with Brandi Lynch

Amanda Bair: What got you into project managing software implementations, and what’s kept you in it all these years? 

Brandi Lynch: I’m coming up on seven years at ClarisHealth this October, which is wild. But this is really a continuation of work I was already doing. Before ClarisHealth, I managed implementations at an electronic health record company.

I enjoy the role’s combination of problem-solving and working with people. A Pareo implementation isn’t a couple of configurations and you’re live. It’s complex. I like taking that complexity and laying it out in a way clients and internal teams can actually understand, then helping them navigate the change from what they’re doing today to running on Pareo.

What keeps me engaged is watching that change actually land. I get to see a team go from managing everything manually to saving real time and effort because it’s automated in Pareo. Knowing we’ve made our health plan partners’ work easier is what gets me excited to pick up the next project.

AB: In your varied experiences managing big enterprise transformations, what’s your philosophy for making sure these projects succeed? 

BL: It starts with staying in lockstep with the health plan. Every implementation is different because every payer’s processes are different. Our playbook adjusts by understanding each health plan’s specific process and figuring out how to turn that into something automated in Pareo.

That means being transparent and strategic at the same time. If something on our side could affect the timeline, we say so. We expect the same in return. That honesty is what lets us actually work through the nuances of each plan within the parameters of our proven process.

AB: What’s one thing every client underestimates about implementing Pareo, and how do you prepare them for it? 

BL: That a successful implementation is just as much about people and process as it is about the software. The software matters, obviously, that’s the whole point. But people and process make the difference.

If I had to name one specific task that always takes more work than a health plan expects, it’s getting us their claims data files. We give every client a standard data layout, and it’s almost never an exact match for how their data currently comes in from their own vendors. That mismatch often means development, QA, testing and remediation on the health plan’s side before that file is ready. It’s always the long pole in the tent.

We set that expectation as early as possible, even before the implementation kicks off. We start talking about data during the sales process, so by the time I show up with the data layout, it’s not a surprise. They’ve already seen it and discussed it internally.

AB: What separates a health plan team that succeeds during implementation from one that struggles, and can you tell early on?

BL: Three things stand out. First, a dedicated project champion. Not necessarily a project manager, though I’m lucky to work with strong PMs on the health plan side. A champion is someone engaged enough to pull in leadership when we need a decision made faster, and to help bridge business strategy gaps the PM team can’t close alone.

Second, open communication. If we’re struggling with something that could affect the timeline, we say so. If the health plan is struggling with their data or a file, we want to know so we can help.

Third, and maybe the biggest one, people willing to embrace the change. Even a health plan that hates its current manual process still has to rethink how it works, and that’s hard. The teams that succeed are the ones who stay engaged through that discomfort instead of digging in against it.

You usually get a read on potential challenges during kickoff. The questions people ask, the way they talk about their own timeline versus ours, tells you a lot. If a health plan is asking a lot of data questions, or they’re upfront that they think our estimate is too aggressive, that’s useful information. It lets us lean in and help drive things forward instead of finding out three months in.

One thing that complicates this: whoever signs the contract isn’t always who we work with day to day. Sometimes my kickoff call is the first time the client implementation team is hearing about Pareo at all. When that happens, part of the job becomes restating the value, explaining why we’re doing this and what the health plan stands to gain, before we get to the project plan.

AB: How has your approach to onboarding changed over the years?

BL: When I started, I focused on making sure every feature and function was covered in the project plan and in the training. Looking back, that was excessive. For one, you can’t train someone on every detail before go-live. And health plans often use Pareo in unique ways specific to their workflow.

What I learned is that successful onboarding starts with listening. You need to understand a health plan’s actual process first. That insight lets you tailor the project to what matters most for that specific team instead of walking through every feature regardless of relevance.

I’d also say building trust matters just as much as teaching the software, maybe more. If a health plan trusts the process and trusts our team, and they’re engaged and willing to take on the change management that comes with this, everything else tends to fall into place. After almost seven years and touching nearly every implementation we’ve run, I’ve earned a level of confidence in knowing what’s going to work for a given health plan. But that confidence only helps if the health plan trusts it too. That trust has to be earned, not assumed.

AB: What’s your proudest project moment, and why?

BL: It’s hard to pick just one. Every implementation has its wins and its rough edges.

If I zoom out, what I’m most proud of is what happens after go-live. Seeing the long-term impact, hearing client success stories about how Pareo has changed their operations, knowing that our implementation team is a big reason that story exists. It’s not just a feeling, either. We can see it in the metrics: reduced manual work, improved efficiency, teams that get to spend their time on higher-value work instead of living in spreadsheets.

It’s watching all of them succeed, and watching health plans stay with us because of it, that makes the work worth it.

Conclusion

Seven years in, Brandi’s read on implementation success hasn’t really changed: the platform is only as good as the trust and process built around it. What has changed is how she gets there. Less time proving Pareo can do everything, more time understanding what a specific health plan actually needs it to do.

That shift, from training on features to training on outcomes, is the difference between a health plan that adopts Pareo and one that just has access to it. Brandi’s next stop is a new client kickoff. Another implementation, another team learning to trust the process. If her track record holds, they will.