How ConvenientMD built confident frontline leaders without slowing down operations

ConvenientMD (CMD) is on a mission to make good health more convenient for all, operating 50 urgent care clinics across Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

But delivering great care at scale goes beyond clinical excellence.

Great care starts in the first five minutes of every shift.

Where great patient experiences really start

At the start of each day, Practice Managers are expected to host a 5-7 minute team huddle.

It’s fast. Focused. High stakes.

In that short window, managers:

• Set priorities for the day
• Translate metrics into action
• Align the team around patient experience
• Create energy and accountability

When it works, everything downstream improves:

• Faster door-to-door times
• Higher patient satisfaction
• More engaged teams

But as CMD grew, one challenge became clear:

Not every manager was equally equipped to lead that moment.

The growth challenge: Inconsistency at scale

As new clinics opened, CMD’s People team saw a familiar pattern:

• Coaching was happening—but inconsistently
• Great managers were great…but not always replicable
• New managers had to “figure it out” on their own
• Outcomes started to vary clinic by clinic

And in healthcare, variability has a real cost.

Differences showed up in:

• Patient wait times
• Registration accuracy
• Team engagement and retention

CMD didn’t need more training content.

They needed a system—one that could:

• Build confident, capable managers
• Create consistency across locations
• Fit into an already demanding operational environment

The shift: From training events to a leadership system

CMD partnered with Electives to build something different: A repeatable leadership development system embedded into the flow of work.

Not separate from it. Not extra.

A system where managers get better every month.

The model is simple:

Each Practice Manager spends about 4 hours per month developing core leadership skills through a structured cadence:

1. Live learning (2 sessions/month)

• 60-90 minute interactive classes
• Led by expert Electives facilitators
• Tailored to CMD’s operating model and values
• Part of a broader “Manager as a Coach” certificate path

2. AI Simulations (4 per month)

• Short, realistic scenarios (6-12 minutes each)
• Based on real clinic situations:
  
  • Running huddles
  • Managing volume spikes
  • Giving feedback
  • Coordinating across roles
• Managers practice, get scored and improve quickly

3. Quarterly alignment

• Managers come together to share best practices
• Reinforce what’s working
• Align on priorities

What has changed

CMD didn’t just roll out training.

They defined five leadership behaviors that matter most—and made them visible in daily work:

1. Accountability

Huddles now consistently turn 2-3 key metrics into:

• Clear actions
• Named owners
• Immediate follow-through

2. Recognition

Managers call out contributions in real time—specifically tied to impact.

3. Goal setting

Data becomes simple, actionable targets:

• Today
• This week
• Next step

4. Career development

Employees see a path forward. Managers actively support and advocate for growth, not only performance.

5. Delegation + empowerment

Teams take ownership. Managers remove blockers and amplify progress.

Why it works (especially in busy clinics)

CMD didn’t add complexity. They made leadership practical and repeatable.

Managers skip the abstract and practice:

• How to run a better huddle tomorrow morning
• How to redirect a conversation in real time
• How to turn complaints into action

The result: More confident managers. More consistent execution. Better team energy.

Across every clinic.

Results 

Strong adoption with minimal lift

• 78% of managers attended at least one live class (47 of 60)
• 256 total learning hours (~5.4 hours per manager)
• 24 certificates earned!
• Managers naturally clustered into shared sessions—building a common language

Real skill growth (beyond attendance)

• Average simulation score: 68/100
• +211% improvement on retakes

This is learning that changes behavior, not learning that checks a box.

The CMD People team has built measurable behavior change.

Engagement that sustains itself

• Class NPS: 73 (world-class for B2B learning)
• 98% of participants expect to change at least one behavior

What leaders are seeing

• More consistent, effective daily huddles
• Clearer ownership and follow-through
• Increased confidence in high-pressure conversations
• Stronger alignment across clinics

Visibility the People team can trust

One of the hardest parts of L&D at scale is answering: “Is this actually working?”

CMD doesn’t have to guess. With Electives, they can see:

• Attendance and engagement
• Simulation completion and scores
• Skill development trends
• Confidence shifts over time

And connect it back to what matters:

• Patient experience
• Operational performance
• Team retention

What this signals to future employees

For someone considering joining CMD, this is more than a learning program.

It’s a signal:

• You’ll have a manager who is trained, supported and improving
• Your growth will be taken seriously
• Leadership is built intentionally, not left to chance
• You’re joining a company that invests in people as much as patients

A turnkey playbook other People teams can borrow

CMD’s approach is simple—and replicable:

1. Start with outcomes: Tie learning directly to business priorities
2. Define the behaviors that matter most: Focus on 3-5 leadership competencies
3. Create a consistent cadence: Blend live learning with ongoing practice
4. Embed it into real work: Make it usable immediately—not theoretical
5. Measure what matters: Track behavior change, not just participation
6. Continuously refine: Use data and feedback to evolve the program

Four hours a month. Fifty clinics. Real results.

CMD didn’t overhaul their operations.

They improved what happens inside them.

With just a few hours per month, they built:

• More confident managers
• More consistent clinic experiences
• Stronger teams
• Better patient outcomes

At scale.

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Learn how Electives builds confident managers at scale

Consistent performance develops through building leadership capability, not through one-off training events.

Electives builds manager confidence through structured, repeatable learning where people develop accountability, communication and coaching skills together. Our programs teach huddle facilitation, real-time feedback, goal setting, career development and delegation across distributed teams.

Live sessions led by expert facilitators create a shared cadence where managers practice skills with peers from similar roles, get scored on real scenarios and build consistency through hands-on repetition.

When your operations depend on what happens in the first five minutes of every shift, capability development is what makes those minutes count.

Learn how Electives builds confident managers at scale