This article is sponsored by the Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC). In this Voices interview, HME Business sits down with Judi Knott, President and CEO of the Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC), and discusses the organization’s extensive expertise in accreditation and certification, highlighting how BOC delivers exceptional customer service to HME providers. Knott shares insights into BOC’s personalized approach, explaining how the BOC team supports customers through every stage of the certification and accreditation process.
HME Business: What life and career experiences do you most draw from in your role today?
Judi Knott: I prefer to approach everything with a team mindset. I am a big sports fan, both playing and watching, so I easily draw parallels between the game strategies and my approach to business strategies at BOC. Many sports are inherently team-oriented and allow multiple people to shine by bringing unique talents or skills to the field. I encourage that same mindset at BOC; our workplace culture motivates people to bring their “A Game” to meet our customer needs and the organization to celebrate team accomplishments. I build on my 30+ years of experience developing organizational leaders and love seeing our team members grow and succeed.
I am proud to have earned my Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential in 2023 through The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). The exam calibrates a wide range of knowledge and focuses on nine primary domains as essential for strong leaders of Associations. The skills I developed over my years in leadership positions, in addition to a commitment to learning and growth, helped me pass this rigorous exam.
BOC is now in its 40th anniversary year. Congratulations! How does the organization leverage its decades of expertise to stay ahead of evolving industry changes, and how do you ensure your customers are always informed and prepared?
BOC translates our four decades of credentialing knowledge into our organization’s management infrastructure and remains steadfast in our commitment to providing superior customer service and education. Our team of highly skilled professionals have significant industry experience and are able to anticipate customer needs because of our high touch approach to connecting with our customers. We believe in offering a variety of touchpoints to reach people when and how they need us: phone calls, emails, social media posts, workshops and our MyBOC customer portal enable us to stay connected with our customers in a variety of channels.
Being a leader also requires a commitment to learning and adapting to an evolving market. We recognize the importance of learning from other experts, and leveraging our relationships with highly respected industry groups, such as the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), the O&P Alliance, AAHomecare and the Amputee Coalition, as sources of valuable data about how our practitioners and their work environments are changing.
Customer service is a cornerstone of BOC’s success—can you share examples of how BOC supports businesses and professionals in navigating the certification and accreditation process?
BOC’s commitment to exceptional customer service is rooted in our defined purpose and organizational values. One of our core values is teamwork, which creates a collaborative environment and commits our staff to supporting one another in delivering outstanding results for our customers. Another core value at BOC is our customer-centric mindset. We genuinely value our customers and want to see them succeed, which guides our nurturing approach throughout the certification and accreditation process.
With our purpose and values clearly defined, BOC is able to provide comprehensive, step-by-step guidance tailored to our customers’ specific needs. We offer certification pre-exam and exam content outlines, as well as facility site survey checklists, which help customers effectively prepare for certification and/or accreditation. We also offer resources like the BOC Accreditation Success Center which offers our customers crucial accreditation information in one convenient place.
Once an individual is certified or a business is accredited, we continue to offer support. We actively monitor industry updates from CMS and proactively share those updates with our customers. We’ve built resources like our Continuing Education and Course Directory pages to provide customers with the knowledge they need to maintain their credentials. We’ve also built an internal portal called MyBOC, which provides customers with a central place to log and track the CEUs needed to maintain their certification.
In what ways does BOC gather feedback from customers, and how do you incorporate that feedback to improve your services?
BOC uses one of the simplest customer service tracking tools available: the Net Promoter Score (NPS). NPS is considered the leading metric for measuring customer satisfaction, and it’s calculated by asking a simple question: “On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this company/product/service to a friend or colleague?” Once this initial question has been answered, the customer has an opportunity to share written feedback.
BOC began tracking its NPS in 2019 and distributes the survey quarterly to newly accredited facilities and certificants. We compare our scores against industry benchmarks, and we analyze the written feedback to identify common themes. Our marketing team leads this effort and is diligent in sharing feedback with the rest of the team during our internal staff meetings.
Since launching the NPS initiative 5 years ago, we have expanded the lines of communication between BOC and our customers. We have become better equipped at identifying potential pain points because the direct insight offered by our customers, combined with the collaborative teamwork amongst our staff, results in proactive problem-solving. At BOC, we’re able to anticipate our customers’ needs and provide solutions that make the overall certification/accreditation process less stressful.
What role does technology play in enhancing BOC’s customer service experience, and how do you ensure customers have easy access to support and resources?
In the digital age, especially in a post-pandemic world, technology has become essential for our business success and for delivering exceptional customer service. BOC has been focused on enhancing our technology infrastructure and this year we invested in a new Customer Relation Management (CRM) platform, which significantly enhances our ability to organize customer data and access information swiftly and efficiently.
When a customer reaches out via phone or email, we can quickly access their BOC history within minutes, allowing us to engage with them in a personalized manner. This digital storage of customer records fosters seamless information sharing across the BOC team, enabling any member of our customer success team to provide effective support. As a result, we can achieve faster response times and deliver timely solutions, which enhances the overall customer experience.
BOC’s website is an important gateway for new and returning customers and our recent website refresh accounts for the latest technological needs of our customers, such as mobile-friendly access and user-friendly navigation. We are proud to have earned a Gold w3 Award from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts for our recent website redesign and specifically received accolades for our User Experience (UX) enhancements.
BOC also leverages social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X) to share timely updates and resources. We also share our expertise via thought leadership articles and videos—typically based on relevant topics or issues we know our customers are eager to learn more about. For instance, earlier this year, BOC was the first AO to discuss Medicare Part B’s expanded coverage for lymphedema compression treatment items. All in all, we recognize that remaining tech-savvy is crucial in providing a seamless and enjoyable customer experience.
What sets BOC apart from other Accrediting Organizations (AOs) when it comes to its customers’ success?
One of BOC’s unique strengths is our commitment to personalized customer service. While it’s easy for the credentialing process to become routine and generalized, BOC recognizes that each person achieving the credential is unique. Our mission, values, and the diverse expertise of our team, combined with our strategic investments in technology, all come together to create a customer experience that is uniquely tailored to meet individual needs.
Additionally, BOC’s culture of teamwork, coupled with our leadership’s dedication to fostering staff growth and development, cultivates an environment where individuals are motivated, curious, and focused on finding solutions.
I am extremely proud of the talent and professional excellence of our Board of Directors. Their expertise strengthens our decision-making, drives innovation and ensures we are better positioned to understand and meet the needs of the customers we serve. By championing knowledge, diversity and teamwork at the highest level, BOC is dedicated to building an ever evolving and forward-thinking organization.
Finish this sentence: “In the HME industry, 2025 will be defined by…”
…adaptation and innovation, data-driven purpose, and customer-centric service. The industry is complex and ever-changing, which means embracing change is imperative for adjusting operations to keep pace. Improving health outcomes is what drives the work AOs do, and clear data helps organizations maintain focus and validate their success. Finally, customers are increasingly expecting organizations to meet their needs and deliver great service—not just products. An organization’s ability to understand customers’ needs enables greater compliance and outcomes success.
Editor’s note: This article has been edited for length and clarity.
Now in its 40th year in business, the Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting quality patient care by offering highly valued credentials for businesses and professionals. For more information, visit www.BOCusa.org or call 877.776.2200.
The Voices Series is a sponsored content program featuring leading executives discussing trends, topics and more shaping their industry in a question-and-answer format. For more information on Voices, please contact sales@agingmedia.com.