Fawnda will celebrate her twelve-year anniversary at Availity this May! Starting as a Client Account Manager she rose through the ranks before becoming a Manager of the Client Success team. With a background in healthcare administration, Fawnda’s experience at a radiology billing company using RealMed led her to join Availity. Fawnda has a passion for healthcare technology and loves working with customers. Her role at Availity aligns with her skills, talents, and personal values.
Fawnda particularly enjoys the culture at Availity. “Availity is good about allowing people to lean into their talents and skills, and we’re given latitude as needed to excel without having to stay in exactly what you’re doing now.” She finds it exciting to meet associates with diverse talents and skills and learn new things through collaboration. Taking the lead on new projects allows her to challenge herself and continue growing even after twelve years at the company.
One example of Fawnda’s growth is her recent work to align her team to be more client success focused. They have been adjusting their mindset, making changes, developing job descriptions, and focusing on the work they execute. She is proud of the new strategy they’ve developed and the collaborative effort involved. “Coming up with the new strategy has made me really proud.”
She also appreciates the various training sessions Availity offers, such as crucial conversations and multipliers. Fawnda takes advantage of every learning opportunity, enjoys one-on-one sessions with her leaders, and works on mentoring relationships within her team. She constantly seeks opportunities to grow, think differently, and be an individual.
“I am happiest at work when clients and customers recognize and appreciate the work that’s put in to make sure we’re driving success and delivering value for them.” Fawnda is happy when our work leads to loyal clients who will work with us through the good and the bad and forgive us when mistakes happen. Internally, she enjoys bringing together diverse skill sets to accomplish common goals, like launching new projects or improving communication. She finds inspiration in other teams’ work and looks for ways to leverage their experiences to support her team’s growth and development.
Fawnda’s tips for working at Availity are not being afraid to talk to, meet, and engage with new people. “Networking and building relationships is so important to growth.” Networking has helped her build relationships that she can rely on to work together and reach out when she needs. “Try to operate with a spirit of excellence. Always put your best foot forward every day, own up to and acknowledge mistakes, and do what you need to do better next time. Know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Know your WHY.” She also recommends making sure people see the value you’re putting in and taking care of the details to make you stand out. We must be willing to grow, improve, accept feedback openly, and apply it.
Outside of work, Fawnda cherishes time with her family, visiting the beach in Georgia, and traveling. She enjoys decompressing with strategic phone games like Bingo and recently organized a scavenger hunt for her son’s seventh birthday. Her dream destinations are Australia and India to see her favorite animals, the platypus and mongoose. Her favorite food is seafood, especially shrimp, crab, and fish. A fun fact is that she was an exchange student in Japan in high school! The experience gave her a different perspective on the world. She didn’t speak the language, which was uncomfortable and a bit of a culture shock. However, she learned so much and appreciated the culture for broadening her horizon to experiences she wouldn’t usually try.
Thank you for twelve years, Fawnda!