How does an organization with roughly 760,000 employees worldwide maintain positive customer service scores? With an 8 point increase in customer service ratings in 2011 (American Customer Service Index), McDonald’s has built an admirable organization with strong customer service values. 
Excellent customer service skills are not naturally occurring in most humans, but with proper training and coaching, these skill sets can evolve and become natural in daily interactions. While some employees pick up these capabilities more extensively, others prefer a less confrontational position allowing themselves to work on an individual basis. This separation of traits should be a natural process determining which workers are fit for face to face, customer interactive roles. Keep in mind; the employees engaging with customers on a daily basis become the face of the organization and project company values and principles.
Superior organizations can agree on one aspect of keeping customers happy, adjustments must be made to sustain satisfaction. As surroundings change and influences shift, strategies must transform to remain relevant and meet the various needs of consumers. McDonald’s for instance, has honed in on the current change within their market; a desire to consume more “healthy” foods. This veer away from McDonald’s traditional fat-laden offerings could have cost the company millions of dollars. However, with the realization of this trend, company executives created a variety of new products to parallel customer tastes. The addition of smoothies, fruits and lighter options has assisted in not only sustaining their share of the market, but increasing sales.
Great organizations depend upon the customers that frequent them; rarely does everyone prefer their orders the same way or their customer experience identical, but putting solid core values in place and driving home the importance of superior customer service allows organizations to not only succeed, but be recognized for their efforts and accomplishments!
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Incorporating a Social Media strategy into an organization, be it healthcare or other various industry, can be puzzling. Questions ranging from, “What’s the point?” to “Are we even doing this right?” are bound to arise. Everyone begins their Social Media adventure with a different level of knowledge and expertise. For many healthcare organizations, we find this level is quite basic due to lack of exposure. With that said, Carrie Vaughn recent published an informative article in HealthLeaders touching on the basics strategies needed for building patient loyalty.
Social Media sites are not meant for simply posting information or advice, but rather to build connections. “To really build loyalty- and possibly even grow marketing share- hospitals need to engage consumers in two-way conversations. Photographs, contests, and links to interesting stories can be a great way to get those conversations started,” Carrie Vaughn reported.
To get the full potential out of a Social Media site, it should:
- Incorporate humor: Try to put a little humor behind the serious topics. Most somber topics are usually spoken with a heavier tone, which could in turn drive followers away if this is the only voice used.
- Integrate your Social Media channels: Connecting your organizations’ media sites together will allow followers to navigate through the various Social Media offerings.
- Keep the budget simple: An organization needs to create a budget for any contest they are looking to hold. Prizes will attract participation, but should not be too extravagant because this could bring about too much competition; finding a medium between engaging and overkill is the key.
- Tie Social Media to services lines: Social Media should be tied to something the organization is trying to promote. Establishing the purpose for integrating a Social Media channel is crucial for buy in and motivation.
“We are no longer talking to the community, but talking with them, connecting to them and helping [the community] to connect with us on a personal level,” Michelle Kustra, marketing coordinator at Sherman Health in Illinois stated.
Reference- http://healthleadersmedia.com/print/MAR-277456/4-Social-Media-Strategies-to-Build-Patient-Loyalty
As healthcare continues to advance in it’s adoption and involvement in the social media space, fortunately, we see more and more physicians “dipping their toes” into what many consider uncharted waters. Patients, caregivers and the vast population of online health information seekers stand to gain insurmountable value from this interest and participation by physicians. With so many content sources available online, many unvetted sources with no creditability, the onset of credible/knowledgeable healthcare providers driving accurate content will certainly be one of the biggest positive outcomes from this increased participation. Hospitals, clinics and other health organizations stand to see increased online engagement with fans and followers by physicians becoming involved in discussions and conversations, which can ultimately drive patient referral volumes and increases in the “ROI” (return on investment) of social media efforts.
However, there is without a doubt many potential landmines, legal issues and patient privacy issues facing today’s physicians who use social media outlets to engage with patients and the general population. Mark Ryan, MD and external advisory board member for the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Social Media just released a great post discussing these legal issues and guidelines for remaining compliant online. I’ve found these to be very helpful, please enjoy Dr. Ryan’s comments and take them into consider as you (the physician) or your organization look to increase physician participation online and reap some of the many benefits that can come from these efforts.
Click here to be directed to the post by Mark Ryan, MD.
How comfortable are you at your workplace? Do you feel valued, appreciated, engaged? According to a recent article by Tony Schwartz, “Why Appreciation Matters So Much” only 40% of workers feel their managers are genuinely interested in them. For most people, a life filled with little to no appreciation can lead to depression, lack of motivation and an overall drain on one’s energy and well being.
Expressed in the article is the observation that openly commending employees is not only a dwindling practice, but often uncomfortable for management to carry out. As stated in the text, “We’re often more experienced at expressing negative emotions,” and in turn, “The impact of negative emotions- and more specifically the feeling of being devalued- is incredibly toxic.” The larger issue at hand is not only the impact had on individual employees, but the comprehensive breakdown of office culture and collaboration. In the midst of an atmosphere lacking praise and appreciation; motivation and incentive declines and employee engagement and customer satisfaction suffer. 
To improve employee gratification, managers must focus on taking the time to recognize staff members for positive actions or accomplishments. “Employee appreciation should be enacted on an individual level; how one employee responds to praise will be different than another. As managers, we must focus on getting to know what our employees prefer in regards to praise and acknowledgment,” says Kellie Eisenhauer, (e)Merge, “All employees need face to face appreciation, some are content with smaller amounts while others require more consistent acknowledgement.” “I have found, focusing on the positive aspects of an employee’s performance has a direct influence on their overall level of productivity. We still need to engage in critical conversations for behaviors that need to be improved upon, but focusing on negatives in between those conversations can be a drain on both you and the employee.” The responsibility of garnering a positive environment starts with you, the manager and the influence you have over your employees.
In most instances, businesses are run through the collaboration of employees and not solely by one individual. To keep those assisting in your business’s survival, Schwartz suggests four steps to a more sustainable team; these tips include, “Above all else, do no harm” “Practice appreciation by starting with yourself” and “Be appreciative.”
An article from HealthLeaders August 2011 edition gives us a detailed look at where patient experience initiatives rank among importance throughout various healthcare organizations. While 55% of respondents ranked patient experience within their top five priorities; the more alarming statistic relates to the 22% reporting “an abundance of higher priorities” and the 11% deeming a “lack of funding or budgeting.”
One variable which fluxuates between organizations is the party or parties responsible for monitoring and improving the patient experience. The article, by Gienna Shaw, states, “For the third year in a row, survey results show few CEO’s (just 14% in 2011) take primary responsibility for the patient experience.” For the most part, the task of managing an organization’s patient experience efforts is passed on to other staff members such as: chief quality officer, chief marketing officer, or chief nursing officer. In many cases, the responsibility is spread out between an array of managers, which can lead to less actually getting accomplished in the long run due to a lack of direct responsibility.
Another observation found by the HealthLeader’s survey was the skewed accountability based upon compensation. CEO’s and high level executive’s salaries were far less dependent upon the organization’s patient satisfaction scores than those of nurses and staff. This can pose a problem or be deemed unreasonable, because those with more senior positions are the one’s deciding upon the amount of patient experience training staff receives. Without proper training, holding one accountable and penalizing their compensation for inadequate patient satisfaction scores appears anything but fair.
In order for an organization to excel in patient satisfaction, ongoing training is a necessity. Without consistent coaching and demonstration, habits and best practices will fail to develop and take hold. Continuously observing employee’s customer service skills and patient interactions will allow those in charge of monitoring the patient experience to have a better sense of control on the outcome of patient satisfaction scores. Failing to recognize the need for persistent attention to employee’s skills will lead to lower satisfaction ratings, decreasing compensation and an overall lack of employee engagement.
