Setting the Stage for an Effective Customer Service Experiece.

The customer service movement has been in full force in healthcare for many years. Much as the field has evolved, so has this movement. Coupled with other initiatives, like the rise of Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Improvement Act and Magnet Hospital designation, as well as multiple others in the industry, stepped-up service has invariably made healthcare a better place to be.

With all the models out there, however, it’s easy to lose your own focus. Who’s really the customer at any given point and time, and what do they really want? Is one more important than the other? And how do they all fit together?

We’ve tackled these questions throughout the years, too. Our clients have told us how they’ve measured and mad changes, and measured some more and made some more changes—sometimes without really feeling that they’ve permanently moved to a new level. In any healthcare organization, it’s logical to feel that you keep revisiting the same territory.

At CHG, we began to think there must be another way to approach customer service, or at the very least a model to better coordinate the way that customer service is viewed and planned for the organizations with whom we work. We developed a way to look at the process:

Customer Experience Model

This model represents the global view of the customer culture in an organization. The customer experience is driven by the desired culture as established by leadership. Therefore, if Leadership is determined to create a culture that supports the customer experience, they must first do so by creating a mission, vision and values that provides a focus for the organization to strive for. It’s that relevant, compelling focus that keeps the organization focused and is the basis upon which the cultural foundations that support the customer experience will rest. 

In setting the focus, Leadership also has a role in determining the impact or the outcome that they want to see organizationally. Those outcomes are typically defined in the areas of service, fiscal, loyalty, engagement and quality. Once Leadership has defined the focal point for the culture, as well as how well they will measure their progress, they then move to defining the key customers being served.

Often, there’s been some confusion as to who really is the number-one customer. Ask some staff members and they’ll tell you it’s the physician. Ask other staff and they’ll tell you it’s the patient. Actually, it’s a combination—a balance of priorities among four key customer groups: the patient, employee, physician and community. The key: how to understand and exceed their expectations so you truly create the best experience for them.

A host of factors go into creating the customer experience:

• In what kind of setting were you served?
• What was the physical environment like?
• Were you in comfortable surroundings, or was the facility old and outdated?
• What did that environment feel like?
• Was it loud, rushed and hurried, or soothing and calming?
• Was check-in smooth or were you asked again to provide your information?

It can be helpful to divide key service areas them into three areas: 

1. Having the right people.
2. Having them in the right roles and processes.
3. Having them in the right environment. 

You can create an optimal experience in each of these areas when you have the guidance of the right organization foundation. Then, you can achieve an optimal customer experience across your key customers, which ultimately produces the desired outcomes. It’s an ideal concept—but one that takes effort to achieve.

In this issue, we’ll explore some ways to start creating the optimal customer experience for some key customer areas. Along the way, we’ll touch on some process issues, as well. In future issues, we’ll drill deeper into how to build the elements so needed to make this model come alive in your organizations.

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To discuss how your organization can earn new customers and improve its customer service delivery, contact us via the Web

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