Energy, Momentum, Motion Changing Community Perception Strategies for Reversing Outmigration Copyright 2012 by, Inc No part of this presentation can be reproduced or distributed without written consent. All Rights Reserved. About impact!, Inc. is a National rural healthcare strategy firm with over two decades of proven experience specific to the healthcare industry. We help hospitals to: Engage Community Reverse Outmigration Start, Build & Grow Provider Practices Improve Customer Service & Patient Satisfaction Enhance Internal Communications Create a Higher Level of Team Connectivity Build Business & Service Lines Michelle Rathman Batschke Founder & President Outmigration in a Nutshell Outmigration: Patients LIVING in your primary service area LEAVING to receive healthcare services elsewhere. Top Reasons Why Outmigration Happens? Others have services or providers you do not have or offer Others make them feel better about the services they re receiving Patients (or those who have the patient s ear) have a negative perception Patient or family member/friend had a negative experience at your hospital Patients do not know or understand what you have to offer Patient works outside your service area and has convenience elsewhere Employees don t understand how their behaviors and interactions impact patient experience Hospital lacks innovative ways (and energy) to move from community outreach to community engagement 1
Core Objectives of Your Outmigration Reversal Efforts Change Perceptions, Minds and Direction Develop a Solid Plan to Engage Strategic Alliances Create Additional Interest and Practical Opportunities New Awareness and Branding Opportunities Effectively Manage Crisis and the Message Sustain Visibility and New Revenue Streams Implement No nonsense Initiatives that Bring in New Customers (Patients & Physicians) Establish Movement from Reactive to Proactive Thinking Related to Adapting to Changes in the Marketplace Design Distinction of the Organization from Competitors Remove Roadblocks (Human Behaviors) Impeding Progress HOW DO YOU BEGIN TO TACKLE THE ISSUE OF OUTMIGRATION? (We ll Tackle Two Major Issues Today) Uncover Top Focus Areas Identify Target Audiences and Key Relationship Building Opportunities Define Core Objectives and Areas of Mutual Self Interest Understand Key Strengths to Build Explore Solutions to Roadblocks Designate and Coach Ambassadors Develop Effective Tools to Increase Access to Patients and Market Share Create Sustainable Programs and Processes for Continuous Communication Engage in and Reinforce the need for EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE External & Internal External: Create Sustainable Programs / Processes for Continuous Communication & Community Engagement Internal: Engage in and Reinforce the need for EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE! Every Patient! Every Person! Every time! 2
GET THE TRUE PICTURE Gain some new and needed perspective on the hospital s image across all user groups. Learn how your community really feels about you? Get in touch with what they know about healthcare and more importantly, what they don t understand The truth may hurt a little you can fix that! START WITH THE EXTERNAL WORK Create Sustainable Programs and Processes for Continuous Communication Your Strategic Communication Plan Must Have Marketing FOCUS: On the Future + Community Support Sustained Business Renewed Interest Future Growth Public Relations Advertising Community Relations Media Relations 9 3
Marketing MARKETING STAYING POWER: ALL ACCESS PRESENCE IN MANY AREAS OF THEIR LIVES WORK, COMMUNITY AND HOME. Activities and tools that communicate information, persuade or influence opinion, create interest, generate buzz, motivate action and/or educate the intended target audience! Connect with your consumers and physicians and influence their decisions. Marketing is an ongoing and never ending process, and the key to sustaining positive outcomes is understanding the importance of investing in perpetual and purposeful activity. GET and STAY on your audience s radar screens using a variety of methods. To be noticed, there must be a reason for them to pay attention, and if you want them to pay attention, they must feel engaged. Public Relations WHERE THERE IS NO PRESENCE, THERE IS NO PIECE OF MIND! Exceptional ideas, tactics, and tools designed to reach and impact the overall public in your targeted population groups. Create live selling opportunities in order to reach a significant segment of your target audiences using events and interactive activities. Focus on a core message, invest the time and the resources needed to make the message stick. Showcase your team, talent and vision. Develop face to face opportunities for interaction with those whom you believe will benefit from making the connection. Advertising EDITORIAL COVERAGE IS A GIFT BUT ADVERTISING KEEPS YOU PRESENT The art and science of continually creating images that evoke emotions, impress memories, compel thoughts, cause reaction and, ultimately, drive traffic (interest) to your door. Analyze the outlets you have at your disposal and then find those you don t know about or have not tried, and then create opportunities and a system to establish a presence in the lives of those you wish to whack in the head within your targeted focus areas. Align your print with visual and audio efforts so that your targeted communities can become familiar with who you are in a variety of settings. Healthcare is not retail and advertising should not be viewed as the thing that will make the phone ring. Branding, presence, thought provoking images will help your message stick. 4
Community Relations THE OLD ADAGE JOIN THE CLUB IS VERY RELEVANT HERE AND WHEN YOU DO BE THERE! A strategic communications program realizes greater success when you rely on targeting communities with a significant population of potential customers. Engaging in community relations means becoming active in established community groups and places your organization in a better strategic position to gain influential friends. Find opportunities to tell your story to targeted, well established groups of people with a common self interest. Community relations is like finding the right fishing hole with a never ending supply of fish. Plug your best ambassadors into the various opportunities to be active and visible in your community, gaining support and advancing your mission by serving the purpose of the community group as a whole. Media Relations One great editorial piece can do for you what $1 million in advertising can t. A single negative story can take years to recover from. Build better relationships with media and become very strategic about your interaction. Do NOT assume anything about their intentions and learn how to turn a negative editor into a positive fan. Tell your story the way you want it told. Create each pitch with an eye on which media source reaches the targeted audience you seek. Gain control. One voice. One Spokesperson. One Really Good Story. Developing the Tools Planning and Development of Essential Marketing and Communication Tools and Resources What Your Website Is and Needs to Be Determine Your Social Media Strategy How, What & When Should You be Advertising Planning Collateral Material that has Purpose Developing Collaborative Partnerships - You Need Some Sneezers Playing Host at the Main Event Create Special Buzz Get/Stay on the Media Radar 15 5
Once you get their attention and get them in your front door how do you keep them? You can have all the greatest programs, tools and strategies in the world BUT it all boils down to CUSTOMER SERVICE & SATISFACTION COMMIT TO AND INVEST IN THE INTERNAL WORK Perception Is what you see what they see? 6
What do you want your community to know about YOUR hospital? Small Does Not Mean Insufficient or Unaccomplished! Limited Services Does Not Mean You re Lacking in the Area of Technology, Advances in Medicine or a Vision for Improving and Enhancing Services! Family and Emergency Medicine at Your Hospital IS a Front Door to a World of Healthcare for the Community! Every member of the Your Hospital Team is Committed Excellence when it Comes to Serving and Caring...Everyone they Come into Contact with! Everyone who isn t you is your customer! Patients, Co workers, Vendors We are all each other s customer.and in giving great customer service. You DO NOT have to give away the store You CAN move from customer service to customer loyalty You are EMPOWERED to take responsibility for mistakes You WILL be MOTIVATED to serve up your best even when you feel at your worst HOW YOU SEE THEM IMPACTS HOW THEY SEE YOU A little experiment 7
Does this look like the kind of family you d like to have as your customer? What sort of morning did your registration clerk have today? Woke up late Bad hair day Kids wouldn t get ready for school Car wouldn t start Spilled coffee on her lap, while eating breakfast on her way to work No good parking spots left has to walk ten extra steps Angry / frustrated with a co worker s actions How do your customers feel about the way you feel about them? From their perspective Answer phone abruptly Cut them off before they ve finished Transferred the call to the wrong extension Waited for what felt like hours to be seen Never looked them in the eye and asked how you could help 8
How can you change the way people see you the people who work for your hospital? If you want something you ve never had, you have to do some things you ve never done! Put yourself in their shoes Step out of your comfort zone Become a SNEEZER Adopt some new language Take the Feel Different Challenge Feeling anti customer? Remember you have a choice! BRINGING THE CARE BACK INTO YOUR HEALTHCARE Family Compassion & Collaboration Appreciation & Accountability Respect & Reasoning Empathy & Emotion (but no excuses) 9
The Hidden Meanings of the words we use ALWAYS NEVER BUT TRY CAN T How do you deal with a smoldering situation? STOP Stop the Situation DROP Drop the Attitude ROLL Roll with a New and Improved Way to put out the fire BRINGING EXCELLENCE TO YOUR FRONT DOOR & INTO THE PLACE YOU WORK EVERY DAY! The Law of Attraction for People Who Want Life at Work to Feel Better! I don t want I do want Focus all of your attention on what you do want Allow it to come to you! 10
Is Improving Optional? It all depends on what you want. As we know, the patient s perception of experience is his or her reality. Consistent service excellence plus the successful management of patient perceptions related to every experience they have at your hospital is the option on the table. One of the most POWERFUL strategies to reverse outmigration is to engage your team to create (and then deliver) their own Promise of Excellence! How do you get everyone to act the same? If you have: An employee handbook Dress Code Code of Conduct Mission, Vision, Values Statement Compliance Guidelines The next thing you may consider is a A PROMISE OF EXCELLENCE PLEDGE! 11
Why have a Promise of Excellence? To be Recognized as an Award Winning Healthcare Organization To be Known for your Excellence in Patient Care and High Quality Service To Employ ONLY those who Embrace a Can Do Attitude To Achieve Consistently High Patient Satisfaction Scores To be Supported By and Better Connected With Your Community How can you develop your very own Promise of Excellence Plan Identify and Discuss the Hot Zones Develop Strategies to Get at the Fires Explore Options to address: People Issues Process Issues Procedure Issues Review Wish List for Customer Service Improvement Tools and Programs Draft a Promise of Excellence Guideline that Clearly Spells Out Acceptable Behavioral Standards The Promise is a Contract that ALL Sign and Agree to Adopt. 12
THE SAYBOOK 37 What we have here is a failure to communicate. Communication is the #1 Cause of Problems in Relations! 38 I wish I would have said that! I wish I didn t say that. Why did she say it like that? What did he mean by that? 13
What is a SayBook? Provides team members with key language and conversational prompts to be used to enhance communication with patients, families, visitors and providers. 40 SayBook Contents General What Not and What To Say Cues Speaking to the Survey Managing Difficult Situations with Calm Communication Proactive Rounding Essentials SayBook Cues for Departmental Interactions Phone Answering Etiquette Immediate benefits of the SayBook Using the tool will help to: Convey the message of your Promise of Excellence Culture and Commitment ; Attribute Words and Actions to our Excellent Behavior Standards; Set Clear Expectations for what Should Occur During Encounters with Patients, Family Members, Providers and Others to Help Achieve the Best Possible Communication Outcomes! 14
What needs to be in the Say Book for Patients? Language cues to help standardize the patient experience and ensures patients: Are Comfortable Feel Acknowledged and Respected Understand WHO is in their room and WHY you are there Are Given an Explanation of the Process and WHAT will be Happening Are Thanked Feeling the Gratitude is Genuine Believe that any Issues that Arise are Resolved with Speed and Compassion What needs to be in the Say Book for Families? Language cues to help create the best possible experience for the patient s family and ensure they: Feel Welcomed and Respected Are Informed with Appropriate Information Understand WHO is in their parent s, child s, spouse s room and WHY you are there Are Thanked and Feel the Gratitude is Genuine Believe that Issues that Arise are Resolved with Speed and the Greatest Possible Care EXAMPLES OF GENERAL WHAT NOT & WHAT TO SAY CUES 15
Sample SayBook Language 46 Doing the EXTERNAL & INTERNAL work at the same time, will give you different (better) results! Real Solutions for Hospitals Modernization Replacement Transition Crisis Growth Strategists for Leaders in Healthcare Doitwithimpact.com 16