OPERATIONALIZING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Jim White Vice President Customer Experience Symphony Post-Acute Network
AGENDA A Bit of Fun Situational Analysis Key Elements Needed for Success Know Your Environment Buy-in From the Top Authority Level to Get Things Done The Right Message Rewards and Recognition Hitting Your Goal Success!
A BIT OF FUN
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS How do you bring a hospitality model of customer service into a healthcare environment? What is needed? What are the barriers? How do you change a culture? In Hospitality primary driver is SERVICE. More priority on delivering a fabulous experience. Budget allocation and resources are different. Staff seems to understand that these things lead to positive word of mouth, creation of promoters, larger share of wallet / increased visitation, and ultimately that their involvement in this process is critical. In Healthcare primary driver is CARE. Priority is placed on a solid clinical outcome. Clinical processes are considered far more important then service delivery. Budget allocation is spread more evenly throughout a facility. Resources are tighter. Staff doesn t always understand that you can have a successful clinical outcome while still delivering on a fabulous customer experience.
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS My specific challenge was to find points within each that could marry together to achieve both. What I learned extremely quickly was that there was only one significant difference: Guest intent In a hospitality environment, guests want to be there. They are enjoying the entertainment and the surroundings and choose to participate. In a healthcare environment, they most certainly do NOT want to be there. They are most often coming to us after an acute incident or surgery and need help getting back to normal. While a hospitality environment may be more conducive to providing a better overall experience, having the right program in place can still be effective if you keep in mind what is needed for success.
KEY ELEMENTS NEEDED FOR SUCCESS Know your environment EVERY corporate/company landscape is different. Be sure to get buy-in from the highest part of your company If what you are doing isn t supported from the top, you can pretty much assume that you are being set up to fail. The authority level to get things done If the other executives / leaders in your organization don t perceive you as having any juice, they will not take you seriously. The right message In my opinion, the KISS model works best (Keep It Simple Stupid). An appropriate mechanism to recognize / reward Healthy competition works wonders.
KNOW YOUR ENVIRONMENT What is the landscape you are navigating in, and more importantly, what is the current culture of service? Is there some sort of system in place to provide checks and balances? Survey tool Mystery shopping Feedback Follow-up Employee Rewards and Recognition How long did the last program last (if there was one). Be aware of the Flavor of the Month. How much budgetary resources are at your disposal? A lesser budget does not equal failure!
BUY-IN FROM THE TOP Who is your corporate champion and chief supporter? How was the message of your initiative communicated to the company? What methods of accountability exist for non-compliance / success? Transparency Ownership Financial Rewards Lip service or results?
AUTHORITY LEVEL TO GET THINGS DONE Most important question to ask yourself If I am giving direction, is that direction being being accepted or met with resistance? Do you have the ability to go toe to toe with a general manager, site leader, senior executive? Difficulty? Right back to Who is my corporate champion? Employee Leaders at a site? How are they positioned in the operation that they work in?
THE RIGHT MESSAGE Is your platform / message addressing the needs of your business? Moreover, is it exceeding the expectations of your guests? KISS Keep It Simple Stupid Don t overwhelm your employees. Acronyms are not always better and less actually is more at times. Easy gets things done. Back up your message with the right collateral. Keep training sessions and meetings as brief as your message will allow. Training should be FUN!
REWARDS AND RECOGNITION How are you recognizing the positives? Most people simply want to know that their efforts are not going unnoticed but more importantly that they are thanked. Recognition does not have to be expensive Small rewards, drawings, luncheons Tie to compensation For management, tying into bonus structure certainly has them pay closer attention Healthy competition is good too!
HITTING YOUR GOAL SUCCESS! Initial NPS in when launching program 18.2% NPS as of finish of Q1, FY2015 31.0% Benchmarking against mid-scale hotel group 27.6% Initial Customer Service Score when launching 79.1% Customer Service Score as of finish of Q1 86.3%
QUESTIONS? Thank you! Connect with me: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jtwhite4th Twitter: @JTWhite4th