Orientation jump-starts employees on PFC

Notebook gives 'unwritten rules of poor service'

By emphasizing customer service during orientation, managers can begin reinforcing patient-focused care before their new employees ever reach the floor, says Duke Rohe, FHIMSS, performance improvement specialist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Rohe facilitates the section on customer service.

"Our goal is to connect in the employee's mind the link between service and outcomes. The basic issue is: Can good customer service help a patient beat cancer? We believe the answer is yes," he says. (See chart on consequences of good service on p. 106.)

The customer service segment is one of the top-rated presentations at the cancer center's new orientation program, called Making Cancer History, says Tina Elliott, the educational resource specialist who developed the program.

"[Rohe] has a way of making this concept come alive through humor, stories, and role play," she says.

Indeed, in addition to the usual explanations of internal and external customers, the employee orientation notebook is chock-full of service tips and traps written in anecdotal format.

For example, in a section called The Unwritten Rules of Poor Service, Bill Walker, MS, performance improvement specialist, helps employees walk a mile in the customer's shoes by offering 33 examples of "illogical unexpecations of the customer."

Among them:

· Never answer the telephone within three rings, the customer may think we're desperate for business. Or, answer it with a mumbled greeting. It may be someone we don't want to talk to.

· It is acceptable to talk about other customers or co-workers while patrons are waiting. Everybody just loves eavesdropping on good gossip.

· There is just no such thing as an internal customer. Coworkers should just do their job and quit complaining. You should address their concerns only when you have time.

Then Rohe and Walker note in an adjacent column the performance expectations at M.D. Anderson. "Poor customer service has happened to all of us. What we want to do during the orientation is create a common ground and then clearly state what we expect here," he says.

He also reviews the six service sins:

1. The Brush Off.

"Don't let the business of the day or your own set of priorities get between you and the customer, because he or she will feel it," he warns.

An automatic answer of "We don't do that," sends a loud message of "Leave me alone," he explains. "Instead, slow down, look customers in the eye and ask, 'How may I help you?'"

2. The Cold Attitude.

"Patients' needs may be small to us, but big to them. So don't act distant to their needs," he says. Rohe tells new employees that if they don't have a naturally warm attitude, to copy the mannerisms of someone who does.

3. Condescension.

"When you talk to the patient in clinical terms they don't understand, they may be too embarrassed to ask you what you really mean," he says. "Simplify your words and then ask them if what they heard was clear."

4. Robot.

"Even if you've answered the 345th call light, put some life in your tone. If you are asking a question, end in an upward inflection," he says.

5. Rule Book.

"Rather than hide behind the rule book to keep from work, find out what the rules allow and take charge to do what is necessary within those rules. If a rule needs to be less rigid, approach management and make a case for the patient," he says.

6. Runaround.

"Don't pass the buck. If you can responsibly address a problem, do it; don' t pass it on. For example, don't just tell someone how to get there, take a moment and walk them there," he says.

^{Keeping the commitment}

In two pages of the workbook, there are written exercises that emphasize an employee's value to the organization.

For example, in one exercise, new employees list three or four areas of their work where if they "really fouled up it would have negative consequences to the customer." Then they list how they could prevent the incident.

In the last section, employees write two small things they don't normally practice that would make customers feel special or appreciated. To track their progress for five days, employees are encouraged to give the customer commitment form to an friend who will call daily to see how well they did.