Bring service up to a higher level
When Cynthia Norman-Bey, director of patient access services and the PBX (private branch exchange) Call Center at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, notices an employee’s customer service skills are lacking, she pairs him or her with a high performer.
“Some patient associate require a ‘watch and learn’ method of training. They model their behavior after their mentor’s,” she explains.
Here are other ways to ensure all employees provide excellent service:
• Use actual calls for role-playing exercises.
Staff listen to examples of exceptional service, with staff assisting beyond what was requested by the patient, ending the call with “thank you for your call, and enjoy your day!” and asking whether all the patient’s requests were addressed. When a caller wants an appointment, the patient access associate might ask, “Is there any particular day or time that works better for you?”
“That type of appointment scheduling sets the tone,” says Norman-Bey. “The patient feels that they have options, as opposed to patient access services only giving the patient what the system says is available.”
Staff also role play based on calls from patients who were demanding or even antagonistic. If a caller angrily says, for example, “You had me on hold for a long time, and I am calling from work,” staff apologize first, says Norman-Bey, and say, “I know your time is valuable, and we really appreciate your business.”
Next, staff might offer to validate the patient’s parking on the day of the appointment and meet them face to face, and again apologize for their wait time on the telephone call made to the department.
“We try to show how our own behavior — apologizing, maintaining a caring tone — is what we can control. But we cannot control the behavior of our callers,” says Norman-Bey.
• Look at the number of complaints received in the previous six months.
Jamie Kennedy, a patient access supervisor at Columbus-based Ohio State University East Hospital’s ambulatory clinic, considers one person receiving three or more complaints to be “a major issue.”
“When we notice this pattern beginning, we discuss it with the staff member. We document the conversation in their personnel file as a verbal warning,” she says. “In some cases, we send staff to refresher trainings on different topics around customer service.”
• Be sure patients don’t feel rushed through the process.
‘In our busier clinics, our staff move very quickly through the registration process. They can come off a bit non-caring at times,” Kennedy says. “They sometimes do not take the time to explain what they are doing.”
Kennedy has fielded multiple complaints from patients stating that staff went through the registration process so quickly that they didn’t feel they could ask any questions. “We always take those complaints seriously,” she says. “We speak to the employees and address any issues that are happening upfront.”
• Give each employee a chance to voice concerns regarding co-workers.
“Customer service is not just for patients, but also between team members as well,” says Kennedy.
When Cynthia Norman-Bey, director of patient access services and the PBX (private branch exchange) Call Center at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, notices an employee’s customer service skills are lacking, she pairs him or her with a high performer.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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