By Kristin Baird

Patient experience literature is loaded with information about best practices. It’s tempting to dive right in and start implementing these tactics but without a supportive culture, those best practices will fail.

I see it all the time. Leaders from various healthcare organizations will tell us, “We tried [insert best practice here] and it didn’t work.” That comment always gets to me. A faulty piece of equipment doesn’t work, but when we’re talking about best practices like executive rounding or hourly rounding, it’s the execution that fails.

When we delve a bit deeper, we inevitably find that the best practice tactic failed due to lack of accountability and ownership. If your culture lacks accountability and ownership, no best practice will stick.

When it comes to improving the patient experience, I find that there is no shortage of tactics. There is, however, a shortage of leadership and a shortage of cultures ready to foster best practices.

Not long ago, my team and I were doing a culture assessment that helped reveal valuable insights. During focus groups with employees, we heard over and over, “Nothing sticks here. There’s no follow-through and no consequences.” Even the executives shared the same sentiment which was astounding to me.

It was clearly a culture that lacked accountability and ownership. Being passionate about service without follow-through won’t achieve your goals.

If you find that you are spinning your wheels trying to implement best practices that don’t stick, it’s time to look deeper at your culture:
What are the beliefs and attitudes among staff and managers that may be holding you back? What are the leadership practices that help or hinder your progress? Delve deeper and you may find that it’s the culture preventing progress.

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By Kristin Baird

It’s no secret that employee engagement is pivotal in creating a great patient experience. But even beyond that, engaged employees are much more likely to stay, produce more, and ultimately contribute to the organization’s success.

The question is: what does it take to engage employees and become a great place to work?

I’ve seen many organizations grapple with these questions and embark on complex, multi-level, multi-year plans. Most start with an employee engagement survey in order to identify the issues and where there may be pockets of particularly disengaged associates. All of this is helpful in preparing a comprehensive action plan. But sometimes, part of the solution is much simpler and straight forward – and it’s right under their noses.
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A few weeks ago, my colleagues and I were conducting employee focus groups as part of a larger culture assessment. During the focus group, we asked, “If you could wave a magic wand to change one thing that would improve the culture, what would that be?”

One person spoke up and said, “I’d have the doctors look me in the eye and say hello. We spend all day, every day making sure they have what the need so they can be efficient and organized. They don’t even bother saying hello.”  I saw unanimous head-nodding in response to this statement.

Another participant spoke up and added, “I volunteered to help out another medical practice during a maternity leave. For four months I sat at the front desk, registering patients, taking calls, and scheduling. For four months, every day I would greet every one of the doctors entering the practice. They didn’t look at me for the most part and rarely responded to my greeting. After four months, not one of them knew my name. I felt like I really didn’t matter. I’m good at my job. I deliver great customer service, but in reality, I don’t matter here.”

These statements were heartbreaking. They provided a great reminder that engagement starts with showing respect and common courtesy to one another.

Although this example cited physicians, there have been many similar discussions pointing out the same issues with leaders or other staff. What the employees described are observable behaviors. Leaders owe it to the rest of the team to watch for this type of behavior and address it immediately.

Want to change the culture? Start with hello. It’s free, doesn’t take extensive training, and you can start right now.

Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us today to make your healthcare event a success!