The Sullivan Hospital System

Customer Service Training Program Manual

Patient is the “Center of Attention”

Amin Alizadeh, Joan French, Darleny Ramos, and Taylor Schlosser

EHRD 612 - Training and Development in HRD

Table of Contents

Needs Analysis﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

Training Objectives﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

Detailed Lesson Plans﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

Descriptions of Training Activities, Dialogue, Lecture Note﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

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Supplemental Materials﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

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Evaluation Plan﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

Transfer of Learning Checkpoints﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

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References﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

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Needs Analysis

This section describes a systematic approach to identifying performance-based training

requirements based on The Sullivan Hospital case study. Brown (2002) noted that training needs

analysis is an ongoing process of collecting data to determine what training needs exist so that

training can be developed to help the organization accomplish its objectives. Brown stated that

conducting a strong needs analysis is essential to the success of a training program. Brown’s

study showed organizations that develop and implement training without conducting a needs

analysis run the risk of overdoing training, doing too little training, or missing the point

completely. It is generally recognized that the outputs of informal and formal training activities

will be enhanced by assessing the needs and the level of skills and knowledge of potential

trainees before implementing any training. Brown (2002) summarized the purpose of training

needs analysis is to:

1. Determine the performance gap

2. Develop the evaluation outcomes for training

3. Determine if training is the most appropriate intervention

4. Assess the financial need for training

Our first barrier to demonstrate more accurate needs analysis is the lack of enough information

because our sources are limited to the case of Sullivan and related literature. Needs analysis

should rely more on qualitative and quantitative studies by talking and listening to various

people, formal interviews, questionnaire and observation by being at the hospital. By

understanding the case, we found the noticeable decline in patient satisfaction as the major issue

for the Sullivan Hospital System. After reviewing available job information, knowing the

principle job responsibilities of occupations and understanding hospital structure, it becomes

possible for us to identify the proper training activity based on relevant needs for individual

workers. In addition, it becomes easier to identify who should attend specific training courses

and workshops. It is obvious that appropriate training programs create better motivated health

workers and a greater productivity in those workers who attended the training. It ultimately

benefits the entire Sullivan Hospital System by improving patient satisfaction.

The effectiveness of our training program can increase if the Sullivan managers decide to change

the bureaucratic structure to an organic management system, because there is evidence that high

quality service and bureaucratic structure are irreconcilable (Peccei, & Rosenthal, 1997). To

increase the employee engagement and create a strong culture for the organization, we need to

have a flat or organic structure, then individuals tend to work as a team instead of working

individually. We found the value of any training investment to the organization must rely on the

vision statement and judgment of managers, therefore, our analysis considers managers needs as

well as evidence-based needs for the organization. We applied three kinds of assessments for

The Sullivan Hospital System needs analysis that can be performed to discover their hospital’s

training needs (Brown, 2002):

Organizational Analysis In this part we need to identify where training is needed in the Sullivan Hospital System and

under what conditions the training will be conducted. Based on the hospital’s vision statement,

the management wants to have their patients in the “center of attention” but this is not a complete

vision. Quigley (1994) noted that vision statement should be powerfully motivational for

employees and attract the involvement of all level of employees. As an example of a good

motivator we propose the following vision statement retrieved from Saint Vincent Hospital:

“To be the hospital of choice for patients, physicians and employees must become committed to

preeminent patient care and teaching programs, as we strive to be the world’s leader in patient

experience.”

We also found there are no standards or specific expectations that are set and communicated.

Training is appropriate when the organization can be expected to gain more benefit from the

training than it invests in its cost (Brown, 2002). In the very first paragraph of the case, we can

see after 6 to 9 months of losing patient satisfaction and market share, the leaders noticed and

started to think for finding the solution. This is too late, if the company had an organic or flat

structure they could have defined the issue much earlier (Daft, 1982).

We identified the hospital’s unclear goals, inflexible control system, and centralized human

resource systems as three of their fundamental weaknesses and providing low cost service to the

patients is their noticeable strength. Although the problem with the vision statement is solved

after three months, the hospital needs to create a strong culture and quality circles to improve the

performance. There are different ideas about bureaucratic system in the literature, for example

Blau, (1963) noted that this structure is formed around rigid rules and regulations. This excessive

form of rigid structures minimizes creativity and restricts growth. Furthermore, bureaucracy

requires everything to follow a given system, which diminishes any chances of out-of-the-box

solutions. “The combination of loyalty and bureaucratic structure allows such organizations to

reach unprecedented scale but makes them inflexible and slow” (Adler, Heckscher, & Prusak,

2011).

Jain’s 2004 study shows that a bureaucratic system works within a structure that does not have

enough room for human emotions, satisfaction, needs and values. Jain (2004) found that a

bureaucratic system is impersonal in nature and neither cares for the consumers nor the

employees working around. By changing from bureaucratic to a flat structure and decentralizing

the control system, several problems such as managers issues related to finding accurate data will

solve as a consequence. Pine and Tart in 2007 studied a hospital with bureaucratic structure, their

finding shows communication was one of the main issues in that hospital which leaded the

hospital to very high turnover.

We can see in the Sullivan Hospital case their human resource system is centralized in the

corporate office. This issue also goes to the nature of a bureaucratic system; therefore, it is more

difficult to manage things quickly and efficiently. There is a lot of paperwork, files, regulations

and processes in a bureaucratic system; we suggest their internal job postings should update daily

instead of monthly while they are in the shortage of nurses.

Our group discussions helped define that the Sullivan Hospital needs analysis should mainly deal

with customer complaints reduction and quality control issues, however little awareness of

hospital goals among middle managers shows the high level of inconsistency in the organization.

Therefore, all employees at the Sullivan Hospital System must understand the vision statement

and actively work to achieve that. The training program should help give meaning behind the

vision and make the words have meaning for action. At the end of the training, employees should

be capable of putting the vision statement into practice. Brown, (2002) suggested that for any

organizational analysis three such changes that should be carefully considered:

● Future skill needs

● Labor pool

● Changes in laws and regulations

Future skill needs: How is The Sullivan hospital changing? Their new vision statement made

this section easy: all employees should work in such a way that the patients feel like they are the

“center of attention.” Recent research shows that good customer service has a positive and strong

relationship with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Jahanshani, Hajizadeh,

Mirdhamadi, Nawaser, & Khaksar, 2014), so to achieve the vision statement Sullivan Hospitals

need more knowledge in customer service. In other words, Sullivan Hospital needs to teach

employees (including doctors) the knowledge, skills, and competencies that require an increase

in patient satisfaction. The consultants should design a course that includes greeting the patient

(either by phone or in person), questioning to understand the customer’s need or problem,

listening, confirming understanding, responding with value, using positive language, eliminating

jargon, concluding the phone or face-to-face interaction, dealing with angry patients, and the

importance of body language and tone of voice.

Based on literature there are several more factors that may affect planning for training needs in

this level (Brown, 2002), as an example:

● Assessing resources and facilities in order to design the training course, for instance,

Hospital may decide to have an online customer service training programs because of

financial limitations or heavy workload of employees.

● The two following situations should be more considered if the hospital decides to change

the bureaucratic system to organic system, because the case shows despite the high level

of required interdependency, most of the jobs are individually based:

● Working in a team environment because bureaucratic system is mainly based on

individual performance Jain (2004). New interpersonal skills and decision making will be

needed with this type of cultural change.

● Their findings showed their old information and control system is inflexible, therefore,

there will be a need for changes in standards and procedures. If they accept any

performance standards or procedure changes, the need for new skills will occur (Brown,

2002).

Labor pool: The hospital needs to consider and plan for adjustment as the labor pool changes.

“As more women, minorities, immigrants and older workers join the workforce, employers must

plan how to accommodate employees’ diverse needs and still get the job accomplished” (Brown,

2002,p.4). For the customer service training we identified the hospital could have a high turnover

based on the information about merit based reward system which had not kept the pace with the

inflation and their individual based work system. So the training program should consider the

diversity and cultural differences within employees. Hospital should have a plan to repeat the

customer service training available for new employees based on turnover and recruitment rates.

Laws and regulations: Laws and regulations may dictate training needs or impact on its

component. In any training needs analysis, consultants should be aware of related laws and

regulations and/or any changes. In this case we have no available data. There are several Rights

related to patients, medical doctors and nurses that should to be considered.

Our analysis in this section shows customer service training is the right training for this case as a

first action and it fits the organization’s goals and objectives. Other mentioned issues need to be

solved to see better performance. We also identified Mentoring, Leadership trainings for

managers and Teamwork Trainings for employees can be helpful to improve Sullivan

performance.

Task Analysis Task analysis begins with job requirements and compares employee knowledge and skills to

determine training needs (Brown, 2002). Every job is unique; consultants should examine job

descriptions related to each position and specifications in sequence to gain necessary information

on leader’s expectations. To have a complete task analysis for The Sullivan Hospital; more

information such as job descriptions is needed. Brown (2002) stated that a good task analysis

identifies:

● Tasks that have to be performed.

● Quantity and quality of performance required.

● Skills and knowledge required to perform tasks.

● Where and how these skills are best acquired.

As the Hospital’s target is improving clients satisfaction, our group identified any job position

which is in contact to patients such as employees who are working in Radiology, Surgery,

Emergency Room, Nursery, Cafeteria, Gift Shop, Lab, Pharmacy, etc, need to receive customer

service training. To achieve the best result organization needs to make some changes in its

policies. Employees need to participate in decision making training and conflict management

training programs, because based on the case most of the employees felt little empowerment to

make decisions. This issue eliminates innovative ideas and reduces employee satisfaction. Hayes,

Bonner, & Pryor, (2010) stated the job satisfaction and job engagement for nurses in hospitals

can be influenced by more than 44 factors, co-worker interaction and organizational policies are

the two out of four most critical factors that can significantly influence on nurses job satisfaction.

Moreover, Mills (2014) study also showed that merit-based pay or pay for performance is not a

good policy for hospitals because it creates discrimination against average employees and

reduces morality. There are several studies that identified merit-based pay is certainly difficult to

do in practice (Bowman, 2009; Sutton, Nikolova, Boaden, Lester, McDonald, & Roland, 2012;

Mills, 2014) and it may leads to unhealthy competition between workers (Bowman, 2009),

decision making biases also may appear between managers. Another study revealed that merit-

based system in hospitals can improve performance in the short run (Werner, Kolstad, Stuart, &

Polsky, 2011), while Ryan, & Blustein, (2011) identified this system made no change in

Massachusetts Hospital performance in the first year of implication.

Based on this analysis we recommend customer service and communication skills, teamwork

skills, mentoring skills for developing internal talents are essential.

Individual Analysis This section concentrates on employees and defines how they perform at their jobs. Using

information or data to identify individual performance and capacity to choose appropriate

training program needs is the most common method (Brown, 2002). In this section we need to

have detailed information about each division and individuals to see which department has more

patient complaints or performance issues, if an employee's review reveals any shortage in a skill,

training can be designed to help the employee or department meet the performance standard. To

have better understanding for individual analysis, employees should be surveyed, interviewed or

tested to determine their training needs. They can indicate problems they have or provide

recommendations to solve problems. These interviews can be conducted on an individual basis

or in a group setting. Being at the hospital for observation also can provide a deep understanding

related to employee behavior and results of their behavior.

As we do not have any access to individuals in the Sullivan Hospital System, we are unable to

perform an accurate individual analysis. The case shows one of the main issues that organization

is facing related to understanding the goals and objectives among employees and managers.

Managers and stakeholders had diverse ideas about the organization’s goals, while all employees

could blankly repeat the mission statement. Our analysis suggests the training program should

concentrate on teaching individuals on how to actively use the knowledge and participate toward

the organization’s goal which is patient satisfaction. In addition, commitment to customer service

can significantly improve the individual level performance (Peccei, & Rosenthal, 1997) so

ongoing customer service training can help the Sullivan Hospital for performance improvement.

Total Quality Management (TQM) Intervention Although our group found TQM is not an appropriate intervention, the teams and managers are

all agreed with TQM. Based on the case the assumption is we have guided teams in hospital to

examine the methods for using TQM process. Our group has decided to study about TQM and

identify how TQM can effect on Sullivan hospitals performance. Mehra, Hoffman, & Sirias,

(2001) noted TQM is a management style that implies non-stop process of quality improvement

of products, processes and personnel work. It is consists of methodologies that drive company to

strategic goals achievement through unceasing quality development. Mehra, Hoffman, & Sirias,

(2001) described that TQM main focus is on production of services that possess high-quality

from viewpoint of customers. TQM was elaborated on basis of Edward Deming's theory. This

philosophy has successfully started many years ago in Japan and USA. Also several studies show

the success of TQM in healthcare industry (Brannan, 1997; Al-Shdaifat, 2015). Our investigation

on TQM showed that it is heavily relies on numbers and results so can be more effective for

manufacturing sector.

Long Term vs. Short Term Training Training needs analysis is an ongoing process of gathering data to determine what training needs

exist so training can be developed to help the organization accomplish its objectives (Brown,

2002). After analyzing the case and prioritizing the Sullivan Hospital System’s training needs,

our recommendation is to start the Customer Service Training program. Our group suggests the

customer service training program could plan and implement in two-phases, while the existing

health workforce in both hospitals will be trained through the short term training programs, the

system can benefit from long-term training for re-professionalization and consistency of the

skills. Our group identified the higher proportion of the training budget should allocate towards

re-skilling in short term to minimize the number of unsatisfied patients and increase employee

engagement.

Training programs should be dynamic and gathering data during the process could help for

improvement of training. We recommend short term training being up to 90 days in length, while

long term training has duration of over 12 months. In the short term training all levels of

employees should deeply understand the importance of vision statement. Consultants should use

motivational tools and demonstrate several courses to show how to put the hospital vision into

practice.

During the 90 days training program all employees that works in customer service related jobs

should attend to customer service training programs, participants should also learn

communication skills, public relation skills as well as teamwork skills. Trainers should stress

importance of getting feedback from patients for evaluation purpose. From the case we can

identify that mostly patients forget about the hospital so follow-up skills also needed for

marketing department by making phone calls, mailing cards, etc.

Our analysis showed there is a need for customer service training for the Sullivan Hospital

System case, the table below illustrated the training programs that can help to optimize the

quality of customer service:

Competencies Gap for the staff in hospital to maximize customer satisfaction

Short Term Long Term

Customer Service

Public Relations

Teamwork Training

Communication

Customer Service

Monitoring and Evaluation

Communication

Training Objectives

At the end of the training, employees will be able to:

● State the organization’s vision statement (“making the customer/patient the center of

attention”) with 100% accuracy.

● Demonstrate the ability to apply the vision statement of “making the customer/patient the

center of attention” into their daily routines.

● Understand the concepts and theories of customer service.

● Understand what is and is not acceptable customer service.

● Illustrate the ability to properly follow up with patients one week, two weeks, one month,

six months, and yearly after their interactions with the organization.

Detailed Lesson Plans

Course title: Making the Patient the Center of Attention

Instructor: Joe Smith

Start/end date(s) and time: various dates from 9am – 4pm

Location: Sullivan Hospital System, various training rooms in each facility

Audience

There will be 25-30 participants per training with varied experience in customer service and

patient care.

Objectives

At the end of the training, employees will be able to:

● State the organization’s vision statement (“making the customer/patient the center of

attention”) with 100% accuracy.

● Demonstrate the ability to apply the vision statement of “making the customer/patient the

center of attention” into their daily routines.

● Understand the concepts and theories of customer service.

● Understand what is and is not acceptable customer service.

● Illustrate the ability to properly follow up with patients one week, two weeks, one month,

six months, and yearly after their interactions with the organization.

Purpose

The purpose of this training session is to inform all employees of the hospital’s vision statement

of “making the customer the center of attention”. Having the ability to put the vision statement

into practice will make patients the center of attention and will improve the overall impression of

the hospital in the community. The vision statement will be more than just words—the statement

will have meaning behind it that all employees can rally behind and create positive action. The

importance of skills needed to properly follow up with patients regarding evaluations and

feedback will also be discussed. Skills such as checkups, phone calls, and appointment and

thank you cards will be developed.

Materials

Handouts, Masking Tape, Watch/Timer, Large Blank Piece of Paper, and Markers

Assessment Strategies

Participants will assess their classmate’s ability to provide excellent customer service and

facilitate the follow up process with clients through a role play activity. Feedback from the

instructor and peers will be provided.

Participant Engagement Methods

Participants will complete activities directed at various learning styles to maximize learning

transfer. Engagement activities for auditory, visual, and tactical learners will be utilized

throughout the training.

Training Outline

● Introduction and welcome (15 minutes): Say, “Hi, my name is Joe Smith and welcome

to the Making the Patient the Center of Attention training. This training will last from

9am until 4pm and we will have a lunch break from 12-1pm. Various 15 minute breaks

throughout the day are built into the course. Restrooms are down the hall and to the left.

You are allowed to have drinks and snacks in the room. Vending machines are by the

restrooms. Please put your cell phones on silent and if you have an emergency that needs

to be attended to, step into the hallway to take your call. In the event of an emergency

that requires evacuations, follow me as we exit left into the hallway, down the stairs, and

to the other side of the east parking lot. I will take the roster with me and verify you are

all present. If you are not with us and you hear the instructions to evacuate, meet us at

the east parking lot.”

● Icebreaker activity (10 minutes): Say, “Before we get started, let’s go around the room

and take turns telling the group your name, department, and your experience with clients

in our hospital.”

● Bad customer service video (5 minutes): Say, “We will now watch a short video that

shows an unacceptable example of customer service. While watching the video, think to

yourself, is this how we want clients treated at our facilities?” Begin video. Allow 2-3

minutes after the video for any comments or discussion.

○ Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i1cWqAABb8

● Objectives and purpose (5 minutes): State objectives and purpose above. Then say,

“To meet our objectives, we will discuss what items and skills you will need to apply our

vision statement to your daily routine.”

● Good customer service video (5 minutes): Say, “Now that you are aware of the purpose

and objectives of our training today, let’s watch an example of exemplary customer

service and making the client the center of attention.” Begin video. Allow 2-3 minutes

after the video for any comments or discussion.

○ Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6g8M2koswU

● Standards, Please! Activity (15-20 minutes): Say, “We will now complete an activity to

help all levels of employment understand the importance of quality customer service

throughout each hospital location. It is one thing to have a vision statement that puts the

patients as the center of attention, but it is another thing to actually learn how to practice

that vision statement. However, before we can begin to put words into practice, all must

understand why and the significance of standard customer service.” Complete the

activity as noted in the activity handout.

● What is our vision statement? Presentation (30 minutes): Say, “We have discussed

how important this topic will be as we continue on our journey to improved customer

service. Sullivan Hospital’s new vision statement focuses on ‘making the

customer/patient the center of attention.” Now, let’s discuss what our vision statement

means to you in order for us to complete our first objective, and that is to be able to state

the vision statement with 100% accuracy.” Ask participants to share what they believe

making the client the center of attention means. Write them on the board as participants

share. Begin presentation.

● 15-minute break

● Excuses, Excuses, Excuses Activity (30-45 minutes): Say, “We will now conduct a type

of role play to help all levels of employment understand the importance of quality

customer service throughout each hospital location. You will be able to evaluate real

situations that can, do, and did happen at the hospital where excuses have been made

when a greater alternative could and should have happened.” Complete the activity as

noted in the activity handout.

● What is good customer service? Presentation (25 minutes): Say, “Now that we have

identified the positive and negative aspects of customer service at our organization, we

will learn more about and discuss the components of excellent customer service.” Begin

presentation. Answer questions as they are asked.

● Objective summary (5 minutes): Say, “To summarize, we have discussed our

company’s vision statement and you are able to state it with 100% accuracy and you have

demonstrated the ability to apply the vision statement into your daily routines.” Does

anyone have any questions? Answer any questions that arise.

● One-hour lunch break

● Welcome back, objectives, and purpose (10 minutes): State objectives and purpose

above. Then say, “This morning we covered our organization's vision statement and how

to apply it to our daily routines. This afternoon we will discuss what skills you will need

to properly initiate and complete the follow up process with clients.”

● Why should I follow up? Presentation (30 minutes): Say, “Since we have already

discussed the importance of making our clients the center of attention, we now need to

know how to properly follow up with them after their time in our hospital. By having a

procedure to follow up with clients at designated times, we will establish a bond with our

patients and let them know that we care about them outside of our walls.” Begin

presentation.

● Four Square Activity (20 minutes?): Say, “We will now conduct an activity that

focuses on why and how an organization’s environment relates to customer service.”

Follow instructions for activity relating to the handout.

● Best practices for follow ups presentation (45 minutes): Say, “Now we will focus on

the best practices for following up with patients after their time with our organization.

By learning about the most effective ways to contact customers after treatment, our

hospital will be able to engage customers and let them know they are just as important to

us outside our walls as they are inside.” Begin presentation.

● 15-minute break

● Best Practices for Customer Service Activity (20 minutes): Say, “We will now have

an activity will allow you to take what you have learned and develop your own working

definitions and identity the best practices and behaviors for achieving excellent customer

service at Sullivan Hospitals.” Complete the activity as noted in the handouts.

● Objective summary (5 minutes): Say, “To summarize, we have discussed how to

properly follow up with patients one week, two weeks, one month, six months, and yearly

after their interactions with the organization. Does anyone have any questions?” Answer

any questions that arise.

● Closure and Wrap Up (20-30 minutes): Restate the objectives. Give each participant a

learning log. Instruct participants to fill out the learning log which asks the participant to

state what ways they can take the information from this training and apply it to their jobs.

Participants are welcome to share with the groups parts of their learning logs. Distribute

course evaluations and answer any questions.

Participant Evaluation

Participants will be given a course survey at the end of class.

Descriptions of Activities, Dialogue, and Lecture Notes

Introductory Customer Service Activity

Title: Standards, Please!

Purpose: To demonstrate the significance of consistency and achieving excellent service

standards.

Goal: To teach an obligation of following procedures and appreciate why it is important to

follow these procedures.

Materials Needed: None

Time: 15 to 20 minutes.

Directions/Dialogue:

1) Trainer(s) will line up all trainees to one side of the room

2) Trainer(s) will explain: “The goal is to reach the other side of the room to win. To be able to

reach the other side of the room trainees must meet certain criteria that we, the trainer(s), will

call out.”

3) Call out one: “Take three steps forward if you have brown hair.”

4) Call out two: “Take two steps forward if you are wearing blue jeans.”

5) Call out three: “Take one giant step back if you have blue eyes.”

6) Call out four – Ask the second person in the front to move to the very back.

7) Call out five – Ask two people in the middle to move to the very front of the line.

8) Call out six – “Take four steps forward if you have a button-down shirt on.”

9) Call out seven – “Be the first to raise your hand!” – Ask the last person who raised their

hand to move to the middle of the room.

10) Call out eight – “Be the first to sit down!” – Ask the first person who actually did sit down

to go wherever in line/in the room they would like to go. The idea is that this person will

hopefully walk to the other side of the room to win. If they do not, repeat the process from call

out one and change as necessary.

a. One: instead of brown hair, use blonde, red or black.

b. Two: change blue jeans to slacks, skirts, etc.

c. Three: change blue eyes to brown, green or hazel.

d. Four: stay the same

e. Five: stay the same

f. Six: change button-down shirt to collared shirt

g. Seven: Ask the first person who raised their hand to move to the middle of the room

h. Eight: Ask the last person to sit down to go wherever they would in line/in the room

they would like to go to.

Debrief/Dialogue:

1) Ask the trainees: “Do not be afraid to answer truthfully. Please, raise your hand if you took

this game seriously?”

a. Wait for trainees to raise or not raise their hand. The idea is that many will not raise

their hand.

b. Pick a handful of those who did not raise their hand and ask, “Why did you not take

the game seriously?”

c. Many should give similar responses such as: “The rules were unfair. The game was

unpredictable. Why follow the rules if it was not going to help me win.” Etc.

2) Then ask the trainees: “Again, please answer truthfully. Please raise your hand if you

enjoyed this game?”

a. Wait for trainees to either raise or not raise their hand. The idea is that many will not

raise their hand, indicating “No, I did not enjoy this game.”

3) Transition into a discussion about customer service and importance of customer service

standards.

a. Start from the left side of the room (trainees still in final position from activity) and

ask each participant to count off starting with the number one and ending with five to

form unbiased small groups. Example, if you have 25 trainees, there will be five groups

with five trainees.

b. Tell the trainees: “Work in small groups and create a list of benefits that comes from

having customer service standards in the workplace for The Sullivan Hospital System.

You will have five minutes to complete this task. From this list, come up with one

paragraph (three to five sentences) on why these benefits are important for the hospital,

its employees, and mostly the patients? You will also have five minutes to complete this

task.

i. Some answers to expect will be: “Customer Service Standards are important

because it helps employees and the patients know what to expect.” | “Customer

Service Standards give an idea on how behavior can be measured on an equal

playing field.” | “Customer Service Standards help the organization (Sullivan

Hospital) to be fair and consistent throughout all of its locations.”

Lecture Notes - What is our vision statement? Presentation

The newly adopted vision statement was created by all levels of employment at Sullivan

Hospital. The committee was composed of your very own physicians, managers and nurses as

well as leaders from both of the hospital locations.

The committee came to the conclusion that a major change effort needed to be made.

This change effort was going to first start with changing the hospital’s vision statement.

Therefore, the new centerpiece of the newly improved vision statement is to make the

patient/customer feel as though they are the center of attention.

Sullivan Hospital has come to the conclusion that the service provided to save lives is excellent

due to the hospital achieving its goals and objectives through the primary trauma center.

However, there is an existing perception of poor customer service when it comes to the care of

the patient after medical treatment is given.

The poor customer service executed in the hospital MUST CHANGE.

Role Play Activity

Title: Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Purpose: Promote active role play and engage in group discussion by allowing each individual to

be put in the role of receiving customer service and delivering customer service. Creativity is a

part of providing excellent customer service and is a useful tool when responding professionally

to patients, their families and friends.

Goal: By the end of the activity the trainees will understand that there should never be excuses

for not providing excellent customer service.

Materials Needed: Handout 1: Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Time: 30 - 45 minutes

Directions/Dialogue:

1) Trainer(s) will place participants in teams of four by starting at the right side of the room and

allowing trainees to number off starting with one and ending with four. If there is an odd man

out, allow a team of five.

2) Tell the trainees: “Review your handout and answer questions one through three right now.

Discuss the poor customer service you have personally received at Sullivan Hospital. Discuss

why you think you received poor customer service and was it necessary or even allowed?

Deliberate in your groups as to what should have actually happened in your experiences and

what should have happened instead of hearing an excuse? Also, what could or should have

happened that can prevent that excuse from ever being said in the first place? Use your

creativity. As professionals of customer service, creativity needs to be utilized. For example, if

someone’s computer goes down at Sullivan Hospital, does that mean all business comes to a stop

and patients will not be cared for? No. Be professionals of quality customer service and come up

with other alternatives to, at the very best, keep up the care of for past, future and current

patients. You will have five minutes to complete questions one through three.”

3) After the five minutes is up, tell the trainees: “Now review your handout and answer

questions four through six. Discuss the poor customer service you have personally delivered at

Sullivan Hospital. Discuss why you think you gave this poor customer service and was it

necessary? Deliberate in your groups as to what should have actually happened in your

experiences and what should have happened instead of giving an excuse? Also, what could or

should have happened that can prevent that excuse from ever being said in the first place?

Again, use your creativity. You will have five minutes to complete questions one through three.”

4) Once all the questions are answered, direct the trainees to pick a partner in their group. Once

a partner is chosen, explain the role play.

a. “With this role playing exercise, I want each and every one of you to think back on

what you just discussed with your group. Now, come up with one scenario where poor

customer service is given. One person will role play as the employee giving the customer

service and the other will role play as the patient receiving the customer service. Then

switch roles. When the roles are switched, come up with one scenario where excellent

customer service is given. Again, use your creativity and come up with outrageous

scenarios that make is difficult for the employee and/or the patient depending on the

scenario. You will have ten minutes to complete your role playing.

b. Once the ten minutes is up, ask for any volunteers who wish to act out their role

playing scenario to the training group.

i. Explain to the volunteering pair: “Please act out your scenario in three

minutes or less.”

ii. Allow for two or three volunteer pairs.

Debrief/Dialogue:

1) Trainer(s) ask the trainees: “Please get back with your original group of four. What did you

all learn from this activity? I/We are going to go around and ask each group the biggest lesson

they learned from today’s role playing activity.”

a. Allow for each group to share what they have learned.

2) Ask the trainees: “What do you all think was our, the trainers, biggest lesson we wanted you

all to learn today?

a. Explain: “The most critical aspect of this activity was questions three and six on your

handout. It focuses on what should have happened instead of the excuse. Once you all

understand that concept and get creative, what should have happened will turn into what

did happen.”

3) Then refer them to read the book, Excuses, Excuses, Excuses… For Not Delivering Excellent

Customer Service – And What Should Happen! If they are interested in learning more.

Source: https://downloads.hrdpressonline.com/files/7320080417163054.pdf

Lecture Notes – What is good customer service? Presentation

Customer service needs to be viewed as a major business component.

The reason for this is because excellent customer service will allow for the gain of competitive

advantage for Sullivan Hospital to develop and thrive against its competitors.

To develop “good customer service” all patients need to be treated with excellence from the

moment they enter the hospital, through medical treatment, after medical treatment and still be

treated with excellence even after they leave the hospital (this should be done by following up

with the patient after medical attention).

Good customer service is so much more than a smile and a nice comment such as “have a nice

day” when the customer leaves the facility. Every time a customer walks into Sullivan Hospital,

we must “WOW” our patients with our excellent quality and timeliness.

Remember this phrase when approaching patients at Sullivan Hospital: “A good word may leave

quickly, but a bad word may last forever.”

Lecture Notes – Why should I follow up? Presentation

Purpose: The continuation of our patients returning to us for care. To show our patients that we

care about their well-being and to build trust with our patients.

Phone calls: A Medical office associate should call patient next day after hospital visit. The

following questions should be asked:

1. “How are you feeling?”

2. “Are there any at-home care instructions in which you do not understand or need help

with?”

3. “Are you aware of how to properly take your medication?”

4. “Are you aware of when your next appointment is scheduled to be?”

5. “Are there any questions that you have for us?”

Get well cards: An office associate from each department should send out weekly get well cards

to patients who were seen that week. The card should be signed by Physician and hospital CEO.

Four Square Activity

Title: The Easy Way

Purpose: To illustrate importance the Sullivan Hospital environment and how it is related to

customer service. People will choose to go to where they feel comfortable.

Goal: Increase awareness of how and why creating and maintaining a customer-friendly

environment is crucial to the survival of Sullivan Hospital.

Materials: Masking Tape and a Watch with a Second Hand or a Timer

Time: 20 – 25 Minutes

Directions/Dialogue:

1) Divide the training room in four quadrants using masking tape.

2) Tell the trainees: “Count off one, two, three, and four around the room to make four groups.

All of group one will be in the left, top quadrant. All of group too will be in the right, top

quadrant. All of group three will be in the bottom, left quadrant and all of group four will be in

the bottom, right quadrant.”

3) Once all of the trainees are in their appropriate quadrant, assign the following actions to each

group: “I will give each quadrant a specific task to do for thirty seconds. Group one, you all

must talk nonstop without listening. Group two, you all must repeatedly touch or try to touch

your toes. Group three, you all must repeat the alphabet. Group four, you all must have a normal

conversation with each other. Then, after the thirty seconds is up, I will call out ‘SWITCH’ and

each group will rotate clockwise so that each group is in a different quadrant conducting a

different task. We will do this process repeatedly for five minutes.” Then ask the trainees: “Do

you all understand?” If they do not, take time to explain the game again for those who do not

understand. However, once everyone understands, tell the trainees: “Alright, you have thirty

seconds. GO!”

4) Yell out “SWITCH” every thirty seconds for five minutes. Once the five minutes is up, tell

the trainees to “STOP!”

5) Now, explain to the trainees: “Now that you all have spent time in each box, please choose

to continue moving in the same, clockwise direction, rotating to each box every ten seconds for

one minute. OR you may choose to stay in one box/quadrant for one minute. Go!”

Debrief/Dialogue:

1) By the end of the game, most people should be in the fourth box.

2) Ask the trainees: “Did you notice how most of you are in the fourth box that allows for

normal conversation?” Allow a few seconds for acknowledgment.

3) Then explain to the trainees: “This is because you all chose the box that was the most

comfortable. The same concept applies to Sullivan Hospital. If all of other aspects are equal

compared to our competitors, patients/customers are going to choose to be in an environment

that is the most comfortable and pleasant for them. Regardless of service.”

Lecture Notes – Best practices for follow ups presentation

Purpose: To receive honest patient feedback on their visit at our hospital and to evaluate team

member processes in order for the continuation of patient care improvement throughout our

organization.

Patient visit surveys: An office associate from each department should mail out surveys once a

week to patients who visited or were released from hospital that week. The results of these

surveys are to be discussed at the monthly management meeting with leaders to see how to

improve patient care within each department.

Secret Shopper: A clinical educator employee should conduct the this process when a team

member has reached their 30 or 90 day mark from customer service training. The results of this

process should be given to the team member’s supervisor in order to be discussed during

monthly reviews and evaluations.

Transfer of Learning Activity

Title: Best Practices for Customer Service at Sullivan Hospitals to Best Act upon the Vision

Statement

Purpose: Identify the transfer of learning that the trainees received.

Goal: Allow trainees to take with them the information that was given to them at this training

and practice it through their own customer service on a daily basis at the Sullivan Hospital

location they currently work at.

Materials Needed: Handout 2, Sample List of Best Practices for Excellent Customer Service,

large blank piece of paper, markers.

Time: 20 minutes

Directions/Dialogue:

1) Tell trainees: “On your own, review Handout 2 and answer the questions. Really take time to

reflect so that you may go back and refer to this handout later in life to look back on and refer to

when needed. You will have 10 minutes to complete this handout.

2) Once the ten minutes is up, place participants in teams of three. Once the teams of three are

made, explain: “The purpose of your team is to take your own list of best practices, review it and

create one list as a team that you think will provide the best customer service for Sullivan

Hospitals. A sample list of the best practices of excellent customer service will be given to you to

assist with the creation of your list. Once your list is agreed on, write the list on the large blank

piece of paper that will be given to you. Be creative. Draw pictures and/or symbols for each best

practice on your list. You will have fifteen minutes to complete this task.

3) Once the ten minutes is up, tell the teams: “Each team will select a team leader. This team

leader will read the list of best practices to the class and explain each drawing and/or symbol.

The other two team members will hold up the paper for the class to see.”

Debrief/Dialogue:

1) Explain to the trainees: “The purpose of this assignment was to see how much you have

learned in today’s training. Before you leave today, take the list you and your team have created,

take a picture of it, print it and place it somewhere you look at frequently. The purpose of that is

to now try and implement your list of best practices in customer service in your workplace. The

challenge now is to make this list part of your customary, routine behavior. I will also be taking

pictures of your lists because they can become critical components for the leaders of Sullivan

Hospital to review and consider in new-hire orientations, role analysis, performance appraisals

and more. The idea is a vision statement for Sullivan Hospitals is nothing without the employees

who implement that vision. The only way patients will become the “center of attention” is if the

best practices are now made by the employees who perform these customer service tasks on a

daily basis.”

Supplemental Materials for Activities and Lectures

Handout 1: Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Examples of Excuses:

● My computer is down.

● I have had a rough week, give me a break.

● That is not my patient.

● I did it last time. It is your turn to check on the patient!

1) Please list three to five common excuses you have heard other customer representatives you

yourself have received that was poor customer service at a Sullivan Hospital.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2) Please list what should have happened to receive the customer service you expected, wanted

or needed?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3) What should have happened to prevent the excuses you received from ever being said in the

first place?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4) Please list three to five common excuses you yourself have used for delivering poor customer

service at a Sullivan Hospital.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5) Please list what should have happened to give the patient the customer service they expected,

wanted, or needed from you?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

6) What should have happened to prevent the excuses you gave from ever being said in the first

place?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Handout 2: Best Practices You Can Do

1) Create your own working definition of what the “best practices to achieve excellent customer

service at Sullivan Hospitals” means to you.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2) Develop a list what you think these best practices are for providing excellent customer service

at Sullivan Hospitals.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3) How you can personally give excellent customer service at Sullivan Hospitals at your current

position.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Sample List of Best Practices for Excellent Customer Service

1. Drive everything in your business with a customer focus. If all decisions, all services and all

products were based upon a customer focus, customer service would be excellent.

2. Ask the right questions. Feedback from the customer is a source of constant business renewal and

adjustment. As the business environment changes and as customer needs shift, continuous feedback

allows a business to adjust and change accordingly. The critical question is, “What do my customers

need, and how can I best provide it?”

3. Exceed customer needs and expectations. Nothing impresses a customer more than an employee

who goes, “above and beyond the call of duty” to ensure total customer satisfaction.

4. Maintain happy employees. Happy employees mean happy customers. In most businesses,

especially service oriented businesses, the employees’ attitudes and behaviors determine the quality of

customer service.

5. Create and use service standards. Service standards serve two purposes. First, they are a

powerful force for shaping the image that your customers have of you. Secondly, they are a great tool for

measuring how well each employee in your business meets the levels of service, which are essential for

your business success. Service standards should be measurable because you can manage and train for

things that you can measure.

6. Have a written plan for ensuring excellence in customer service. Especially critical is

developing a mission and visionary plan that stresses the importance of customer service.

7. Deal effectively with the difficult customer. Handling the difficult customer is everybody’s job,

not just managers or customer service departments. Difficult customers can be an asset for excellence.

8. Use follow up communications as a way to keep in touch with the customer. Research shows

that follow up is one of the most effective ways for developing customer loyalty.

9. Learn from your competitors and use their success in your business. Ask, observe, analyze

and study information about the success of other companies that are your strongest competitors. Ask the

question – “What are these companies doing that makes them successful?”

10. Smash the barriers to excellence. Employees must be freed of the shackles of too many rules, too

many regulations, too much paperwork, and overly restricted communication channels. Only then, will

employees be free to truly focus on the customer and provide excellent customer service.

11. Offer your customers options. If you can’t satisfy your customers’ needs and expectations, the

next best thing is to offer options for other sources of service, even if it is a competitor. This shows the

customer that you truly care about them and not just in selling your service.

12. Walk the talk at the top. It is critical that the owner or chief executive officer of the business

demonstrates a genuine concern and desire to provide excellent customer service. The CEO who is “out

and about” helping customers, finding and filling customer needs, is the CEO who operates a company

with excellent customer service.

List obtained from - Excellent Customer Service: A Dozen Best Practices written by Richard C. Whiteley

Evaluation Plan

In order to provide excellent customer service, we must follow-up with our:

1) Patients after their visits. We are to follow-up with patients by phone calls and get well cards.

● Each department’s Medical Office Associate should call patients one week from their

hospital visit. During this call the associate is to ask the patient questions to understand

health status since hospital visit. Most importantly, to ensure no health complications

have been detected.

● Example of questions that can be asked are:

○ 1) “How are you feeling?”

○ 2) “Are there any at-home care instructions in which you do not understand or

need help with?”

○ 3) “Are you aware of how to properly take your medication?”

○ 4) “Are you aware of when your next appointment is scheduled to be?”

○ 5) “Would you say you feel better or worse since your visit with us?”

○ 6) “Have you seen any kind of improvement with yourself?”

○ 5) “Are there any questions that you have for us?”

● Get well cards are also to be mailed by an Office Assistant to the patient’s address on file

one week from their hospital visit. These cards should have signatures from the

Physician and CEO. The card will give the patient a sense of trust from our organization

In order to provide excellent customer service, we must collect evaluations from:

1) Team members after receiving customer service training. They are to complete the two

training evaluations. The completed evaluations are to be shared with trainers in order for

trainers to improve on training process or techniques as needed/requested.

2) Patients after their visits. Patients are to complete patient visit surveys. The purpose of these

surveys are to inform us of what our patients liked and disliked during their visits. The patients’

responses will also inform us on what processes we need to improve on or possibly need to

remove.

In order to provide excellent customer service, we must evaluate:

1) Team members after completing customer service training. Team members will be evaluated

30 days after completing customer service training, 90 days after completing customer service

training, and finally yearly by each department’s clinical educator.

● Why by our clinical educators? Our clinical educators train and work with our team

members daily. Team members will have less suspicion of educators. Also and one of an

educator’s job duties is to ensure processes are being implemented and practiced

correctly.

ALL team members will continue to attend customer service training once a year in order to

present team members with new processes or updates of customer service, and to ensure

implementation is still being practiced.

EVALUATION HANDOUTS GO HERE!

Transfer of Learning Checkpoint

Transfer of learning is the application of skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes that were learned in

one situation to another situation (Perkins, 1992). For this training program to be successful,

trainees must transfer the new knowledge and information gained during the training and apply it

to their daily routines.

The Best Practices for Customer Service at Sullivan Hospitals to Best Act upon the Vision

Statement activity serves as the main transfer of learning event at the end of the training

program. The activity will allow trainees to take what they have learned and develop their own

working definitions and identity the best practices and behaviors for achieving excellent

customer service at Sullivan Hospitals.

By creating their own working definitions and best practices for excellent customer service,

trainees will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from training and apply it to

their daily routines. The sharing of definitions and lists after the transfer of learning activity will

assist the trainees in holding each other accountable for the newly established best practices for

customer service.

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