Everyone has heard the stories of good doctors with bad bedside manner getting sued more often than bad doctors with good bedside manner. It's true with doctors, and it's true with facilities.
Are you nice? Would other people say you're nice, or is this just your own perception of yourself? Nice people are valued in our organizations because they're the glue that can hold a community together. Ever meet a person who wasn’t nice who was the “go to” person on a team or organization? Not often.
Think about your team. Who are your “nice” people? Certainly the customer-facing people on your team are. We all have other personality types who are better suited for other tasks, such as data collection and analysis, who may not be as people-oriented.
Becoming a Nice Community
According to rabbi and author Manis Friedman, who wrote about being “nice,” the first step to becoming nice is to act nice. By acting with hospitality, one will become more hospitable and friendly. Fake it till you make it.
What is the process? Smile, offer assistance, think ahead – don’t make the guest ask eight questions to get an answer. The best examples of hospitality are those instances when someone essentially offers to hold your hand and take you to the destination, or answers your question quickly and courteously.
The Press Ganey Consulting Group found that it's most important to focus on changing your perception, by seeing the resident as a human being and focusing on their humanity and fragility. When we do that, it's much easier to truly adhere to the golden rule of “treating people as you want to be treated.”
What Matters Most to Your Patients?
How do you measure customer satisfaction, and how consistently do you do it? Do you conduct an annual resident satisfaction survey? Sometimes patient satisfaction programs are seen as the “flavor of the month,” and they're initiated with little support or for only a short period of time, which sends the wrong message to staff. The standards of behavior in health care organizations must establish clear expectations for how to treat others – being responsive, looking people in the eyes and speaking directly to them, building relationships, and including patients in decisions.
“Priority Index” surveys reinforce the idea that “hospitality models” have better outcomes and are preferred by residents and families. Here are the responses, according to a Press Ganey survey:
#1 Priority – “Response to concerns/complaints made during your stay.” Patients and families want to know that you care!
#2 Priority – “Degree to which hospital staff addressed your emotional needs.” Do you think they are referring to “caring”?
#3 Priority – “Staff efforts to include you in decisions about your treatment.” We find it very interesting that this was less important.
#4 Priority – “Promptness in responding to the call button.” All these years we thought that was the priority!
#5 Priority – “How well the nurses kept you informed.” Although important, the respondents to the survey found it to be less important than being nice!
Being Nice Benefits Your Bottom Line
Comparisons are often made based on quality outcomes and clinical measures. In a future webinar, we'll discuss the regulatory component – but for now, just know that being nice matters! That said, studies have shown that residents and families don't make the same comparisons. Residents and families base quality on how things feel.
This is true to a point, but you have to get them into your building first so they can experience the “feel” of the community. If you are a 1 star on Nursing Home Compare, there's a good chance that they won’t come in to “feel” your community. Remember, perception is vitally important, so when that visitor does come to your community, put that nice employee at the forefront and make them the first person a visitor sees and talks to. It makes a difference!
So what do we gain by being nice? Loyalty. It is the key. When satisfaction is high, loyalty follows. If your community isn’t happy, your satisfaction rates are probably lower than you would like. Observe your staff and remember: if the staff are happy, the residents will be happy – and if the residents are happy, the family will be happy!
Also, if your community feels good and is happy, you won’t be spending time dealing with complaints and lawsuits! Additionally, loyal families will refer you to others and consensus will grow – which is always a positive thing!
Remember: What’s good for your doctor is good for you!
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