From the very beginning of our mystery shopping business, we have used two evaluation standards that for us have said so much about the discrepancy between healthcare employees and their constituents. The first standard is “The employee showed respect for the customer.” The second is “Employees showed respect for one another.” Now, granted, the scores associated with these standards are from the mystery shopper’s perspective and it is possible some of them may be more sensitive to the outward show of respect toward them. However, based on thousands of encounters, most healthcare organizations are biased in favor of interactions amongst themselves. In fact, the difference is 18 points on a five-point Likert Scale – 4.75 versus 4.57.
I have always found this statistic somewhat troubling, but understandable. The odds of recognizing and showing respect toward another individual with a name badge on are high. The closer an organization gets to having the customer respect standard equal to the employee respect standard, the more positive and responsive constituents will be.
What will it take? In a DVD presentation we recently did for a client, we asked employees to “hold their heads high.” It is often too easy for healthcare employees to become complacent about their roles as ambassadors. They need to see what is going on around them – find opportunities to assist visitors or reach out to people who are hurting or lost in the hospital maze. It’s part of their job and it shows pride in their workplace. Walking with your head up and a smile on your face says you are “of” the organization and not apart from it. The message of saying something as simple as hello is that it tells patient and visitors they are not strangers.