Huddle Up: How This Structured Technique Can Bring About Cultural Change and Improve Patient Experience
// By Lisa D. Ellis //
Think back to the last time you went to a restaurant or store, and your server or sales clerk took the time to ask how your day was going or made an effort to form a personal connection. This probably made you feel welcome and left you with a favorable impression of the establishment.
Why a Personal Connection Matters
Jeff Skipper, CEO of Jeff Skipper Consulting
Incorporating a personal touch to enhance your customer service efforts can be an essential component of any successful business strategy, regardless of industry, says Jeff Skipper, CEO of Jeff Skipper Consulting in Calgary, Edmonton, Canada. But for health care organizations, the stakes are particularly high, since your patient satisfaction ratings will have a strong impact on your bottom line.
Customer Performance Matters: Here’s Why
That’s why Skipper, who has a master’s in organizational psychology and works with Fortune 500 companies, including IBM, BP, and Goldman Sachs, also applies his expertise to nonprofits and health care groups to help them step up their game in customer service and performance, teaching them how to apply a simple but structured communication process he calls a “huddle,” a designated time when staff engages in conversation organized around a specific theme leading toward a defined goal, that can facilitate desired cultural change over the long term.