Clintcast

When it comes down to it, our ultimate job in healthcare is to take care of people. No matter our particular role in our respective organizations, we are all contributing to the care of our customer. This common tie or purpose helps us to not only have a source of pride and accomplishment as we celebrate our successes, but it also helps to bind and inspire the others that join in this common purpose with us. While there will always be some days where this common thread may be less visible, it is none-the-less there and we owe it to ourselves and others around us to remember the importance we each serve in delivering on our shared goals. Get some inspiration in today’s podcast!

The customers in our care often come with ‘attachments’, their families, to which we are also responsible for delivering great customer service. After all, these extensions of our customer are a great source of external marketing, information, feedback, etc. When treated well, they can help sing our praises to other potential customers or referral organizations. That being the case, we need to have a pre-planned action list of techniques to help us work with these families that may be a bit more difficult to work with as we care for their loved ones. Here are some ideas!

Today, Clint discusses his trip to Wisconsin Dells to speak at a conference where major league collaboration was taking place regarding log-term care healthcare issues. Great dialogue took place between many various parties working together to make a better customer experience in Wisconsin, including representatives from many providers, regulatory and survey agencies, and more, all with the common purpose of sharing ideas, techniques and information to improve the state of care and customer service. Let’s help get this model rolling in other places too!

Everyone deserves a break during your workload throughout the day to get a quick recharge. If lets us get a chance at a refreshing moment so when we go back to the tasks at hand, we are ready to give it our best again. That being said, why would you want to use this time to be around ‘stinkin thinkin’ or others who sap your energy and good vibes during these critical minutes. It is very important that you actively ‘plan’ how to use those moments as wisely as possible to get you the recharge you need and perhaps even help some of your customers simultaneously! Talk about a double-dose of boost!

While the marketing department does serve an important function within the organization, it does not (and should not) need to be the only group responsible for selling your organization’s products and services. By all areas of the business participating in the cross-selling of these aspects, not only does the business as a whole prosper, but all areas take part in the overall success, even if their corner of the business is very small in comparison. This further helps to stimulate the teaming throughout. Don’t forget external cross-selling as well regarding your various partnerships. They are part of your team too! Here are more ideas!

In dealing with individuals’ behaviors that aren’t necessarily team-like, it can sometimes be difficult to resolve what to do with the rest of the team to help the individual. Approaching an individual on your own to address the issue can sometimes be intimidating. As the Care Crowd Creed notes, teaming makes it easier! The important aspect is, however, to team-up, not gang-up on the individual, which can be passive-aggressive in nature and wind up involving a manager in an activity that should be solved at the team level. Today, Clint discusses some ideas to help us ‘team-up’.

As has been noted by many, there is no way to happiness... happiness is the way. By adopting this viewpoint, one embraces the journey as the source of happiness, not the endpoint. One caveat to this is that happiness then becomes an expected norm on a daily basis. Of course, we all have days were things aren’t so bright and that it okay. It is thus important to set up our teams and organizations to be sure to enjoy the ride and enjoy the view along the way to get us through these times as well as to celebrate the small things that occur throughout the journey. Find out how!

Productivity is a constant process of balancing getting things done with sufficient quantity while maintaining appropriate quality. It is important to be able to measure ourselves against common productivity metrics but this shouldn’t be at the cost of the personal productivity itself. Micro-managing personal productivity can quickly lead to parent-child models of management which invariably fail. As always, teaming comes to the rescue. By bringing these metrics to a team-level, the personal productivity then can be left to the individual and nurtured by the team for better success. Check it out!

While history teaches us many lessons from the past that are still true today, you cannot rely on what has worked in the past to always work today given our different technologies, social environments, financial regulations and so forth. In fact, living in the past can be a surefire way to bring an organization to its knees. We must continually strive to find new ways to succeed today. That doesn’t mean we can’t be mindful of yesterday’s lessons, but we can temper them with new thoughts and options for today’s world. Get some ideas today for architecting your tomorrow!

Remember how Mom would say if she didn't need to take you to the emergency room for limb re-attachment, then your issue wasn’t really an emergency? The workplace is really no different - unless a crisis is threatening personal or property damage or drastic impact to customer service, then it likely is not a 9 or 10 on the panic-meter. Today, get some tips on how to recognize the level of crises and appropriate levels of action in response.