Going Above and Beyond for Your Patients

Above and beyond customer service. That sounds great, doesn’t it? We want and often expect employees to go above and beyond for patients, not to settle for doing an average, mediocre, satisfactory, or workmanlike job. In fact, the vast majority of medical practice managers want their medical practice team to exceed patients’ expectations, and hope that their employees will take the time and trouble to make the follow-up phone call, write the heartfelt thank-you note, and delight patients in countless other ways. But why? What’s wrong with average customer service? Why isn’t good enough good enough? And exactly what do we mean when we say that we want above-and-beyond customer service from our employees? Is the sky really the limit in customer service, especially when we consider the time and potential costs involved in going above and beyond? Or is there a point at which your employees will have gone too far in their efforts to serve your patients?

If you want or require above-and-beyond customer service from your employees, it will help them to understand the why’s and how’s behind that expectation. Don’t assume, as many employers and managers do, that medical practice employees already see the need for or reason to go above and beyond in customer service. Chances are that at least some of them will not. Additionally, don’t expect that your employees will define above and beyond precisely the way that you do. They may not know specifically what you want them to do, or how above and how beyond you truly want them to go.

It’s essential that you get everyone on the same page about customer service if your employees are to become above-and-beyond thinkers and actors. Discussion and training can help. There are several things you can do to motivate your employees so they want to go above and beyond for your patients, not just to appease you or for your patients’ sake, but for their sake as well. You can share with your staff more specifically what you mean by above-and-beyond customer service. This article provides material you can use with your staff for these purposes. It will help you to explore with them the rationale for going above and beyond, and more precisely, what above-and-beyond customer service looks like in your medical practice.

Why Go Above and Beyond in Customer Service?

It takes dozens of moving parts to keep your medical practice running smoothly. However, your patients rarely see these moving parts, nor should they. What patients will see is what they expect to see: the way you provide the services that they or their insurance carriers pay for. Most satisfied patients will believe that the medical practice fulfilled its end of the bargain if it provided the medical services they needed or wanted. That is good, but doing what was expected is hardly something for most patients to get excited about, or to talk positively about with others.

According to Kelly,(1) what wows patients usually won’t be your wonderful medical services. It won’t be your convenient locations, or your lovely reception area. And it won’t be your attractive uniforms or the color scheme of your exam rooms. What will impress them the most will be the above-and-beyond details that you provide for them: the mouthwash and lint rollers in your bathroom, the inexpensive rain poncho you give them when they get caught at your office without an umbrella, the coloring book and crayons you provide to amuse their waiting children, the thoughtful handwritten note, the extra time you spend with them, and, most of all, the kindness provided by your above-and-beyond customer service–oriented staff. “Surprise and delight,” Kelly says, not only delivers that extra level of service, but also stands out to the patients who notice and talk about the small stuff. By promoting an above-and-beyond customer service strategy on the part of your staff, Kelly says, you can turn your satisfied patients into your most vocal supporters and your strongest goodwill ambassadors.

The value of going above and beyond doesn’t end with your patients.

However, the value of going above and beyond doesn’t end with your patients. Going above and beyond with your patients also gives your employees something tangible that they can be proud of too. According to Kelly, “Human connections are a two-way street. Now, more than ever, employees are looking for purpose and context in their work, rather than just paychecks.” Above-and-beyond customer service, Kelly suggests, creates experience and stories that will mean more to your staff than simple numbers.

Most of all, patient loyalty and referrals are won by going above and beyond, not by meeting basic service needs. As Kelly explains, “People expect to get good service—that’s not where the accolades are won. The key is to give people service they will talk about.” Above-and-beyond customer service will please, appease, and delight your patients every time, Kelly says, and help you to build a loyal, enthusiastic patient base. The two sidebars that accompany this article offer more ideas about how above-and-beyond customer service can benefit your employees.

Five Essential Traits for Above and Beyond Customer Service

At the core of every above-and-beyond customer service effort is a connection between the employee and the patient. In fact, no customer service script, no matter how eloquent or how beautifully delivered, can take the place of that connection. Therefore, above-and-beyond customer service relies first and foremost upon your employees’ ability to connect with your patients. Brown(2) identifies five essential traits that will help them do this:

• Personality: Each employee has a unique personality. As Brown suggests, “Knowing yourself and leveraging your personality temperament in naturally relating to clients and guests is a game changer.” Encourage your employees to know themselves, and to let their personalities shine when they provide customer service for your patients. Do you have an employee who is extremely empathetic? Or who knows how to make things fun? Or who is a quiet observer? Or who is naturally curious? Each of these characteristics can be harnessed to provide above-and-beyond customer service. Help each team member to figure out precisely how.

• A passion for people: Ideally, you will employ people who cultivate their passion for people, especially focusing on their well-being, pleasure, satisfaction, and joy. Find out what in customer service gets your employees most excited. What is it about helping people that they find especially rewarding?

• Proficiencies: Help your employees to identify personal proficiencies that they can use to provide above-and-beyond customer service. For instance, is the employee a good writer? An astute listener? A talented gift giver? Or does he or she have a great memory? Explore with your employee how these and other proficiencies can be harnessed to serve and delight your patients.

• Performance: Are your employees enthusiastically engaged in customer service? If not, what do they, and you, think is getting in the way of their performance?

• Presence: Being fully present for patients, or anyone, for that matter, is one of the most important things you can do for them. However, being present sometimes means putting aside other things to give the patient your full attention. Is something interfering with your employees’ ability to be fully present? If so, what can you do about it?

Equip Employees to Go Above and Beyond

Although there are many things an employee can do to provide above-and-beyond customer service, sometimes it helps to have some cash on hand to make the magic happen. Your employees may see an opportunity to buy something for your office that will enhance your patients’ experiences, or to spend a little money to solve a problem or improve patients’ experiences. When they see these opportunities, it would be empowering for them if they could act on them right away.

One way to equip your employees to provide above-and-beyond customer service is to establish an “above and beyond fund.” You can manage it the same way you manage petty cash in your office. Your employees would be able to access the funds below an established dollar amount, but must provide receipts and an explanation for how they spent the money. Accountability is key. Another way to equip your employees to provide above-and-beyond customer service is to give each of them a monthly or quarterly personal budget for going above and beyond, again requiring them to keep track of how the spent the funds and why. Or, if you are not comfortable allowing your staff to have direct access to the funds, you or someone you designate can manage the funds and require that they submit their requests for funds prior to purchase, for evaluation and approval. However you do it, allowing your employees the discretion to use a small amount of money to provide above-and-beyond customer service will empower them. It will demonstrate your commitment to above-and-beyond customer service by putting money where your mouth is. And it will make them more enthusiastic and intentional about finding opportunities to provide above-and-beyond service to your patients.

How can your employees use the funds? That will be up to you and to them. However, here are some possible uses:

• Buy daffodils to give every patient on the first day of spring, or a big bushel of apples on a crisp fall day.

• Call and pay for a taxi or ride service for a patient who finds himself stranded at your office, or who uses public transportation but is not feeling well.

• Buy a beautiful condolence card for a patient who has lost someone special in his or her life. Have everyone in the office sign it, and make a donation in memory of the deceased.

• Buy beautiful coffee table books for your reception area to supplement the magazines you provide.

• Send a relevant book to a patient who is going through a tough time.

• Fill a basket with travel-sized tubes of hand cream or hand sanitizer to keep by your reception desk, for patients to take with them.

• Send a small gift on behalf of the practice to a patient who has just gotten married, had a baby, retired, or celebrated another life cycle event.

• Buy a subscription to a large-type magazine for your reception area.

• Buy and keep on hand individually packaged snacks for patients and their children.

• Buy and keep shawls in your office for patients who tell you that they are cold.

• Buy and keep cards and small gifts in the office for patients who have appointments with you on their birthdays.

• Buy disposable plastic umbrella bags for patients’ wet umbrellas.

• Send a gift basket with a sincere note of apology when you’ve really goofed.

Creating an Above-and-Beyond Employee Culture in Three Steps

Getting employees to go above and beyond relies on the culture you create in your medical practice. According to Fleming,(3) going above and beyond goes far beyond simple permission to act with autonomy. It means that your employees, regardless of role, feel unfettered by red tape, doubt, or fear. Instead, Fleming says, they are empowered to “take the reins and do well by doing good – serving their customers the way they are naturally impassioned to do.” How can you create such a culture in your medical practice? Fleming suggests three steps:

1. Encourage authenticity. A foundational idea that Fleming suggests that you share with your employees is “bringing your whole self to work.” That means that employees are comfortable in their own skin, as much in the workplace as in their personal lives. According to Fleming, “It goes beyond simply knowing that it’s ‘okay’ to come to work with different backgrounds, experiences, and ideas, but being proud of it, believing that your employer and colleagues relish such diversity.” It also means that employees realize that their employer values their health and well-being as a priority and wants employees to feel good about who they are and what they do. As Fleming explains, “It’s the first step, I think, in creating this safe environment where your employees can be authentic, feel appreciated, and start to feel free to work in their best capacity.”

2. Eliminate fear. It’s easy to establish so many rules, processes, and guidelines, especially in a highly regulated industry like health care, Fleming says, that employees may worry about speaking up when they see a problem, have a suggestion, or want to step outside of bounds to do a better job. As Fleming suggests, “Invest in efforts that show it’s okay to ‘test, fail, and scale.’ Challenge the status quo. Or, as I often say, think like a rookie, asking the sometimes weird or uncomfortable questions.” Employees will quickly get the message that real progress sometimes comes as the result of taking chances and abandoning fear.

3. Champion the changers. If you want a culture of employees who bring their authentic selves to work, don’t operate in fear, and who feel free to serve patients at an above-and-beyond level, acknowledge and support the bold ones who stick out their necks. Recognize and reinforce employees who go above and beyond for your patients, and celebrate their accomplishments publicly.

Fleming adds that once you’ve followed these steps and have the right people doing the right jobs, you must get out of the way. Your employees will have the quickest and easiest route to provide above-and-beyond customer service for your patients, but only if you let them, Fleming says.

The Above and Beyond Medical Practice Manager

Practice managers who want and expect their employees to deliver above-and-beyond customer service for patients must talk the talk, but also walk the walk. As Matti(4) warns, “Leaders often ask their staff to go above and beyond the call of duty, but are not willing to do so themselves.” As a leader in the medical practice, therefore, Matti suggests that the medical practice manager share responsibility for customer service with employees, and model above-and-beyond customer service for them whenever possible. That relies on the manager’s understanding of what patients want and need, Matti says, as well as their own commitment to taking action when opportunities arise.

Medical practice managers must be especially mindful to provide above-and-beyond service for the employees they manage.

In addition, medical practice managers must be especially mindful to provide above-and-beyond service for their own customers—the employees they manage. When managers go above and beyond for the team, their employees, in turn, will be more likely to go above and beyond for one another, and for patients. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. As Matti suggests, managers who provide average or below average customer service for their employees can expect the same kind of customer service from them.

Hiring Above-and-Beyond Employees

When you’re hiring your next employee, you will want to look for someone who’s not just going to do what’s expected. You will want to hire an employee who already has an above-and-beyond customer service mentality. According to Bartling,(5) such job candidates have the following five traits:

• Ambition: Everyone knows that it is challenging and often frustrating to manage employees who are not interested in where their careers go, Bartling says. But until you’ve worked with someone with true ambition and drive, you may not understand the difference it can make to your medical practice. As Bartling suggests, “Employees with ambition go above and beyond the call of duty every day, pushing their limits and making the entire team better.” They are likely to go above and beyond for your patients without a lot of effort on your part. Therefore, when you’re interviewing potential new employees, ask them questions about how they would handle situations where there’s no clear leader. As Bartling says, “If they display an answer that shows they will step up and lead a team, you’ll know whether you have an ambitious employee on your hands.”

• Upbeat attitude: Above-and-beyond employees usually are upbeat. When you’re looking to add a new member to your team, make sure you’re keeping an eye on applicants’ overall outlook and attitude. Listen carefully to their tone, especially as they speak about former employers or frustrating situations in their past jobs. As Bartling suggests, “Make sure you ask specifics about how they dealt with other employees when they were frustrated, and you’ll get a clearer picture of whether they’re able to remain upbeat in the face of tough situations.”

• Confidence: Above-and-beyond customer service requires a fair amount of confidence, not only for employees to take action, but also to believe that their efforts are worthwhile and will make a positive difference. As you interview candidates, look for examples of confidence, both physically and verbally. If they can exude confidence in a job interview, chances are that they can bring that confidence into above-and-beyond customer service for your patients.

• Passion. There is no substitute for passion. An employee who cares about your patients, his or her fellow employees, and the success of your medical practice will be a valuable member of your team. Ask job candidates why they want the job and, particularly, why they want to work in your medical practice. A lackluster response will be a red flag. An employee who lacks passion is unlikely to go above and beyond for your patients, for you, or for anyone else.

• Empathy: According to Bartling, empathy is the most beneficial trait a job candidate can have. Your employees will deal with patients from diverse backgrounds every day. Each of those patients will benefit from interacting with a caring person who accurately understands and predicts how people feel, and can act accordingly. When you’re interviewing prospective employees, Bartling suggests, ask them for examples of how they interact with diverse others. Listen carefully to the way they talk about these experiences. This will help you understand how empathetic your future employees may be, Bartling says. For more information about empathy, see my article in the January/February 2019 issue of the Journal of Medical Practice Management.(6)

References

1. Kelly C. Why going above and beyond in business makes all the difference. Forbes. January 7, 2016. www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2016/01/07/why-going-above-and-beyond-in-business-makes-all-the-difference/#337e88051ef3 Accessed March 25, 2019.

2. Brown MS. Cultivating a culture of extraordinary customer service. Unique Venues. February 6, 2019. www.uniquevenues.com/blog/cultivating-culture-extraordinary-customer-service. Accessed March 27, 2019.

3. Fleming W. Want your employees to go above and beyond to serve your customers? Humana. February 21, 2019. https://humananews.com/2019/02/want-your-employees-to-go-above-and-beyond-to-serve-your-customers/. Accessed March 27, 2019.

4. Matti E. The differentiated customer experience: what makes employees go above and beyond? CXM World Customer Experience Magazine. June 7, 2017. https://cxm.world/differentiated-customer-experience-makes-employees-go-beyond/. Accessed March 27, 2019.

5. Bartling B. 5 traits that will make for an employee that will go beyond the basics. Zoomshift. April 25, 2016. www.zoomshift.com/blog/great-employee-traits. Accessed March 27, 2019.

6. Hills L. Developing your staff’s empathy. J Med Pract Manage. w2019;34:249-253.

Start an Above and Beyond Program in Your Medical Practice

Your employees will pay close attention to their behaviors that you recognize, reinforce, and reward. Therefore, one of the best ways to get your employees to go above and beyond in customer service for your patients is to create and administer an Above and Beyond employee recognition program. Here’s how:

1. Decide how you will recognize above-and-beyond staff performance. For example, you can recognize one or more employees at a staff meeting each month or quarter for going above and beyond in customer service. The recognition can be done at a staff meeting, in your marketing materials, in a framed poster in your reception area or hallway, in your patient newsletter, or on your bulletin board. Describe specifically what the employee did to go above and beyond in customer service. Ask for a round of applause and offer your own appreciation and congratulations. If you like, attach a reward to the recognition, such as a gift card, cash bonus, paid time off, certificate, or plaque.

2. Publicize and explain your Above and Beyond program and invite participation. Announce your Above and Beyond program at a staff meeting. Tell your patients, visitors, employees, volunteers, and physicians about your program and ask them to nominate employees for recognition.

3. Create a nomination form. For example, the UPMC St. Margaret Above and Beyond Recognition Form(1) explains:“The employees, physicians, and volunteers of UPMC St. Margaret work together as a team to provide the best care and customer service possible. Frequently, our team members go an extra step in providing service that is above and beyond expectations. Please tell us about an exceptional member of our staff by completing and returning this Above & Beyond recognition form to [address] or by making a donation to the St. Margaret Foundation in honor of a special member of our staff.” The UPMC St. Margaret form then provides fields for the full name of the employee being nominated, the category of person making the nomination (employee, physician, or volunteer, and department), details about the experience/reason for the nomination, date, and nominator’s name and contact information. A simple form will make it easy to nominate employees, and give you a quick and consistent way to receive the nominations.

4. Collect and review nominations. Make it easy for nominators to submit their completed forms to you, either online or when they visit your medical practice. Review each nomination and follow up by phone or email to get more details and to clarify anything that is ambiguous. Thank the nominator for making the nomination and reinforce your medical practice’s commitment to above-and-beyond customer service.

5. Recognize nominated employees. Include a copy of both the nomination form and the recognition received in the employee’s personnel file.

Reference

1. UPMC St. Margaret Above and Beyond Recognition Form. www.upmc.com/-/media/upmc/locations/hospitals/st-margaret/careers/nursing-school/documents/above-and-beyond-nomination-form-revised-10-11.pdf?la=en&hash=CC819CEBFCFE71C99A381A8DA46CA8040BBA89D4. Accessed March 21, 2019.

Five Feelings that Motivate Employees to Go Above and Beyond

Your employees may be motivated to provide above-and-beyond customer service for different reasons. For instance, they may strive to go above and beyond to improve their performance evaluations, if you make customer service part of what you evaluate. They may seek to enjoy the recognition and rewards that you have established, such as through an Above and Beyond program. (See the sidebar that accompanies this article.) Or, they may be motivated naturally because they have big hearts and find it rewarding to do their best for your patients.

Every medical practice manager imagines having a “dream team” of employees—people who consistently go the extra mile at work. If your team is falling short of that fantasy, it may be because they do not see what they will get personally out of pushing themselves harder. According to Lesonsky,(1) “It’s all about the employee experience.” Specifically, Lesonsky says, the following five positive feelings can make employees more likely to go above and beyond for your patients:

1. Belonging: Employees who go above and beyond for your patients, as their coworkers do, can feel that they are part of a first-rate team, department, or medical practice.

2. Purpose: Above-and-beyond employees understand and appreciate why their work matters.

3. Achievement: Going above and beyond gives employees a sense of accomplishment through the work that they do, especially when you recognize their achievements and reinforce the effort it takes.

4. Happiness: An above-and-beyond medical practice is a place where kindness is valued. It is a pleasant place to work.

5. Vigor: Going above and beyond increases energy, excitement, and enthusiasm at work.

Discussing these positive feelings with your employees can help them to appreciate how their own work satisfaction depends upon their going above and beyond for your patients. The key is to focus on the personal benefits they will enjoy by going above and beyond.

Reference

1. Lesonsky R. 5 Things that motivate employees to go above and beyond. Small Business Trends, May 23, 2017. https://smallbiztrends.com/2017/05/motivate-employees-to-go-above-and-beyond.html. Accessed March 24, 2019.