Leading Home Care Report #120 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Home Health Care 2020Exceptional Service is Critical for the AOTF - Agency Of The FutureSeptember 26, 2007~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In this issue...-- How's your agency's service, and what impact does it have on your customers?-- Service Begins with Selection-- Is Your Intake Department Easy to Work With?-- Do You Have Processes in Place to Give Exceptional Service?-- The Customer Service Companion-- The Fred Factor-- About the Author-- Permission to ReproduceWould you agree,
that we're all customers? Each one of us is a customer on a daily basis. We know what good service looks like and what poor service looks like.
How important is exceptional service in home health care? How is the service provided by your agency? How do you know?
How's your agency's service, and what impact does it have on your customers?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In late 1999, I was asked to serve as the interim President and CEO of a $25 million hospital affiliated home care company here in Louisville, KY. The agency had been badly hit by the effects of the Interim Payment System, and was bleeding cash.The first couple of weeks on the job, I conducted an analysis of the business to see what I could do to stop the bleeding. We quickly found some things in the back office that we could do to improve cash flow.
Then we began to focus on growing the revenue, because I always say, "You can't save yourself into prosperity. You need to grow your revenue to make money."
The first place to look for easy referrals was our own hospital. Much to my dismay, I learned that our agency was only getting 42% of the referrals coming out of our hospital, and our competitors were getting 58%. When I asked how come, I learned that we just weren't giving good service to our own discharge planners. We didn't answer our phone on a timely basis. Our intake department was not easy to work with. We were not responsive to our customer's questions and problems.
What an insight that was. I frequently hear free standing home health agencies complaining about how difficult it is to compete with hospital based agencies because they "have it easy."
Well, what I learned is that it's not easy to please the customers in your own system, and that your service needs to be better than your competitors by a significant margin in order to compete effectively.
Whether you are hospital based or freestanding, exceptional service must be part of your journey to becoming an AOTF - Agency Of The Future.
Service Begins with Selection~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I'm convinced the key to exceptional service in home health care is picking the right people. We always say, "Hire for attitude, train for skills." Exceptional customer service is an attitude, not a skill.If you want to provide exceptional service, you need to look at the process you use for selecting the people in critical customer service jobs.
It starts with the person who answers the telephone. She - and in most agencies I call, it's a she - needs to be "charming." And you can't teach charming.
I get so frustrated when I call an agency and the person who answers the phone can barely speak English, and has no sense of what it means to love your customers and your patients.
My friend and fellow professional speaker, C. Leslie Charles, in her book, The Customer Service Companion says, "Customer service is 80% attitude and 20% technique. 80 + 20 = 100% Service."
In his best-selling book, The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn tells the true story of Fred the mail carrier who passionately loves his job and who genuinely cares about the people he serves. Because of that, Fred is constantly going the extra mile handling the mail . . . and making a difference in the lives of those he serves.
In home care, making a difference in the lives of those we serve is what we are all about. And giving exceptional service is key to your success.
To begin giving exceptional service, start with your employee selection system.
Is Your Intake Department Easy to Work With?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Once you hire for attitudes and put a charming person on the telephone, then take a look at your intake department. How easy are they to work with? How much do they really want to admit new patients? What is their incentive to give exceptional service?For most of your customers and referral sources, their primary contact with your agency is through the intake department. What's it like to be a referral source calling your intake department?
When I was the interim CEO, I checked that out. I was dismayed by what I discovered. There was a lack of positive attitude in the department, and a constant tension between intake and the clinical managers.
The nurses in the intake department had an attitude of resentment because they felt overworked and under appreciated. They were caught in the middle between sales, the hospital liaisons, and the clinical department.
As the CEO of your home health agency, you need to be in touch with the level of service being provided by your intake department, and the attitudes of the people there.
Do You Have Processes in Place to Give Exceptional Service?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Once you have the right people in place with the right attitude, then you need to look at your processes. Usually I find that when customer service is poor, there are system issues that get in the way of giving good service. Add that to people who don't have an attitude of service, and you end up with frequent customer disappointment.Start with your telephone system. Is it user friendly for your customers and your employees? Do your best customers get to talk to a real person or are you still using an auto attendant? How easy is it to transfer a call on a timely basis, without leaving the customer on hold?
A poorly designed telephone system is one of the biggest contributors to service breakdown in home care. Take a look at your system.
Another critical process is the way you communicate with your field staff, and how they are able to communicate with physicians. One of the biggest challenges I see to growing your business is the problem that occurs when a sales representative gets a new referral from a physician and the doctor has specific instructions for the nurses caring for his patients. When those instructions do not get passed on from sales to the field staff, then that new referral source is disappointed when the service delivered by the nurse does not match the promise made by the sales rep.
If you want to provide exceptional service to your referral sources, take a close look at all of the processes that your team members use to serve their customers.
The Customer Service Companion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~One of the most fun and effective books on customer service is The Customer Service Companion by C. Leslie Charles. This terrific little book not only reminds us what to do and how to do it, but it also highlights the personal payoffs for giving great service.
My friend Michael LeBoeuf, author of How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life, says, " The Customer Service Companion is a handbook of beautifully written reminders that will help anyone in your business stay focused on the most important asset of your business - the customer.
When this book first came out, I bought several cases of them and gave them to my clients as Thanksgiving Gifts. The feedback was spectacular. Everyone loved the book and it was a great way to say thanks for their business.
Now, you too can have a copy of this powerful little book. Just click on the link and order your copy today.
The Fred Factor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mark Sanborn is an amazing speaker and author on leadership. He's also a dear friend and followed me as President of the National Speakers Association. For many years, Mark has been telling the story of Fred the mailman. It's a true story about the man who delivered Mark's mail in Denver, Colorado.
In 2004, Mark wrote the book, The Fred Factor, and it's been a huge success. Mark says, "I think about the guy who used to deliver my mail. Because if Fred the Postman could bring extraordinary creativity and commitment to putting mail in a box, I can do as much or more to reinvent my work and rejuvenate my efforts."
Ken Blanchard, Author of The One Minute Manager says, "Service is the heart of leadership, and one of the finer compliments you could ever receive is: 'You're a Fred!' I urge you to read this engaging and insightful book and find out why. Become a Fred!"
You too can become a Fred! But first, read the book.
About the Author~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Stephen Tweed, CSP, is Chairman and CEO of Leading Home Care... a Tweed Jeffries company. For nearly 25 years he has been a recognized leader in strategy and leadership development for home care companies and associations. He is the author or co-author of five books, four of which were written specifically for the home care industry. He has served on the boards of directors of three not-for-profit home care agencies, and has served as interim President & CEO of a $25 million home care company.
Stephen is a past-President of the National Speakers Association, a 3500 member international society of experts who speak professionally. He is also the father of a 37 year-old son who is physically disabled and uses the services of home care on a daily basis.
Permission to Reproduce~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Permission is granted to healthcare publications, associations and companies to reproduce this article in your publication, or to distribute copies to your leaders, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Stephen Tweed's Leading Home Care Report. Copyright 2006 Stephen C. Tweed. To receive a FREE subscription to this newsletter, log on to www.leadinghomecare.com."
Contact Leading Home Care~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~email: stephen@leadinghomecare.comphone: 1-888-668-9333~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~