marketing matters
Great Hires Equal Great Service
This practice found that the hiring process is the key to delivering superior service.

Providing superior service to patients must be the foundation of your practice's marketing efforts. No matter how effective your marketing campaigns are, it's basic customer service that keeps patients coming back and touting your practice to others.

Ocean Eye Institute in central New Jersey recognized that it takes a team of enthusiastic and committed employees to deliver service that creates loyal patients. In her report at right, practice administrator Mary Gailis tells how OEI raised service quality by improving employee morale and attitudes.

OEI did several things correctly at the onset of this process:

Recognizing the staff's key role in delivering superior service. The doctors knew they weren't just filling job titles, they were filling vital positions. They saw their staff as a key component of their service delivery system.

Matching staff positions to skill sets and personality. OEI's use of the consulting firm for screening candidates was a highly effective tool in the interviewing process. Employee retention begins with the hiring process. The practice's investment in staff was rewarded by reduced turnover and an increase in overall morale and work performance.

Recognizing that experience has merit ­ but that having real enthusiasm for the position sets the tone for service. The best system in the world for delivering quality care to patients will fail if the practice's employees aren't motivated to serve the patient. Job skills can usually be taught.

Knowing that money isn't the primary motivator for most staff. A study by The Hay Group, a management consulting firm, identified eight areas that determine an employee's job satisfaction:

• opportunities to acquire new skills
• coaching and feedback from superiors
• confidence in the ability of management and the direction of the organization
• the type of work performed
• recognition/feedback for a job well done
• being treated with respect
• adequate training/support
• satisfactory pay.

Maintaining the Momentum

Employee enthusiasm is contagious and can quickly become part of the practice's work culture.

To keep this culture alive, OEI can now do several things. One would be to continue to use the screening firm for new hires, but also involve motivated staff members to "feel out" potential new hires. This could be in the form of taking final candidates out to lunch with potential co-workers, and afterward, having the employees provide input as to their thoughts or concerns.

Involving the co-workers in the process should accomplish two things. First, it provides another view of each candidate, which can be beneficial in the screening process. Second, it reinforces to the employees that this is their practice too and not just a job.

Another way to seize the momentum that's been generated is to have a process in place for more employee input. The doctors' recognition of the important role the employees play is significant, but it's a limited benefit unless there's a formal feedback mechanism to capture the knowledge and skill base that the employees have to offer.

As I stated earlier, employee retention begins with the hiring process. Those who enjoy their work typically perform their duties with more enthusiasm and diligence than someone merely working for a paycheck.

Brad Ruden, M.B.A., owns MedPro Consulting & Marketing Services in Phoenix, Ariz. You can reach him at (602) 274-1668, medpro@qwest.net, or via his Web site at www.medprocms.com. Mary Gailis can be reached at mgailis22@att.net.