Exceed Expectations

Part 5 of 7: Exceed expectations

7 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction

To thrive in today's economy, we have to go beyond just delivering what is expected. Being good is not good enough anymore. In a day and age where we can order pizza on our phones and have it delivered to our door, it can be difficult to exceed expectations. Meeting even standard expectations can be difficult when staff is short and budgets are tight. Here are a few simple ways you can move your expectation meter from hmmm to WOW. 

Low-hanging fruit

Look through your survey results and gather up all of the comments associated with scores three and below. Sort the comments into groups based off of level of difficulty to correct issues discussed. Start by focusing on resolving the negative feedback that is easiest to fix. Quick wins can give you stamina to work on harder-to-resolve problems. By saying you should focus on the low-hanging fruit, it isn't to say that you shouldn't put priority on difficult issues. Clearing up complex problems can definitely take your patient's expectations from good to great in a big way and is essential in operating a successful organization.

Under and over

Remember the old adage, "under promise, over deliver." It's far better to surprise and delight your patients with things they aren't expecting than to promise something and not deliver on it. Again, a word of caution: under promising isn't an excuse for not pushing yourself to do your best. Striving for greatness should always be your goal.

Create "WOW" moments

Simply thinking about simple ways you can do more for your patients than they are expecting is sometimes all it takes. For instance, remembering a patient's birthday or bringing along a sympathy card to a patient who has recently lost a pet.

A family member of a patient said this about her father's nurse, "One nurse knows Dad likes patriotic songs and has downloaded, 'God Bless America' on her cell phone. When he's upset, she hands it to him and it calms him right down."

These are the types of simple opportunities you can take to go beyond your patient's expectations and provide them with a special experience.

For more ways to improve patient satisfaction, visit part 6: Lose Wait.