Treat Everyone with Importance

Part 7 of 7: Treat everyone with importance

7 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction

Patient interaction with staff members has the largest impact on customer satisfaction. Wait...did you catch that? The thing that influences customer satisfaction the most is your employees. When treated with importance, clients are more likely to forgive shortcomings. This rule is integral to all seven tips.

How do you do it, though, when you have many patients and are pressed for time? Here are four key behaviors to incorporate into your routine:

Love is spelled T-I-M-E. 

I have five siblings. One day, we were talking together about our mom and who she liked best. We were all convinced that we were her favorite. After squabbling about it for several minutes, we went and asked my mom who of us was her favorite. She said she didn't have favorites so we pressed to know the truth. "C'mon, Mom. Who's your favorite?" She smiled and responded, "Dad's my favorite." We all rolled our eyes and laughed.

The thing I learned that day was that my mom, although she was busy, took time to listen to our stories and find out what was important to us. She made sure that even if we didn't get a lot of one-on-one time with her that the time we did get with her was quality time.

The secret art of listening

Actually...it's no secret. Listening is one of the best ways you can show someone that you think they are important. Just remember that listening has to do with more than your ears. Actively listening to someone means that you are paying attention to not just what they say, but how they say it through voice intonations and body language. Active listening requires taking in all the verbal and nonverbal cues to understand fully what someone is trying to communicate.

Be genuine

Why? People will trust you more, according to Psychology Today. "We believe [that] those who are true to themselves are also likely to be truer and more honest with us." So embrace your authentic side and show your patients the real you. If authenticity isn't your thing...yet, here's a great poster to help you start practicing it.

Treat others the way THEY want to be treated

"They spoiled me rotten," the patient said in an interview. "They made me feel alive again." Now that's what we want to hear! Everyone is unique in their needs. When you take time to get to know people, that's when you can truly give them those things they need—simply because you understand their needs.

Want to read the other six ways to improve patient satisfaction? Start with part 1: Invest in Your Employees.