How We Conclude One Year Prepares Us for the Next
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
How has this year been in your healthcare call center? I suspect you’re ready for it to end. Though you may feel that way every year, the magnitude may be more pronounced this year.
All the rapid changes and stressors in the healthcare industry pile on additional burdens on the call centers that support them. Practitioners expect you to do more, and patients want you to do it better.
You’re stuck in the middle. In addition, there are staffing issues, employee compensation expectations, and budget constraints.
In situations like these the tenancy is often to merely hold on for the rest of the year and enjoy whatever holiday respite you can squeeze out. You won’t think about—or worry about—next year until the time comes.
But I encourage you to do just the opposite.
Strive to finish this year strong. Though you may feel like coasting, don’t. Continue the momentum you have behind you to make the most of this year’s remaining days. This will best set you up for success next year. Doesn’t everyone want that?
Here are some ideas to help you finish this year strong:
Enjoy This Season
Though your work is important, it’s not everything. At least it shouldn’t be. Take time to enjoy this holiday season in your nonwork moments. And whenever you have the opportunity, enjoy the holidays at work too.
Remember the adage about all work and no play. Don’t be that person.
Thank Your Staff
Just because Thanksgiving in the United States has passed, doesn’t mean the time of being thankful is behind us. Take the time to thank your staff. Be intentional.
In a job that is short on appreciation and too often focused on criticism, a heartfelt thank you can go a long way to let your staff know you care.
Smile whenever you can. Do this even when you don’t feel like it—especially if you don’t feel like it. Smiles are contagious. Never forget that. Let your countenance communicate your thankfulness throughout the day, even when you don’t say the words.
Celebrate Your Stakeholders
Remember why you do the work you do. It’s to help others in better addressing their healthcare needs and making their life better. Without them you wouldn’t have a job. Don’t forget to celebrate them.
The patients and callers who contact you every day are your biggest group of stakeholders.
Yes, they may be crabby at times and occasionally critical. But use this as a reminder to know how important the services you provide are to them and their lives. After all, if what you did for them didn’t matter, they wouldn’t care how you did it.
Your stakeholders also include your boss, your employer, and your organization—be it a for profit business or a nonprofit entity. These are all stakeholders in your call center operation. Celebrate them, all of them.
Wrap Up What You Can
As you go about these initiatives, look at your project list. Surely you won’t be able to finish them all this year but resist the urge to let them all carry forward to next.
Each thing you can knock off this year is one less thing on your plate for next. And won’t that be a relief knowing that it won’t be hanging over your head in the coming twelve months?
Conclusion
To finish this year strong, remember to first enjoy the season. As you do, thank your staff, and celebrate your stakeholders. Last wrap up whatever pending projects you can so that they don’t dog you into next year.
When you take these steps, you’ll be poised to finish this year strong, paving the way for success next year.
Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of AnswerStat and Medical Call Center News covering the healthcare call center industry. Read his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.
