Tag: Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Vital Signs

Ideas to Better Retain Call Center Staff

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date November 29, 2018

Instead of Hiring New Employees, Seek to Retain Existing Healthcare Call Center Staff

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D.

With low unemployment rates, the task of finding qualified employees to work in healthcare call centers grows more challenging. This makes it even more important to take steps to retain the employees we have. Here are five areas to focus on.

While these ideas are nothing you haven’t already heard, perhaps you can take a fresh look at them.

Today’s workers seek five core things when they evaluate a position and their long-term commitment to it and the organization. This applies to healthcare call center employees. Here are the five essentials to retain call center staff:

1. Compensation

I’ve never met a person who thought their pay was too high, though I’ve met many who didn’t feel their pay was enough. How much is enough? I don’t know, but if you want to attract a higher skilled, more committed worker, you’ll need to pay more.

Just be sure that when you raise your starting hourly rate, you raise your hiring expectations accordingly.

2. Benefits

Today’s workers want more than money. They’re seeking benefits too. This includes flexible hours and paid time off. And even part-timers want to go on vacation. Make sure you provide a way for them to do so. Offer them a retirement plan too.

Not all will take it, but for future-focused employees, this makes a huge difference. But the big kicker in benefits is healthcare coverage. And being in the healthcare industry, we should have the inside track on how to address this. Right?

3. Learning Opportunities

Employees also want to be able to learn new skills in their job. Yes, in some cases the training you provide them will help their next employer more than you, but as you better retain call center staff, you’re more likely to realize the benefits of that training.

4. Growth Potential

As your staff learns more job-related skills, they’ll want the opportunity to apply them. That is, they want to see the potential for growth, both within their existing position and into advancement opportunities.

Help them see that they have a future with your organization, and show them how they can get there. That will help them stick around.

5. Make a Difference

Last, but of increasing importance, is making a difference. Yes, every call provides an opportunity for your call center staff to make a difference. But if they don’t agree, help them see the ways they can make a difference every week, on every shift, and possibly on every call.

Beyond making a difference within their job, consider ways that they can make a difference in their community. Surely, there’s a nonprofit organization that you can come alongside and help.

Conclusion

In upcoming issues of AnswerStat, we’ll unpack each of these five items in greater detail. As we move forward in this initiative to retain call center staff, the main thing is to consider shifting some of your hiring and training budget into the area of retention.

Yes, it will take time to realize the results, but when done wisely you’ll eventually see your hiring and training costs decrease as you watch your retention rate increase. And who doesn’t want that?

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.

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Healthcare Call Centers

Call Center Lessons from a Walk-In Healthcare Clinic

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date September 5, 2018

We Need to Be Ready to Learn Whatever We Can, Wherever We Can

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D.

Last week I went to a walk-in healthcare clinic to deal with an itchy skin affliction that was driving me crazy. (It turns out it was poison ivy or some variation thereof.)

Not only did I get fast attention and quick results, but I had a wholly enjoyable experience. I walked away from the clinic as a happy patient, but I usually don’t have that reaction after interacting with a call center.

Here are some thoughts as to what makes a difference.

Accessible Service

The brightly-lit clinic was easy to find and offered nearby parking. The relaxing atmosphere gave me assurance I could anticipate a successful outcome.

Too often call centers aren’t accessible. It seems they hide their numbers. Why is this? Don’t they want calls? And by the time I do talk to someone, I’m often doubtful if I’ll be able to accomplish my objective.

Easy to Use

When I walked in, a self-check-in kiosk greeted me (along with a medical assistant, who was checking in another patient). I entered my name, punched a couple buttons, and was ready for step two.

Contrast this to a call center, with its endless array of auto-attendant prompts that seldom fit the reason for my call. And if I pick wrong, the best solution is to hang up and call back. Though call centers should be easy to use, reality may be different.

Known Timeframe

At the healthcare clinic I immediately knew where I was in the queue. One person was being checked as another waited. Beside this visual indicator, the kiosk provided an expected wait time of 28 to 56 minutes. Anticipating this, I had my iPod to keep me company.

But before I even plugged in my earbuds, the first patient was ushered into the examination room, and the man ahead of me was being checked in. In a few minutes he went on to exam room two. I was next in line, and it hadn’t even been five minutes.

I always appreciate call centers that tell me where I am in the queue and give me updates as things progress.

Provide Options

I learned I could have checked myself in online. This would have guaranteed my place in queue at the clinic. Then they would have texted me as my appointment slot neared.

This is much like call centers offering a call back option. It’s nice to have alternatives. Why don’t more call centers offer this?

Exceptional Staff

The most impressive thing was great staff. The medical assistant at the healthcare clinic was both professional and personable. Within seconds she had me checked in. A few minutes later she moved me to exam room one, when the first patient left.

A positive experience continued with the physician’s assistant. She treated me as a person and not as a problem to solve. She was patient, thorough, and precise in her diagnosis and recommendation. I’m actually looking forward (kind of) to my next visit.

Too often, with the ongoing onslaught of calls, call center personnel view each caller as a problem to handle as fast as possible and not as a person who needs their help. Making this distinction is key in the overall customer experience.

Successful Results

Less than twenty minutes after I arrived at the healthcare clinic, I left with a credible diagnosis and a prescription to pick up at the pharmacy, which was less than one hundred feet away. This was the outcome I sought.

How often have I hung up with a call center, having fallen short of my goal? Sadly, the answer is too often. I may call back for a different rep, phone someplace else, or just give up.

Skilled Close

Before I left to pick up my prescription, I chatted again with the medical assistant. Though I didn’t need to see her afterward, she had more information for me.

When she learned I didn’t have a primary care physician, she encouraged me to get one and offered to help. I shared my past frustration at not being able to find someone close by. She took this as a challenge.

When I left, she handed me a slip of paper listing four nearby doctors who were accepting new patients. It’s too soon to know if she made a successful upsell, but she did an excellent job at doing everything she could to help me. I left with a positive feeling.

When done appropriately an upsell by a call center agent is both helpful and appreciated. But when done poorly, it’s an irritant and another reason not to call back. Be sure to end each call well.

The Next Step

How can you apply these observations of a healthcare clinic to make your medical contact center a shining example of the success that your callers and patients appreciate?

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Healthcare Call Centers

Rebranding a Medical Call Center

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date August 3, 2018

A Brand is Only as Good as the Company and Staff Behind It

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

A company I do business with just announced a name change. They’re rebranding themselves. Their new name is supposed to better align with their core values, culture, and corporate vision. It’s also intended to dispel some confusion associated with their current name.

I get all that. And I think it’s a mistake. They’re going to lose a lot of momentum and confuse people in the process.

While it’s fun to dream, plan, and think grand thoughts about a new name, it’s more important to serve customers with excellence and provide value for the money they spend with you. Although a brand can help accomplish those things, it can also serve as a distraction.

If you’re thinking about rebranding your call center, here are some things to consider.

What’s in a Name?

One big issue in rebranding is the industry label of call center. Maybe those words are part of your name or at least implied by it. But likely they appear on your website and are part of your promotional materials.

Yet the phrase call center carries negative connotations and bad memories for some people. As a result, some call centers think they need to distance themselves from that label.

Contact center is often suggested as a replacement. Some other quickly-conceived names include customer service facility, customer exchange center, or customer experience gateway.

Other concerns about a name include finding one that better describes what you do now or doesn’t limit you in the future. But will changing your name really accomplish anything?

What’s Behind the Name?

Let’s say you stop referring to yourself as a call center and switch to contact center. After all, you take more than calls, you handle contacts. But what will this affect?

If you continue offering the same types of service, with the same degree of quality, and with the same staff, nothing has changed. Not really.

The reason the label call center holds negative connotations for much of the public is because of the frustrating experiences they’ve had when they interacted with call centers.

If you start calling yourself a contact center—or make any other name change—you run the risk of transferring people’s negative image of your existing brand to your new brand. Before long you’ll need to move away from your new brand for the same reasons.

Instead of looking to rebrand your call center, you might be better off looking to improve the operation behind your brand.

Do Staff Respect and Support Your Name?

Too often I’ve talked with employees in various industries who’ve disrespected their company. They’ve said negative things about their bosses, their resources and tools, and their compensation. After listening to their rant, I don’t want to do business with that company any more.

No amount of rebranding will ever fix that.

Instead of rebranding your call center, maybe it’s best to start with your agents. Are they proud of the work they do and the company they work for? Are they adequately paid? (If you say “yes” and they say “no,” do some research to find out who’s right. Adjust as needed.)

Maybe you need to fix deficiencies in your management structure or operational processes. Perhaps you need to improve agent training, raise expectations, and hold staff accountable for the results. Alternately, you may need to hire a different caliber employee.

The point is to focus on staff, their environment, and the quality of their work before embarking on any rebranding efforts. If you don’t, rebranding will fail to meet expectations, and in a few years you’ll be doing it all over again.

Conclusion

Though rebranding offers excitement and commands attention, don’t pursue it until you’ve addressed the service behind your brand and the staff that provides it.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Healthcare Call Centers

Develop an Ideal Agent Schedule to Maximize Call Center Efficiency and Effectiveness

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date May 30, 2018

For Optimum Results Schedule Agents to Meet Projected Call Traffic

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

Call centers rely on people—that is, agents—to meet the needs of callers. This requires developing an ideal agent schedule.

Having too many agents results in idle time, with staff on the clock but without enough work to do. This bloats operational costs. From a theoretical standpoint, an overstaffed call center should provide a high level of service, but this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes an overstaffed call center grows lackadaisical and provides poor service.

The opposite of overstaffing is not having enough agents. Not only does this cause agent burnout, but it also lengthens hold times and lowers service levels.

The key is to schedule the appropriate number of agents throughout the day to provide a suitable level of service at an acceptable cost. This minimizes complaints from both callers and agents.

Consider these key points when developing an optimum agent schedule.

Balance Staff Needs with Patient Needs

If your call center agents work eight-hour shifts, I guarantee your schedule needs work. Though their average workload and service level may be acceptable, most of the day they will swing from either working too hard to not having enough to do.

This means moving away from eight-hour shifts and scheduling staff to work when you need them. This may result in shorter shifts or longer shifts. To accomplish this, you’ll need a mixture of full-time and part-time employees, with part timers usually being predominant. This could be a huge culture shift.

Analyze Small Time Increments

If you track call traffic by the day, your scope is too large. One hour is the longest increment you should consider, but quarter hour segments are better, and some call centers look at six-minute increments (a tenth of an hour), or even less.

When you analyze traffic in this granular fashion, you’ll see predictable rises and dips throughout the day. Overlay your shifts to cover these peaks and miss the valleys.

Consider Historical Data

In most cases the call traffic from one week will approximate the traffic for the following week. Averaging several consecutive weeks produces a more accurate projection.

You can also look at traffic from one year ago if you have seasonal fluctuations. Last, to staff for a holiday, consider the historical traffic from that holiday last year or other comparable days. This lets you project traffic demands and develop an accurate agent schedule.

Pursue Incremental Improvement

Hoping to develop one agent schedule that you can copy each week isn’t realistic. Even if traffic doesn’t change much, you’ll still need to fine-tune it to best align your agents’ availability with your patients’ calling patterns.

Also, most call center traffic trends up or down from one season to the next. Be sure to adjust for that.

Conclusion

Finding your ideal agent schedule is part art and part science. It’s a time-consuming task, but the results of having an ideally staffed call center are worth the effort.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Healthcare Call Centers

Is Your Call Center a Profit Center or a Cost Center?

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date March 24, 2018

Positioning Yourself as a Profit Center Will Help Drive Budget Success

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

I once heard of a hospital marketing manager who identified their call center as their most cost-effective form of marketing, offering the highest return on investment (ROI).

It was a profit center. Further shocking was learning that the entire call center operation fell under the budget of the marketing department. I imagine the call center director had little trouble getting the appropriate budget each year to operate the call center.

The Downside of Being a Cost Center

If upper management views your operation as a cost center, they’ll see your line item on their budget as an expense to control and decrease whenever possible. This results in a scarcity of funds and makes it hard to operate a call center as needed to produce the best outcomes for patients and callers.

Each new budget cycle produces a predictable challenge of fighting to maintain the status quo of your funds. And receiving approval for additional expenditures on software, services, and initiatives to better serve your organization’s clientele looms as a formidable challenge.

If this is your reality, I feel for you. But there is hope: reposition your call center as a profit center.

The Benefits of Being a Profit Center

However, if you’re call center generates revenue—either directly or indirectly—you stand a much better chance of coming out on the plus side for each year’s new budget. If you’re a pharmaceutical or durable medical equipment manufacturer, it’s easy to make your case.

You track sales, which you then use to offset the cost of your operation. Any expense that produces more sales becomes an easy request to justify.

Even if your call center doesn’t directly handle sales or take phone orders, you can still work to establish yourself as a profit center. It just takes a bit more effort. For example, if you’re a hospital call center, as in the above example, look for ways that you contribute to the revenue stream of your organization.

How to Become a Profit Center

For example, each time you make a referral to a physician or clinic in your system, what’s the value of that connection? Even more significant, what is the lifetime value of that new patient to your organization? Suddenly that single phone call has a value of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, maybe more.

What about appointments? Each time you set an appointment for one of the providers in your system, what’s its revenue potential? And often that initial interaction leads to a series of follow ups.

Though these subsequent appointments may or may not go through your call center, the additional engagements would not have occurred had you not secured the first one.

Without your call center, these things would not have happened. As such, you deserve credit for the critical role your call center played in bringing this new business—and revenue—into your organization.

Start tracking these types of revenue-producing transactions. But don’t just note the number of calls. Instead report the immediate value and long-term revenue potential from each of these interactions.

In doing so you’ll help shift your call center operation from a cost center to a profit center. And this will make a huge difference when it comes time to negotiate next year’s budget.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Healthcare Call Centers

Voice AI in the Healthcare Call Center

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2018

Should We Embrace Technology in Our Medical Contact Centers or Fear It?

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

Throughout the history of the call center industry we’ve looked for ways to help our agents be more effective. In the pre-computer days this often meant physical solutions and electromechanical devices that allowed staff to answer calls faster, record information easier, and organize data more effectively.

Then came rudimentary computers that provided basic call distribution and CTI (computer telephony integration). Computer databases allowed us to retrieve information and store data. Following this we experienced voicemail, IVR (interactive voice response), and automated attendant.

More recently we’ve encountered speech-to-text conversion and text-to-speech applications. Then came the chatbots, computerized automatons that allow for basic text and voice communication between machine and people.

Computers are talking with us. Smart phones, too. Consider Siri, Alexa, and all their friends. Technology marches forward. What will happen next?

I just did an online search for Voice AI. Within .64 seconds I received two million results. I’m still working my way through the list (not really), but the first few matches gave me some eye-opening and thought-provoking content to read and watch.

In considering this information, it’s hard to determine what’s practical application for our near future and what’s theoretical potential that might never happen.

However, my conclusion is that with advances in chatbot technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning, we aren’t far from the time when computer applications will carry on full, convincing conversations with callers, who will think they’re talking with real people.

While many pieces of this puzzle are available today, I submit that we’re not yet to the point where we can have a complete, intelligent dialogue with a computer and not know it. But it will happen. Probably soon.

What Does Voice AI Mean for the Medical Call Center?

Just like all technological advances since the inception of the earliest call centers, we’ll continue to free agents from basic tasks and allow them to handle more complex issues. Technology will not replace agents, but it will shift their primary responsibilities.

Or maybe not.

With the application of voice AI, might we one day have a call center staffed with computer algorithms instead of telephone agents? I don’t know. Anything I say today will likely seem laughable in the future. Either I will have overstretched technology’s potential or underestimated the speed of its advance.

I think I’m okay talking to a computer program to make an appointment with my doctor. And it wouldn’t bother me to call in the evening and converse with a computer as I leave my message for the doctor, nurse, or office staff.

However, what concerns me just a tad would be calling a telephone triage number and having a computer give me medical advice.

Yet in considering the pieces of technology available to us today, this isn’t so far-fetched. Proven triage protocols are already defined and stored in a database.

Giving them a computerized voice is possible now. And with AI and machine learning, the potential exists for an intelligent interface to provide the conversational bridge between me and the protocols. And this could be the solution to our growing shortage of medical practitioners.

For those of you actually doing telephone triage, you might be laughing right now. Perhaps you’re already implementing this. Or maybe you’re convinced it will never work.

Yet it’s important that we talk about technology and its application in healthcare call centers. Regardless of what happens, the future will certainly be an interesting place.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Healthcare Call Centers

Prepare Now to Make Next Year a Great One

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date November 30, 2017

A Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

Before we say goodbye to this year and welcome in the next, we should take time to envision what we want next year to be like, to plan and to prepare so that it’s a really great year. First, I recommend you do this personally, to establish a vision and set goals for the coming year.

However, the focus of AnswerStat is not on your personal life but on your work, which is likely in a healthcare call center. Though it’s possible you’ve already prepared for next year, or maybe you hope to do so in the next couple weeks.

However, I wonder if in the day-to-day crunch of call center work that you’re so focused on getting through this day that you never have time to think about what’s next. I get that. I’ve been there. It’s called the tyranny of the urgent.

It’s the reality that putting out fires consumes all our time, leaving no time left to pursue what is truly important. This includes planning for future success.

Don’t let the tyranny of the urgent limit what your call center, department, shift, or team accomplishes in the coming year. To inspire your thoughts and get you started, here are some ideas to help make next year the best year yet:

Celebrate Areas of Excellence

Every call center has things they do well. Don’t lose sight of these items. Instead of coasting or assuming you’ll always excel in these areas, consider two options. One is looking at ways to make these even better. And the other is taking steps to ensure they don’t slip.

Identify Areas That Need Fixing

Conversely, even the best call centers can do better. We all have flaws in our operation, processes, or human resources. Start by identifying these so you can prepare to fix them next year.

Look for Growth Potential

Though no one can predict the future with any certainty, we can look at trends and consider areas where we can grow our call center to offer new services or expand existing ones.

This gives us a chance to dream. And less you consider this exercise self-serving, remember that everyone likes to be part of a growing operation. Make sure your call center is expanding and not shrinking.

Consider Pressures to Your Call Center

While there’s the potential for growth, there’s also the potential for contraction. This isn’t as exciting to think about, but it’s important to give it attention nonetheless.

What issues does your call center face that could have a detrimental effect on it in the coming year? Theorize the top three pressures that could have a negative effect on your call center. Then plan to counteract them, offset them, or negate their power.

These four items are often summarized as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (also known as SWOT). Yes, I just encouraged you to conduct a SWOT analysis for your healthcare call center. But don’t look at this with foreboding; embrace it with excitement.

Then use your SWOT analysis to plan appropriately for the coming year: capitalize on your strengths, shore up your weaknesses, pursue opportunities, and guard against threats.

Turn this into an action plan, establish a vision, and set goals. If you do this, I guarantee you’ll have a much better year than if you skip this critical exercise.

May this next year be your best year ever.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Healthcare Call Centers

It’s Hard to Plan When You Don’t Know What to Expect

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date September 29, 2017

Forecasting the future of healthcare remains a challenge

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

Regardless of what you think about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the fact that it’s future remains in limbo means that planning in the healthcare industry is challenging at best. Last week, what initially appeared as a final effort to repeal and replace Obamacare turned into another failure.

Then opponents quickly pledged to try again. The result is that no one in the healthcare industry has a clue about what rules we’ll be playing under in the months and years to come. This makes strategic planning next to impossible.

As politicians play politics and posture themselves in the name of political expediency, the rest of us are left to wonder what the future holds.

If the Affordable Care Act remains in place and unscathed, the industry will continue its current trajectory. While the slope of that trajectory remains open to conjecture, at least the general direction is known.

Alternately, if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, then we’re left scrambling to find a reliable basis on which to move forward. If this occurs the winners, from a business standpoint, will be those who can adapt the quickest and fill the vacuum that results. Being nimble, flexible, and quick will be the surest path to success.

However, rather than a straight-out repeal, a more likely scenario will be to tweak what is already there. The only sure thing about this path is knowing that things will change, but no one knows what will change or how much.

What’s likely is that there will be winners and losers, those who gain from the changes and those who give up some of what they currently enjoy. Again, organizations that can adjust the quickest will be the ones that have the best chance of coming out ahead.

Specifically for the healthcare contact center this means being prepared to take several actions. One is being ready to quickly scale a workforce to take advantage of new opportunities and meet increased patient demand.

Coupled with this is the need to train new agents quickly, as well as to teach new skills—perhaps not yet identified—to existing contact center staff. Last will be determining creative ways to meet patient needs and be appropriately compensated for doing so.

Contact centers with an entrepreneurial-minded leadership will emerge as the ones who can best navigate these changes to meet critical needs among patients and serve the healthcare industry.

The one thing I am sure of, no matter what happens, is that the healthcare contact center has the potential to be the hero.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Healthcare Call Centers

Do You Provide Contact Options For Your Patients?

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date July 24, 2017

A successful omnichannel strategy requires intentional implementation

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

Have you ever had a company ask how you wanted them to contact you? Options might include phone, email, text, fax, mail, or social media private messaging.

How well did they do at complying with your request?

With one company I asked for email communications, but they called me. When I reminded them I preferred email, they switched to that channel. But after too many emails failed to make progress, I switched to the telephone, which confused them. In the end, I accomplished my objective and gained something to write about in the process.

Another organization asked the same question. Text messaging seemed the way to go, since I envisioned short, succinct communications with them. Though I opted for text, they emailed me instead. In fact, they always email.

Once when I called and left a message, they emailed me back. Another time I specifically asked for a text to confirm an appointment, but they emailed me. Email is their preferred contact method, even if it isn’t mine.

I applaud these organizations for asking my preference and criticize them even more for not following through. If you can’t comply, you shouldn’t ask. That way you don’t establish false expectations or cause frustration with your patient or customer.

In considering these two experiences, a few thoughts come to mind, which apply to any contact center that truly has a customer-focused perspective.

Offering Channel Options Is Good: Letting patients and their caregivers select their preferred contact method is a customer-friendly move. It’s also a great idea, given that patients often have options for healthcare providers and are quick to exercise those options if you disappoint or disrespect them.

Not Honoring Channel Requests Is Bad: Not using the channel a patient requests is worse than not offering the option in the first place. If you can’t (or won’t) contact patients and prospective patients by the method they request, then don’t bother to ask.

Not Responding On Any Channel Is Even Worse: Making no effort to contact patients or customers when they request it is the worst possible error to make. And this mistake happens too often.

Knowing When to Switch Channels is Key: Sometimes a preferred channel bogs down communication. When emails or texts go back and forth without resolution, it’s time to pick up the phone, but before doing so, make that suggestion through the patient’s channel of choice. And if the patient opts to switch channels, make sure their contact history follows them to the new channel.

Asking people how they want you to contact them is great, providing you follow through. But if you don’t do as they request, you’re better off not offering it as an option. Conversely know when it’s appropriate to switch channels. And most importantly, always, always follow through.

Providing excellent customer service relies on excellent communication, whether it’s within the requested channel or if there’s a need to move outside of it. Just don’t arbitrarily jump channels. The only thing that will accomplish is patient frustration.

If your contact center has an omnichannel strategy be smart about the implementation.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Healthcare Call Centers

Is Your Contact Center Effective?

Post author By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Post date June 5, 2017

Meeting the two essential elements of a contact is just the first step

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

It doesn’t matter if a call is answered in a modern contact center staffed with a team of trained professionals or by one weary person in a single-phone department.

In both cases patients and callers evaluate their phone interactions in the same way, and they expect the same outcomes. Regardless of the circumstances, they compare each call with every other call and judge it accordingly. It matters not who took the call or the technology behind it.

Contact Essentials: At a basic level, patients look for two things when they contact you.

First, they want to accomplish their objective, the reason for their call. This may be to schedule an appointment, follow up on test results, or clarify discharge instructions. Or they might be calling because of a medical concern, hoping to talk to a triage nurse or find out if they should head to the ER. In short, they have a need, call you, and expect to accomplish their objective.

Second, though they may not realize it, they subconsciously want a positive feeling about the call. Do they perceive their need was met? Are they satisfied with the outcome? Do they sense they were treated with respect?

Together these two characteristics combine to result in effectiveness. An effective call is a phone interaction where the patient’s purpose is accomplished, and they hang up pleased with the interaction. However, too often contact centers meet callers’ objectives but leave them frustrated in the process.

Effective Call: Being effective means the caller’s reason for calling is addressed, and the customer is pleased. A rating of effective sets the minimum expectations for a contact center. This establishes the center’s service baseline.

Ineffective Call: Calls that aren’t effective are failures. This means the callers’ objectives weren’t accomplished, or they weren’t satisfied with the results. Too many organizations run contact centers that are not effective. Wrong information is given; errors are not corrected; callbacks don’t happen; and repeated calls occur, with no movement toward resolution.

Beyond Effective: However, other contact centers offer the other extreme. They start with effective and then offer more. Their staff is professional, accurate, and consistent. They excel at being empathetic with callers, and they aim for first call resolution.

Whether you have one phone or hundreds of agents, first ensure you are effective in handling calls. Then strive to become more than effective. Become everything your callers hope for when they contact you. Then everyone wins.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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