The 300 Becomes 100

Last September as we rolled out an organizational goal of improving patient satisfaction, the WMHS Department Directors group was asked to provide the percentage, in their opinion, of health system employees who don't embrace service excellence.   They said that 13% of employees don't get it.   According to Quint Studer, the percentage of hospital employees nationwide who don't get, understand or care about service excellence is 8%.  The 13% became known as "The 300" (13% of 2300 is 299). 

According to literature, of the 300, 100 should leave the organization when confronted with their lack of commitment to service excellence standards.  Another 100 will improve and be viable employees and the remaining 100 will be a challenge since they don't think that they have a problem with service excellence.  The last third may be fine with patients and families but be horrible co-workers.  They may work at one speed and not be as responsive as they should be to patient needs.  They may not be warm and sincere in EVERY interaction, but only when it suits them. 

As we rolled out revised service excellence standards, the Department Directors group was surveyed almost a year later and asked the same question plus what is the percentage in their own department / patient unit.  On average within their own department or unit it was 4% and system wide it was 5%.  Considerable progress and we have the patient satisfaction scores to prove it; however, that still leaves 115 employees who are interacting with patients, family members and each other not embracing service excellence standards and making everyone else's job that much more difficult.