Creating smiles with a differentiated frontline experience

Hoteliers know this by heart and pay attention to the smallest details from the beginning to the end of the stay.

So, why should it be any different for a healthcare establishment (hospital/ pharmacy)?

Globally, every hospital now aims to achieve 100 per cent patient satisfaction.

Hospital waiting areas now look no less than a five-star hotel lobby – so much so huge investments are being made in the design, infrastructure, and technology to offer a therapeutic patient experience.

So, is a patient experience only limited to mega structures and experienced technicians or it starts with a warm greeting of ‘Assalaam Walaekum' from a well-groomed security staff?

A pleasant smile and an empathetic approach from a nurse, and patient care executive are the building blocks of putting a stressed patient at ease. Each interaction creates a touch point that makes a difference between

I love this place v/s I am not coming here again.

Would it be correct to say that the frontline staff are the cheerleaders, rockstars, typically the face of any healthcare establishment?

After all, security guards, patient care executives, housekeeping, pharmacists, nursing, phlebotomists, and lab technicians, meet and greet patients more than clinical specialists. They are the ones who handle patient complaints, work under unprecedented pressure (Covid-19) and have prolonged working hours.

Their importance in the healthcare organisation is undeniable, and so are the soft skills that enable frontliners to deliver a world-class patient experience.

The service excellence and leadership teams at UAE’s most admired friendly neighbourhood pharmacy chain, Aster Pharmacy, fully understand the importance of building relationships in local communities. Thoughtfully created impactful training videos are an essential part of their employee onboarding and development programs which help deliver high Net Promoter Score (NPS) from loyal customers.

Top soft skills for frontline roles

Communication: It’s not just what you say, but also how you say it (demeanour, tone, eye contact, body language, etc.).

Emotional Intelligence: Working on improving emotional intelligence can have a positive impact on patients, care teams and individual healthcare workers.

Patience: Dealing with irate attendants, delayed hospital admissions, last minute OPD cancellations-in such circumstances, it’s fair to say a little patience goes a long way.

Flexibility: Each patient's situation is different. The frontline staff needs to adapt by showcasing empathy and converse in a language that is well understood by the patient in their time of need.

Mindfulness: Attentive behaviour and correct guidance in an emergency are least expected from frontline staff.

Best training practices

Patrick Mitchell, director of innovation, Health Education­—England, says “Blended learning has benefits that include better student experience, satisfaction, skills, development and confidence.”

With an experience of delivering over 1500+ engaging training films, TrainingVideos.ae, helps create digital bite-size video content for learning which can be made accessible on-demand anytime / anywhere.

Trainingvideos.ae help create learning that drives behaviour change.

Scenario-based learning (digitised): Custom scenario-based learnings delivered in video format- projects the situations that front liners are facing or likely to face in the future. This improves retention and prepares front liners to become Champions of ‘Falling Forward’. Digital bite-size content is also accessible anytime / anywhere.

Training for upselling opportunities (digitised): Let’s not beat around the bush — Profit is a must in any company, but in healthcare upsell and cross-sell techniques must be aligned with patients’ wellness goals. Learnings filmed in real locations, enable learners(pharmacists) to create a win-win situation for the brand and the patient.

Understanding service excellence standards: Service excellence standards guide the operation and decision-making in an organisation. What could be a better way if the standards are shared by the leadership and employees that benefitted from it in a clear concise video? A great tool for induction and ongoing training.

Monitoring results: TrainingVideos proposes gamified assessments for the frontline staff to monitor results. Let’s say after an online grooming module, your security guard has to dress Paul (an avatar) the way he is expected to come to work.

With Arab Health 2023, kicking off today, what could be a better time to start creating, an impactful learning experience for your brand ambassadors — ‘The frontline’

Deliver better patient care, by connecting with TrainingVideos.ae.

We serve healthcare organisations across the UAE, India and Singapore.

W: https://www.trainingvideos.ae

M: +971 553353320 / +91 9871119032

Neha Gaandhii and Akash Gandhi, co-founders of Trainingvideos.ae.

• KT Network