Instilling Competencies From Top to Bottom

Customer service and community support go hand in hand at this large Texas hospital. Learning is a principal ingredient of both.

University Health System is a large institution that includes a single inpatient hospital and 17 ambulatory care facilities scattered throughout Bexar County, Texas. A chronic challenge for such a sprawling organization is the equitable delivery of learning and skills development, especially for personnel located at the ambulatory sites.

As with many healthcare providers, University Healths 1,500 remote employees have always felt like stepchildren within the hospital, concedes Theresa Scepanski, senior vice president of strategic and organizational development. So two years ago, she created a program to address the training and development disparities, both real and perceived.

The sole learning department staffer assigned to the centers was soon joined by two additional full-time colleagues, and all three were asked to pursue a broader mandate to serve the disparate training and development needs. The initiative was even given a catchy nameTake it to the MAX! (for maximizing ambulatory excellence). Following an introductory sendoff, each trainer began meeting with her assigned clinics to develop curriculum and implement training.

The MAX team was asked to bring standardization to scripting, protocols, and policies at the centers, among other efficiency improvements. Standardized for the first time were the measurement and reporting of patient satisfaction scores across all ambulatory care sites, using the NCR Picker surveys already employed at the hospital. Customer servicealways a priority at the venerable institutionwas prioritized at the sites with the adoption of an expanded curriculum on customer service techniques.

Over a 12- to 18-month period, the MAX initiative produced a dramatic shift in culture and mindset within the clinics and communications among them, reports Scepanski. Both patient satisfaction levels and employee morale have soared.

One key ingredient of the patient satisfaction improvement initiative was adoption of the popular AIDET framework for customer communication. For every patient encounter, employees were instructed to follow a five-step procedure: Acknowledge the patient, Introduce themselves, estimate the Duration, Explain, and Thank the patient.

The MAX team individualized AIDET scripts for clinic situations, designed job aides using the method, produced instruction videos that featured hospital staffers, conducted mystery shopping surveillance to evaluate the trainings effectiveness, made course corrections, and even celebrated successes with their clinics teams.

The AIDET program was so successful that it has since been integrated into the inpatient setting within the hospital, says Scepanski.

University Health Systems ambulatory care initiative is merely one innovation from a frequent BEST Award winner that also is skilled at seizing learning opportunities from unlikely situations. The institution is equally proud of its training-related accomplishments in the area of corporate social responsibility, a subject near to the heart of President and CEO George Hernndez, Jr. You could even say it makes a science out of supporting the community while imparting valuable learning to personnel.

For example, the hospital generates increased participation in an annual Food Bank drive by creating a competition among three of its leadership development organizationsthe Performance Leadership Academy, the Management Development Academy, and the Administrative Professionals Academy.

Such activities, which are sponsored by the training department, do more than benefit the community. They provide a meaningful format for team building across organizational silos, for leadership development, and for other learning. New skills, competencies, and attitudes get directly transferred back to the job, says Jacque Burandt, a learning department executive involved in HR communications and volunteerism.

Our own patients, many of whom are uninsured, are recipients of the social service agencies we work with such as the Food Bank, says Burandt. She says working with the Food Bank provides employees with valuable insights into the lives of many patients they see. Its often an ah-ha moment for people who dont have to worry about where they get their food, she states.

In addition, community support events create impromptu teams of hospital employees who dont typically mingle, such as physicians and clerical workers. New kinds of leaders often emerge from these experiences, says Burandt. In short, the events make sense from a return-on-investment standpoint while also benefiting the community, she insists.

Hernndez says the county-owned hospitals deep commitment to its community aligns with corporate goals because employees are seen as ambassadors of hope and service for organizations across the United States. Meanwhile, their contributions to the community are invaluable. As a United Way Pacesetter organization, the enterprise raised $308,000 last year in pledges and special eventsmore money than any other public hospital in Texas. Blood donations not only saved thousands of lives of patients seen in the hospitals trauma center, but also saved $500,000 in blood product expense, says Burandt.

Such enhancement of human capital and delivery of learning at all levels have always been top priorities at University Health System. One proven way to accomplish both is by building bench strength from the bottom upthe focus of several longstanding programs there.

A dedicated position, education access coordinator, identifies individual and group skills gaps and remedies them. Activities include education expos, which brings continuing education providers on site so employees can enjoy a one-stop shop. The health systems website connects staff to tools and resources such as colleges, universities, financial aid, and scholarships.

Another initiative is School at Work (SAW), a popular training program that emphasizes core competencies so entry-level employees can advance within the organization. Applicants selected for the program meet weekly for three hours over eight months. Educational topics range broadly from refreshing math, reading, and communications skills to preparing for certification and degree programs.

Students meet on their own time after work to complete the curriculum via DVD and online modules. Sessions are led by a SAW coach from the learning department. The coach introduces resources from the community as needed, including college guidance counselors and financial aid specialists to help propel students into new careers. In addition, students can test out of remedial courses, which saves themselves and the organization both time and money.

The organizations third successful SAW class in 2010 increased graduates by 40 percent from 2009. An enterprise-wide recruiting initiative produced 77 applicants who were screened for eligibility, of which 17 were selected and 15 completed the class. Six graduates received higher level jobs within the organization.

Another initiative launched last year by the learning department was creation of a new internal academy. Called the Administrative Professionals Academy, the project was designed in conjunction with the American Management Association. Its goal is to provide high-potential administrative professionals with the enhanced knowledge and skills to perform and grow their careers. Activities include a highly interactive curriculum to enable maximum cohesion and group problem solving.

Still in its test phase, the project has to date produced a three-part series of educational sessions, a new networking mindset, and individual achievements in its inaugural class of instruction on administrative topics.