Key Takeaways
- Integrate non-clinical support services into patient experience strategies, as frequent interactions in housekeeping and food service significantly influence HCAHPS scores.
- Replace standardized scripting with empowerment strategies that encourage frontline staff to leverage their unique strengths to create authentic patient connections.
- Foster a culture of respect and integration between clinical and support staff, as collaborative environments directly correlate with higher patient satisfaction metrics.
- Dedicate leadership time to educate frontline workers on performance data, ensuring they understand their specific impact on patient experience outcomes.
In today's healthcare environment, success is measured not only by clinical outcomes but also by the overall experience of patients and families. An immaculate hospital room, a friendly food-service worker, and a warm smile at the bedside all contribute to patient well-being and, ultimately, to an organization's reputation in the community. Yet these "softer" elements of care—the linens, the meals, the cleanliness—are often easy to underestimate because they remain largely behind the scenes. These elements, however, play a crucial role in patient empowerment and healthcare patient engagement.
Recently on the CX Matters podcast, we spoke with Grant Randall, JD, National Director of Patient Experience at Compass One Healthcare, a division of Compass Group. As a patient experience director, Grant's role exemplifies the growing importance of patient-centered care in healthcare organizations. Compass Group—headquartered in the UK—is one of the largest employers in the world, yet many people in the healthcare industry remain unfamiliar with its day-to-day work because so much of it involves supporting healthcare in ways that are largely invisible.
Grant's job title itself, "National Director of Patient Experience," hints at just how integral patient-focused service has become—even in areas once considered peripheral. In his conversation with CX Matters host, Cole Lyons, Grant offered a wealth of insight into the link between support services and patient satisfaction, as well as the critical role leaders play in empowering frontline staff to make meaningful connections and foster health empowerment.
The Path to Healthcare
Grant's trajectory into healthcare isn't exactly linear. He earned his bachelor's in English from the The University of Kansas, where he remains a loyal Jayhawks basketball fan, then went on to law school, focusing on elder law and regulatory policies for the aging population. Eventually, he found himself working in Washington, D.C., and even spending time on a beach in Rio de Janeiro. Despite his formal legal training, he realized his real passion lay elsewhere: in people-centric, front-facing work that promotes client empowerment.
His foray into healthcare began earnestly when an executive within the Compass organization reached out, suggesting he transition into hospital support services. Rather than walking into a high-level position, Grant started on the front lines, working with operations staff, training housekeepers, and learning every facet of environmental services (EVS). He embraced this boots-on-the-ground approach, discovering firsthand how critical housekeeping and food-service teams are to a patient's overall experience and empowerment in healthcare.
This genuine care for patients and families—starting from every rung of the ladder—is at the core of Grant's mission at Compass One Healthcare. It's a prime example of how to engage your staff in the pursuit of patient empowerment and improved healthcare quality.
Housekeeping and HCAHPS: The Overlooked Connection
Though seldom in the spotlight, housekeeping can drastically affect HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores. Housekeepers enter patient rooms multiple times a day, often engaging in small conversations or empathetic gestures that make a big difference. As Grant points out, these support-staff roles are uniquely positioned because they involve skills and experiences everyone can relate to. A patient may not fully understand what goes into complex clinical procedures, but they certainly have opinions about cleanliness or what good food tastes like. This direct interaction provides opportunities for patient involvement in care and contributes to what is patient empowerment in practice.
When housekeeping teams feel connected to their organization, patients notice. Something as simple as greeting a patient by name, introducing oneself, and explaining the purpose of the visit can help calm a patient's anxiety—and also boost key metrics around patient perception and willingness to recommend. These actions are fundamental to patient-centred care and demonstrate how healthcare organizations can foster a culture of patient empowerment.
Yet, while these tasks may seem straightforward, Grant emphasizes that they cannot be mere "checkboxes." You can't just instruct staff to deliver a script or fill out an extra form; you have to show them why it matters. That "why" goes beyond improving a facility's HCAHPS rank—it resonates on a personal, human level. As he puts it, "If I can empower you to change someone's life, that's the real driver." This approach not only benefits patients but also contributes to employee satisfaction and well-being.
The "Art and Science" of Patient Experience
Compass One Healthcare's approach to improving experience combines both art—those crucial soft skills—and science—the data analytics that measure satisfaction. At any one time, Grant's team is poring over Press Ganey results, patient satisfaction metrics, and internal surveys to identify trends, figure out where the bottlenecks are, and determine which types of frontline engagement actually move the needle. This data-driven approach is crucial for understanding the benefits of patient engagement and how to empower patients effectively.
Grant recounted a story from his time as an Operations Manager responsible for teaching environmental-services staff how to engage with patients. One of his best housekeepers, a meticulous cleaner, was reluctant to talk to patients, much less hand out standardized "housekeeper introduction" cards. She had concerns about her handwriting, about bothering patients, and about her own confidence. Rather than forcing her to follow a script, Grant asked how she would like to connect with patients. This approach exemplifies the concept of the patient being part of the healthcare team and how an employee's role affects patient experience and colleague relationships.
Not only was it okay—it was a game-changer. Suddenly, patients began displaying her artwork on walls, windows, and even nurse stations. "She became the hospital's mascot," Grant recalls. "A few months later, a patient's spouse called to say her husband, who passed away, was buried with three of those drawings." This touching anecdote serves as an example of empowerment in health and social care, showcasing how personalized care can make a profound impact.
In addition to touching people's hearts, that housekeeper's approach substantially improved patient feedback. What might have remained a check-the-box initiative—signing name cards—became something that genuinely brought comfort and personal connection. It exemplifies how focusing on the individual strengths and personalities of frontline staff can do more than any script or standardized form. This approach not only enhances patient empowerment but also contributes to employee empowerment and motivation.
The Culture of Respect
One factor that consistently correlates with high patient-satisfaction scores is how an organization treats its support staff. You can walk into a hospital floor and instantly sense whether the culture is inclusive and empathic: Are environmental-services employees treated like core members of the team, with a seat at the break room table? Do housekeepers and nurses know each other's names, or even each other's pets? Are there visible signs that frontline staff are integrated into the broader hospital community? These elements contribute to a safety culture and foster continuous improvement in healthcare organizations.
According to Grant, hospitals with a "vendor mindset"—where EVS, food service, and patient transport are siloed—often see chronically low patient-experience scores. In contrast, institutions where every department is woven into a cohesive tapestry tend to earn higher marks. "If you walk up to a unit and see that housekeepers and nurses collaborate, that's a good sign," he notes. "They share break rooms and they share compassion. Scores almost always follow suit." This collaborative approach is essential for creating an environment of psychological safety and shared decision-making.
This principle applies beyond housekeeping. "Pick any industry," Grant says. "If you want to boost employee engagement, you need to invite them into the process." That could mean encouraging a patient transporter to share input on how to navigate the hospital more efficiently, or allowing a food-services worker to test out new menu ideas. When staff see their ideas put into action—and credited to them—they become more invested in their day-to-day roles. This level of employee enablement is crucial for improving employee morale in healthcare and ultimately enhancing patient outcomes.
Making the Time for Staff Engagement
One of the biggest hurdles in healthcare leadership today is time. Department heads and mid-level managers juggle multiple responsibilities, from contract negotiations and regulatory compliance to patient crises. Fitting in meaningful staff education on patient-satisfaction scores can be daunting. This challenge underscores the importance of leadership development in healthcare organizations.
Yet, as Grant highlights, no major cultural change happens without investing time in people. His team at Compass One Healthcare has intentionally set aside hours—often spanning several weeks—to walk frontline staff through actual satisfaction data. Instead of delivering a quick, impersonal lecture, they bring staff into the process of interpreting analytics, filtering by unit or time period, and seeing how they can individually move the needle. This approach not only enhances employee engagement but also contributes to patient empowerment by ensuring that all staff understand their role in the patient experience.
Connecting the why behind the metrics has real-world impact, even if it isn't easy to measure immediately. The analytics also close the loop. Otherwise, staff might feel patient surveys are an abstract concept—extra "paperwork" for leadership's sake. With clear, consistent communication, employees begin to realize their power in shaping outcomes. This realization is a key component of employee empowerment and can significantly impact patient advocacy efforts.
Proving the ROI
From a financial perspective, demonstrating the ROI of frontline engagement can be challenging. HCAHPS responses sometimes lag 45 to 90 days, and the effects of a single training program can take even longer to appear in survey data. Additionally, identifying which specific interventions drive improvement can be complex—often, it's the accumulation of multiple small changes. These challenges highlight the need for patient experience organizations to develop comprehensive strategies for measuring and improving healthcare quality.
Nonetheless, leaders like Grant believe in the long-term returns of investing in staff empowerment. Efforts to engage, educate, and inspire housekeeping, transport, and food-service teams can ripple throughout an organization and enhance patient trust. Higher satisfaction may translate into stronger reputations, better reimbursement rates, and an environment where everyone—patients, families, staff—feels valued. This approach not only improves patient outcomes but also contributes to employee retention and overall healthcare workforce stability.
There is no "magic bullet" solution. Instead, the process involves patient capital—time, empathy, and meaningful relationship-building at every level. As Grant puts it, "Leaders have to be willing to slow down enough to let staff do what they do best. And if you try to put that in a spreadsheet, you might not get the full picture right away, but you'll see it eventually in the stories of grateful patients and families." This perspective underscores the importance of patient activation and long-term investment in healthcare challenges.
Key Takeaways for Healthcare Leaders
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Frontline Staff Are Essential to Patient Experience Housekeepers, food-service teams, and patient transporters spend hours each day interacting with patients and their families. Recognizing their value—and teaching them how to engage—can dramatically improve patient-satisfaction scores and contribute to patient empowerment.
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Explain the Why Employees are more likely to embrace new tasks if they understand the purpose behind them. Connecting the dots between HCAHPS data and daily duties goes a long way toward encouraging genuine engagement and fostering a culture of patient-centred care.
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Empower Through Personal Strengths Standard scripts and checklists have their place, but giving employees the freedom to connect with patients in ways that suit their personalities can create memorable experiences. One person's coloring-book gesture could mean the world to a patient and serve as an example of personalized care.
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Cultivate a Culture of Respect Where leadership and clinicians treat support staff as integral members of the healthcare team, the environment shifts toward empathy, inclusivity, and collaboration. These cultural characteristics often correspond with higher patient-satisfaction results and contribute to overall employee well-being.
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Invest the Time to Educate Amid the pressures of budget cuts and staffing constraints, it's tempting to sideline staff-development efforts. However, dedicating time to training, discussion, and relationship-building may ultimately yield the best returns for patients, staff, and the bottom line. This investment is crucial for improving employee morale in healthcare.
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Patience with the Data ROI can be difficult to measure in real time, and HCAHPS surveys often have a lengthy lag. Effective leaders balance quantitative data with qualitative insights, knowing that culture shifts don't happen overnight. This approach is essential for understanding the long-term benefits of patient engagement.
Looking Ahead
As healthcare continues to evolve, Compass One Healthcare's story shows the growing importance of comprehensive patient experience strategies. These efforts aren't limited to clinical interventions; they also encompass every moment a patient spends in a hospital, from how they're greeted at the door to the cleanliness and comfort of the room they occupy. This holistic approach is fundamental to patient empowerment and shared decision-making in healthcare.
Leaders like Grant Randall remind us that the best patient experiences often emerge when frontline teams feel heard, respected, and empowered to bring their whole selves to their work. In many ways, the question is not whether the warmth and dedication of environmental-services staff matter—it's how to harness that dedication and integrate it into a broader culture of caring. This perspective aligns with the concept of employee advisory groups and their potential to drive positive change in healthcare organizations.
Ultimately, the secret sauce of high patient-satisfaction scores may lie in an organization's willingness to look beyond transactional tasks and cultivate an environment where everyone takes pride in their role. When each employee embraces their part—no matter how hidden behind the scenes—it translates into a powerful, collective impact on patient well-being. This approach not only enhances patient empowerment but also contributes to employee satisfaction and overall healthcare quality.
About CX Matters
CX Matters is a production of the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy, dedicated to exploring emerging trends and best practices in patient experience. For more in-depth conversations with leaders like Grant Randall, visit our website or subscribe to the podcast on your preferred streaming platform.
<p>hello everyone this is Cole from the CX matters podcast from the American Journal of healthc care strategy joined by our early special guest this evening Grant uh Grant why don't you introduce yourself and your role hey yeah so Grant Randall a national director of patient experience for Compass one Healthcare and yeah I don't know how long you want the introduction to be Compass one Healthcare is Support Services clinical support um it's everything from linen to a lot of food housekeeping patient transport a lot of the things you usually don't think of that affect patient experience uh we're a our parent company is Compass Group It's a UK company that's uh I think last I checked it was the sixth largest employer in the world or like between the Chinese post office and Amazon we say we're the uh largest company you've never heard of because we kind of stay behind the scenes you know helping Elevate the patient experience and slink back into the Shadows welcome to the CX matters podcast a production of the American Journal of healthcare strategy with your host Cole lions that is great that's a that's a great place to be right and I mean and that's kind of why we reached out is because it's an interesting organization and then you you have an interesting resume as well looking you know kind the University of Kansas you have a bachelor's in English big jhawk fan big basketball guy that's a big in that area too in general right sir it's big in the oh my gosh yeah no it's all we have I knew my parents are in North Carolina by UNC and so you know we've been to the UNC versus Duke Games been to the it's a big deal it's a big deal yeah you you took our coach in the mid in the late 90s it's okay Bill self came in we got a championship we'll get another one this year so we're we're okay he's looking promising this year for you we have an NBA team at the college level it's we are out of control that is awesome I have not uh been keeping up on that I'm gonna have to now after this episode I'm gonna have to look this up take I no I have no super or worry about just throwing it out there like no I'm I'm all in trash talking ready to go and do you still live in you're still you're in Ohio now right yeah in Columbus Ohio yeah that's uh that's the part that's not on my resume kind of I've lived all over um currently in Columbus Ohio with uh the wife and the dogs and the yeah oh nice very nice I've settled I live in airports technically but kind of settled well why why why Ohio exactly how did you settle in Ohio so well again when you do this structured out from Compass Group Compass one Healthcare which Healthcare is the sector I work in obviously um and that splits out into the various divisions again like Morrison healthc care is our food service which a lot of people have heard of Cal Healthcare is EVS prent transport so I was working for the cwl sector at Ohio State University uh so had an opportunity to work for Ohio State I did that from 2014 to 2019 brought me to Columbus never thought I would live in Ohio thought I would be gone the second that job was over fell in love with it absolutely love Columbus greatest place I've ever lived what what do you like about Columbus because a lot of people you know Ohio can be kind of a meme nowadays right oh yeah I know and we are well aware and we we participate in the mean at M and Columbus like Columbus is its own thing you know Cincinnati Cleveland too everything else is it's mem worthy to be H I said that on a nationally like podcast that's going out there this is terrible to hear from so many people in Ohio but no it's Columbus is its own thing like it's weirdly fashion Centric like with lbrands and a lot of the stuff that goes on there the museums the concerts the it's a foodie scene major university town obviously a couple of universities all of that and it's just accessible and efficient like I could be there is no rush hour I can be at the airport in 25 minutes from anywhere um you know so it's got all those you can be out of town on hiking trails and in Amish Country it everything's 20 30 minutes it's amazing and I have to ask this this is the question that I'm I'm really interested in my for for personal reasons you know why why the law degree right back in it looks like in 2008 you finished a laot degree uh and then a couple years later of course is when you you started working for Ohio State you know settled to the Columbus area but before that you know why go to law school it seems like it's a bit of a different direction than where you're in now uh so law degree because I was a um modern poetry English major so you're going to have to go to graduate school so you can afford to eat um but various reasons for going to law school immediately within my I mean I wasn't even to my 2L year yet when I decided I didn't want to practice and so at that point started looking at other options I mean you've already paid the money you've put the time in law school is like boot camp you don't want to be halfway through and leave so it's like what can I do then with a lot degree and there's tons of stuff you can do with a lot degree uh just practicing I have so many friends who don't practice that use use their law degree every day so I immediately kind of went into elder law um my two year that's what I started focusing on and that's everything from Wills trust estate planning to really prepping federal policy for Baby Boomers understanding CMS regulations you know so it kind of became something that I have used quite a bit throughout my healthcare career and so where were you at because on the LinkedIn resume it only shows you know a compass one in Ohio State so where were you before you know between those eight years or so between law school and then when you were in Columbus well I don't think we have enough time on the podcast to go into that I lived in a lived on a beach in Rio de Janeiro for a little bit um was a DC uh that was kind of my so anybody who knows me like and obviously we're trying to get from how did you go from law school to this like support service patient experience um so customer service is always something I've understood um you know the client facing aspect of my job is you know there was even a time where I went to my boss and I'm like how do I get paid to do this and he's like people skills is a skill set like you probably don't get paid enough to be honest and so I've always had that I was playing music I was again traveling internationally and just kind of had this thing after law school where I had I was able to work remote I was working with a company out of Oklahoma a friend of mine doing a little policy work which allowed me to kind of Chase those you know crazy dreams I did all of that I end up coming back to the United States um when I came back our actual the VP of one of our company VPS VP of patient experience Dusty daringer uh reached out because he had found out I was back in the United States really kind of calls me out on um he's like you got to quit being a man he's like you're too talented you can't just live on the beach in Rio serving drinks and surfing you know and I was like well first off say that again slowly because it sounds pretty awesome he's like yeah I know but that's not sustainable and he was AB absolutely right um so I have a laot degree I've done all of this traveling I you know the most interesting man in the world is not just the beard the stories for days but he did something to me that was one of the best things anybody has ever done to me in my professional career he's like I want you I see where you're G to be you've got the credentials you've got the skill set but at this company we start at the bottom um you're going to start as an operations manager you're going to be helping train people how to clean toilets you're going to be so during the day I'm in like a cheap coal suit like pulling pres gany scores understanding H caps during the afternoon and night I'm training housekeepers on how to do discharges um weirdly did not resent it fell in love with it I just fell in love with Support Services um and I love all of our Support Services the food's amazing the chefs I work with are unreal but my heart is kind of that housekeeping piece um and anybody who understands correlations to hcap scores you know housekeeping has a really high correlation to your overall score they're in the room so often um you know and it's somebody you can trust are people who serve food are people who clean your room a patient has an immediate connection with that vocation you know where it's like we love our nurses I've never drawn blood we our doctors are amazing uh as my boss says I didn't go to doctor in school you know it's like I trust you cut me open do what you need to do I do know how to clean a room though I do know the kind of food I like patients can immediately connect with with this and there's this beautiful opportunity to make connection um and I just fell in love with it I haven't left since that's a very important Point very interesting and and then of course reaffirms how important or or how nice Columbus is that if you've you've been all over the world living on beaches and whatnot and you settle in in Columbia I got older too that's that's part of it like yeah efficiency and comfort have become really important to me you know it used to be like grab a backpack live in a hostel you know and I we I tell these stories and people are like wow that sounds amazing and I'm like it actually sounds terrible like that was great at 25 years old like you could not pay me to do that again my wife still would like to you know get a van and live in in a van for a while I'm just not not so sure about it just the bathroom right just the bathroom situation alone like yeah no I'm spoiled you're young maybe you could do it you're young yeah that's true that's true and then so so it is interesting because you know I've spoken with some the executives at institutions and I've noticed that the institutions who seem to score really well um on especially those who are totally integrated Care Network their their insurance plan scores well in addition are those who actually really care about the the EVS staff really are down with the front lines shaking hands I talked to Kevin Mahoney of pan uh and he said you know that unless these people really take their jobs seriously the the people who are mopping the floors the people who are cleaning uh up in the ER you know nobody else can do their job but that doesn't seem to be an attitude that everyone shares yeah yeah so coming from a lot well I say coming from a law degree background right A lot of people you know there's there's certain biases of lawyers out there in terms of you know that's terrible I mean not not to go into the Weeds on on that but why do you think that you are somebody who who actually is able to do that work and and who cares about that kind of work coming from your educational background compared to some of your peers who might not really like that this episode of the strategy of Health was sponsored by modality Global advisors modality Global advisors optimizes Hospital Revenue enhances patient experience and delivers proven results visit modality Global advisors.com to learn more no I've got the answer for that um but before we go to that don't forget that question you talked about um you know talking to Kevin talking to people who understand how you treat Frontline staff so I've often told my team or clients that I have one magical skill let me walk up on your on a one of your units it's the Gin surge unit I can tell you if scores are tanking or if they're I can't tell you what your scores are but I can at least tell you if they're in a place you know where you're a decent you know percentile rank that we can work with and the way I do it is how they're treating support St if you walk up on the floor housekeepers are in the you know they're in the break room able to eat their food you see the the PE the patient transporter has her picture her dog's picture is on the board with all the uh other pets from that unit we at least have something to work with here we have engagement we have kindness we have empathy so often I'll walk up on the floor there's signs on the doors no housekeepers allowed I'm I'm introducing our managers to a nurse manager because they've never talked you know it's and I immediately no surprise scores are terrible it's it's like that you know with the I don't know if you saw this photo on Twitter a year or two ago but it's the um the stools uh that say you know Physicians only no you know no PA or NP allowed you know I haven't seen that I've lived it like it creates a hostile environment makes Improvement nearly impossible yeah um but yeah so that's yeah that covers that but if you want to go back to your other question yeah please on on how you know you're the right person for this you know what qualities do you have that you think make successful uh just the growing up you know and so it's like I can come out of the gate and be like yeah I got the all this travel and all the degrees or whatever I'm actually at LSU right now getting my mha so there's this like I don't know there's this idea that I have all this stuff I am from Southeast Kansas Northeast Oklahoma grew up on a horse um grew up on a farm not a big farm nobody was rich my dad's a mechanic like you know you you learn to hustle that's my background um and just having him instill that in me like I got a little bougie in me it's always been in there you know there's always been a little ego but just having him you know SLA me down and put me back in my place my entire life you know just being like hey you're not better than anybody else you know in fact service starts at the ground up you know and so he's always had that he was that guy that we found out after he died like we didn't know how many people owed us money because he was just giving away free stuff you know wasn't charging people he would if you were Elder if you were poor people would come to him you know and so this was just my the example that I lived with but you're not working in environments where that's always the case and so I mean how do you actually change some of these environments right like we were he said the sign on the door the crazy example of the chair that I brought up I mean that seems really challenging because you can't just go in there guns blazing and say you know you are absolutely being rude and need to change right you have to do things a certain way so that's a now that's a hard question here we go I've been flowing giving you all these answers now you stunt me I mean this is what we do I these are questions I have myself right yeah this is a real question and it's not just for food service or PT it's that everybody has to deal with this question um so we kind we go in we have our programs our programs are proven and tested they're the best in the business we stack our scores up against anybody we always have um we always come out on top that's why people hire us highest retention rate largest portfolio that being said we've got this very strategic approach to Patient experience of the four pillars and I won't go into the whole program one pillar is about tailoring it to fit it's about customizing it how do you take these pieces these foundational pieces that are standardized and make them customized the reason you have to do that and you know this and everybody listening to the podcast knows this every single hospital has its own culture um it can be the same system hospitals across the street they're GNA have their own culture and so this isn't necessarily a health care approach this is anybody going into any system any job any workplace you can't go in like a bull in a china shop you've got to go in and build trust um now the good thing about what we do it's 2024 in hospitals you can build trust pretty fast uh it's gonna hit the fan quick like you want to build trust go work in an ed on a Friday night you know like get to know the nurses get to know the nurse managers get to know our clients like show them what we can do usually we can come together they're appreciative of our work they they're very appreciative of us integrating into the culture we don't want our names on the name badge we don't want it to say like vendor on the email like we want to be which it would surprise you a lot of places are like you will say vendor and you will have your company name again big surprise scores aren't great but we want to be completely integrated they really respect that then that allows us to flourish and little by little show them what we can accomplish the same way that I said you know I didn't go to doctor in school or I'm not a nurse a lot of these people are in the seite levels or client levels they have no idea how to drive HC caps when it comes to the the environment of care domain no clue they're looking to us as the experts and now we can prove it to them and then sometimes we also have to have that hard conversation where we go to them and I've had this and say hey man you're paying us a lot of money to run this program you bought this program you're allowing us to run about 35% of this program you know because we're not engaging properly you're not allowing us access like help me help you you're paying the money I want to give you the full benefit but here are the reasons this isn't working so there's no magic bullet it's about building trust it's about relationships that's why I'm in the position I'm in is you know to build relationships so I I witnessed this recently and and this is something that's really been bothering me is how to fix this situation it actually is related to cap scores um of course it's you know mcaps with insurance but similar overall idea we have some Frontline staff we're not aware of what caps is which is normal probably 99% of people don't and so we're trying to educate some of these you know or I I witnessed this trying to educate some people on this um sometimes it seems to be presented to people like this isn't going to affect your compensation positively or negatively uh it's not going to help your job be easier or or anything it's actually just here's more work for you um please do these extra things to make sure our scores are better right but sometimes the middle management doesn't feel there is an option to do any of these things you know we can't hand out bonuses right we etc etc how have you been able to impact Frontline staff positively to get them to actually care about the scores I'm not saying they don't care about their patience or they're you know they do yeah but there's that almost like a bureaucracy situation like oh now I have to do this extra paperwork and now I have to ask ask these extra questions Etc I me what if you done to actually motivate people to actually do something different so that's twofold so let's start with the we'll end kind of with the blocking and tackling part of it with the the data aspect of it so don't let me forget that um but as far as the Frontline aspect of it is so as you said they're usually going to care about their patients um I mean you have to be pretty cold again and we keep going back to housekeeping it's a good touching point to go into a room and see somebody you know that that's that's hooked up to pick your machine you know or you see a family in tears or I work a lot in Pediatric Hospital um how do you walk into that room and not have that emotional reaction you know and so we start from there um I am of the school of patient experience that and I'm taking a chance by saying this even though I'm seeing the industry shift this way hard in the last couple of years this idea that it's all about Patient First is not true it's got to be about employee first you've got to empower your staff so I we work very hard to engage and Empower our staff we've just started separate from patient our patient experience division Monisha Buckner who used to work for me she was a regional for me she got promoted now she's my peer we created an entire division just for our staff engagement um and it's amazing and that's why we're doing it they want to do the job how could you not want to treat these people in their families you know to elevate that experience they're scared many of them are alone they're obviously in pain they're confused I if I tell you well you got to say the script and then you got to check these boxes and then when you're done cleaning the room I'm going to need you to well I'm just giving you extra work but if I can Empower you to change somebody's life that's what it's about and then they'll run with it um you know I was thinking of stories where I've empowered people when you said that and if you one of them that came to mind now we're kind of in this Columbus Ohio thing so we had a lady and again not can't name any names and I've already named the facility that it was located at but I was actually directing this person um so we're really kind of like driving engagement looking at priority units who's getting the most surveys and this lady cleans like you could eat off the floor one of our best housekeepers ever scores were terrible scores were terrible because there's no engagement so this particular lady developmentally disabled very kind of she was afraid to engage afraid to speak to the patient you know so we work on her with scripting like that that boring nuts and Bulls piece that doesn't work if it would that would already would have work if she could do that she would already would have done it okay well we got a great idea we're going to create these like engagement cards like says who she is and what her job is and she's going to sign them she was embarrassed to hand them over because she was embarrassed over her signature but this lady wanted to do the right thing so bad and I have multiple people that can speak to the rest of the story they've witnessed the whole thing she actually came to me and said I'm not good at all the stuff you're trying to get me to do but during my breaks I don't take my breaks with everybody else I go to my Janitor's Closet and I call her pictures would it be okay if I handed some of my pictures to the patients and I was like I will buy you coloring books and crayon are what are you talking about are you kidding me that's amazing she starts doing this scores are going up we see it we see pictures hanging in all the patients rooms we start seeing pictures hanging in other units in nurses stations she's becoming like this amazing mascot for the entire Hospital everybody's loving it and again swear to you I can back this up people were in the room when this happened a call gets transferred to me we like four or five months into this and a lady wants to speak to the director of housekeeping just wanted me to know that they had been in the Heart Hospital uh almost said her name can't say her name I was like so and so you know had been their housekeeper and she's on a cardiac unit and anybody listening knows you have a lot of return customers on a cardiac unit so four or five times they had been through the hospital and every time this lady had been their housekeeper she was like she was amazing the staff was amazing the hospital was amazing you know but it was just too much and it got him in the end you know and my husband passed away and I just wanted you to know that he was buried with three or four pictures wow and it's like man if you Empower people like forget it stop making them check boxes let's Empower you what's G you're special let me help you be special in front of the patient sometimes it feels really tempting though I mean that story of course is impressive and I wouldn't feel that way after hearing the story but even myself to just talk to my intern or or you know one one of my director for my manager of operations say please draft up a checklist to fix this problem right it's really easy to do that yeah yeah it is how have you built I mean is there any tips you have for me well to the analytics part um instead of drafted up why tell people the why you know what sometimes you do have to check boxes we're in Corporate America this is the one thing you know like I also have to have this conversation because my team is wonderful and it's not my team like we have two national directors we have a VP we have all these regionals across the country they are so empathetic way more than me I can be a jerk these people they love humans and so often I will have to have this conversation where they're like but Grant we're in the people business and Human Experience and I'm like you also have to get the contract signed or nobody has a job right like there is business involved so you do have to check those boxes you do have to have the inter draw this up the only way I found to be helpful with that is I need to tell you the why you know so in that case we're going to walk through what a contract looks like we're going to walk through why there are these different elements of a contract if I'm going to make you draft this up or check these boxes I don't want you checking it blindly because you're G to check out I want you checking them because you understand there's a greater purpose so when I said remind me of the analytics part you're like Frontline staff isn't going to understand caps you know and it's true we're very big on making sure our Frontline staff understands what caps are and they understand you know so when I first learned this I learned this the hard way because I'm younger I'm cynical I'm judgy you know and I we had an RDO that worked with this he become a good friend in a mentor of mine we had 250 fdes and he's like we we're gonna bring all of them through we have a partnership with prescy all these Frontline staff they're going to sit down with you and your team over the course of a month we're going to walk them through their unit we're going to show them what their scores they hear these scores we tell them their scores all the time where do these scores come from like what are our data people looking out every day so we start and I was like dude do you know how busy I am I don't want to this is ridiculous they're not going to care we're pulling them off the floor like this is a complete waste of time guess what happens we sit down and they're like wait you can put demographic oh that's cool well oh you can pick dates I wasn't here that day let's see what that let's see what my relief did that day yeah they were crazy about it it was like they were playing a video game uh you start giving people the why they they absolutely loved it we had to force them out of the office people were lined up they wanted to come back and have us show it to them again they're like can we do this next month I want to see where it's at this month like give people the why let them in let them in the room give them a seat at the table and I and I don't want to be crashed but I'm I'm urg to say yeah but that's what we are paid to do as As Leaders that's what leaders are paid to do is to consume their time by by Leading right yeah go around and look at uh how many jobs are being eliminated right now at that you know those that higher level and they're not being eliminated the job's still there we're just combining it you know you're getting a new title you used to be over EVs and food now you're over EVS food radiology and valet and patient experience you know anybody that comes on this podcast is GNA tell you that's happening so you can read your cheesy you know we'll get on LinkedIn and see these you know memes and this is what a leader is and this is how they're all true now you show up at work though and you've been working at home for three hours to get caught up and now you get here and you've got 12 hours to fit into eight eight hours and it's just like well I got to have these emails sent and I got to have this contract written and I have to go meet with this this client where can I shave off 30 minutes where can I shave off an hour you know and so time is the greatest resource and when we're trying to engage our staff and again this is not just hospitals like pick your industry the idea of that letting us have time to do that I think should be critical I try to give my people time to do that my bosses are really good at allowing us to be have the freedom to do that not everybody is I think it's simply a Time issue is there really Roi on that and I think that's the question right because one of the issues that comes to mind my wife is Works in management and Retail and we're talking about collecting phone numbers for people at the register when they go to check out right and getting them to sign up for their uh yeah yeah yeah yeah this connects to a broader organizational data strategy that makes a lot of rational sense at the broad level at the individual level as a cashier seems nonsensical right because it's like I'm dealing with all these other things but from organizational standpoint like I said it makes sense is the ROI in your experience of educating that that cashier in that front line educating the EVS staff the nursing staff on these caps you know on these goals has it you know been positive has the ROI really come come through absolutely and we are finding ways to quantify it um we work with our data analytics team to try to get there Chris Duke and his team with compass one Healthcare um won't go into how we're doing that right now we have these calls set up where we're looking at various you know temp checks you know and these very you know quantifying it is so hard though because and this is the big rub when it comes to Patient experience you're talking soft skills uh you're talking these you know the idea of okay when can I be creative when do think you know when do thoughts when do I have Eureka moments this and this has I'm going off in a different direction it's never when you're scrolling Instagram it's never when you're watching TV it's when you allow yourself to be bored it's when that's how the brain works but now quantify that Roi like quantify saying I need 45 minutes of free time to go on a walk because it will then result in this it might not result in that for two weeks man but it's going you so how do you quantify it now go to Patient experience that time with the staff this time to engage to be creative that Roi is so hard because it's soft skill then throw on top of that that we have you know 45 to 90day lag time in score so we don't know if what we're doing is actually accomplishing anything it's that that lack of feedback loop with what we do is to me probably the most difficult thing I hope you guys publish a blog or an article so that I can share those with some of my colleagues because that is kind of the ROI and the data I think that a lot of people are really waiting for to see um and personally I am on the side of it is beneficial it is very important that everybody is educated and takes full ownership like you said it's tough to convince especially Financial leadership that really worth ban hours yeah is a big another patient experience tip get people talking about themselves and they love it I'm I'm just as susceptible as anybody that's really tough um but yeah no so I know we're at the time limit there really appreciate you and your incredible discussion so far I thoroughly enjoyed it I feel Mo already more motivated after talking with you uh I hope we can have you back on again in the future as well yeah that went quick you got me rambling you got me talking oh yeah no it's it's excellent and and being able to to network with you as well I I really do appreciate it um so yeah thank you so much I hope we can have you on again absolutely thank you</p>
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