March 23, 2007

Morgan, left, works with Ann Zaia, NP, while Contreras and Omayra Balestier serve customers at the front desk.

The patient comes first in Occupational Health

MGH Occupational Health is a busy place — new employee pre-placement screenings, work site evaluations, fitness for duty assessments, immunizations and tuberculosis testing are just some of the services the department provides to the MGH community. As in many other MGH departments and services, simply keeping up with the hectic schedule often can present a challenge for staff. Recently, Deidre Morgan, office manager for Occupational Health, noticed certain trends among her staff that did not align with the department's efforts to consistently provide excellent customer service. Morgan took this as an opportunity to evaluate the department's approach to customer service.

With help from MGH Human Resources, she distributed two surveys - one to Occupational Health staff and the other to managers and supervisors hospitalwide. The results indicated there was room for improvement. "Although the surveys showed that the entire practice needed to make improvements, employee patients tend to interact with administrative staff before they meet a nurse," says Morgan. "Since the first impression is always a lasting one, they are the focus for the time being."

Morgan adopted a number of strategies to tackle the issue of customer service. Working with Partners Telecommunications, she developed a menu system for incoming phone calls, allowing staff to better manage their workload. She also collaborated with Brenda O'Hanley, a customer service training specialist, who created a series of customized classes for the department. To motivate staff to continuously practice the skills they learned in these sessions, Morgan created a game that required staff to anonymously monitor one another's customer service skills over the course of four weeks. The winner, Edmis Contreras, recently received a $30 gift certificate to the restaurant or store of her choice.

"I think that this is a work in progress," says Morgan. "It's a lesson that we can't take our patients for granted. There also has been a huge improvement in the sense of teamwork among the staff, and there's a sense of accomplishment when they now routinely receive compliments from patients based on their level of care and attention."

Occupational Health's success comes as the entire MGH community renews its commitment to providing top-quality customer service. The MGH Service Improvement Department is leading a number of initiatives, including the Service Learning Series, to equip MGHers with the tools they need to assist in these efforts.

For more information about Occupational Health, visit is.partners.org/hr/New_Web/mgh/mgh_employee_occhealth.htm. For more information about Service Improvement, contact Mary Cunningham, director of the department, at mccunningham@partners.org. To contact O'Hanley for more information about customer service training, e-mail bohanley@partners.org.