When You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
In today's world, healthcare leaders cannot have a failed initiative. When very limited funds are allocated for a strategic project, success is the only acceptable outcome--meaning both your job and reputation are on the line.
Consider an organization that’s looking to open its own centralized contact center. There’s no question about the value it can provide: a single point of contact, standardization, integration of services, improved efficiencies, and satisfied patients are just a few of the potential benefits. Initially, it seems like a fairly simple undertaking: hire some operators, buy phones, rent space, and voila - you’re ready to go live, right?
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
To ensure the success of this type of initiative, you must consider the unique knowledge base and expertise required of your people, as well as the processes and technology needed. As leaders, we are at a disadvantage when we don’t know what we don’t know, so after funding has been approved, it’s best to seek the help of a call center industry expert to ensure that no time, money, or talent is wasted.
The success of a call center is highly dependent on getting the right mix of talent and implementing logical processes and intelligent technology. Labor costs are the greatest ongoing expense, so recruitment and hiring efforts must result in a workforce of intelligent, customer-focused, sustainable employees. Retention is key--not only from a financial perspective, but for growth and succession planning as the call center expands. Managers and directors should have proven track records of exceeding expectations, an understanding of organizational goals, and the ability and desire to assemble and lead the team. Call Center consultants can work with you to create job descriptions that attract viable candidates and help interview and hire team members who have a high probability for success.
The 'Call Center Process' is a phrase used synonymously with 'call flow,' or the route the caller will follow to achieve resolution of their issue. One thing you don’t want is for the caller to feel as if they have to jump through hoops - repeating the same information to different people, only to be transferred into a dark abyss.
Process optimization experience is crucial, so it is vital to involve an expert to oversee the work of an integrated task force that is assigned to define your call center’s strategic expectations and what “success” will look like for your organization. If possible, assign roles and responsibilities to key stakeholders from C-suite, Operations, IT, Human Resources, Compliance, Finance, and Nursing departments. A call center consultant should be able to engage the team in mapping the different paths each caller will follow in various situations.
The goal should always be to have a resolution provided by the first person the caller speaks with. This 'first-call resolution' requires that front line staff have the knowledge and resources available to serve the caller’s needs. First-call resolution is achieved with robust, dynamic, interactive training programs and tools. Setting the stage for your call center agents' success is your job as the organization’s leader. If you have limited experience in the world of call centers, do not hesitate to collaborate with an expert to ensure success the first time. The result will be a call center that starts out on the right foot--with you getting the credit.
The final, most unique and costly component of call center operations is the dedicated technology that forms the center’s infrastructure. Today’s market provides hardware, software, and applications that provide vast telephony capabilities, so it is essential to define your organization’s requirements for the technology purchases that will be made. You need to have answers prepared for the following questions:
· Does your organization want every call to be recorded? This is a common practice in medical call centers and is valuable from a risk management perspective and as a quality monitoring tool.
· What about Interactive Voice Response? “To hear this message in Spanish press #1.” or “To talk to a nurse press #2.” These voice responses support efforts to route the caller to the right person the first time.
· Have you ever heard of or do you know the terms CRM, CTI, AWI, ASA, ABD, UTIL and AHA? If you’re familiar with those contact-center-specific technology terms, that’s great!
Always do extensive research when choosing vendors and equipment. It can be costly if you don’t make the right choices at the beginning of the project. If you 'don’t know what you don’t know,' consider bringing in an expert to educate you and your team and help you develop, design, and implement the emerging contact center, providing ideas that can mean the difference between success and failure. A good consultant takes the 'train-the-trainer' approach when facilitating the go-live process, and will step away once the team has displayed a fully functional level of experience, confidence, and demonstrated successes.
Healthcare is multidimensional, and no one person has all the answers. There are many specialty areas, subject matter experts, achievements and accomplishments. No matter how much we know about our specific area of the industry, there is still so much information left to learn and insight to gain. A courageous leader is one who can admit that they don’t know what they need to know about call center operation, and seizes the opportunity to learn from an expert. A humble leader is someone who knows enough to solve the problem and get the expected solution-based results by engaging a call center expert.
Don’t risk finding out too late that you don't know what you don't know.
Gina Tabone, MSN, RNC-TNP
Vice President of Clinical Solutions
TeamHealth Medical Call Center