One of the best ways to determine how well an Intermountain team is performing is to ask patients how likely they are to recommend that facility to their friends or family. Improving performance in this area, known as “Likelihood to Recommend” or “LTR,” can be challenging. Sustained improvement over time is even harder, but Park City Hospital’s Emergency Department team found a way to improve their performance and maintain their improvement over an extended period of time.
Park City’s ED has maintained LTR scores in the 95th percentile and higher for the last six quarters since partnering with Press Ganey. A 95th percentile rank means they’re performing better than 95% of peers across the nation. They’ve maintained this high standard throughout the pandemic.
How did they do it? Team leaders Nate Rowley and Jarred Franz detailed the secrets of their success that other teams can follow in this video. Here’s a summary of their advice:
- Create an environment where you become a team of healers focused on the experience, not the number you’re trying to achieve.
- Establish a strong culture of teamwork where every single role is important, and everyone is empowered to solve problems.
- Make it personal to the team, let them know they’re making a difference.
- Involve everyone, a team effort can’t simply rely on nurses only.
- Create the expectation where everyone wants to help, both the patient and each other.
- Create an interdisciplinary team where the entire department has a voice and gets “buy-in” from everyone. Ensure you have proactive critical care techs and engaged physicians on the Experience Council.
- Look for the right personality traits and soft skills, not just skill level. When interviewing, ask intentional questions regarding how they feel about customer service experience. Find people who are patient and consumer focused.
- Ensure everyone writes on communication boards, including critical care tech, nurses, and physicians and APPs. The white board is a tool to help us keep patients and staff informed at all times.
- Leaders should be consistent, expectations should be clear, and messaging should be simple. Leading by example is a must. Shared leaders and charge nurses should own the message and promote Intermountain’s vision.
- Personalization and connection needs to become second nature. Principles to remember:
- We should all put ourselves in our patient’s shoes.
- Anyone can make a connection with patients, even if the team is busy.
- Connecting with patients doesn’t take more time, it just takes effort.
Nate and Jerrad also recommended caregivers check out the book “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink, to learn more.
What’s “Likelihood to Recommend” and how does it affect caregiver pay?
It’s a question asking how likely it is that a patient will recommend your facility or service to their friends or family. Intermountain’s caregiver incentive plan is based on achieving the 11 goals or “Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)” approved by the Intermountain Board of Trustees. How well we do on these KPIs ties to how much money caregivers will receive as a bonus next spring. We each play an important role in Intermountain’s success, so what you do everyday matters. The Likelihood to Recommend KPI continues to be below entry each month, which means we aren’t achieving the goal. Remember, the experience of our patients starts with each of us. Following the example of great teams like Park City’s ED and listening and learning from patients is crucial. Review patient comments in daily huddles to better understand opportunities for your team to be successful.