Improvement actions from the teams themselves
Niels explains: “Collecting and improving short-cycle patient experiences becomes part of the working method in all departments and is introduced to all 12,000 employees. We also teach departments to analyze that data, link actions to it, provide follow-up, and see it as a basis for improvement. The teams themselves formulate the goals for improvement and identify their improvement actions.
As the program rolled out, the use of CareRate also grew, and it has now become part of our management system. We now guide at both high and low levels based on the insights from the CareRate patient experiences.
Niels continues: “The application is used in various ways, and I only hear positive feedback. And if something doesn’t work, it gets resolved quickly. That, too, is what I consider acting according to your vision! And that makes the difference! Sometimes, it’s the small things. When something starts working well again, people receive a chocolate bar, and it is genuinely appreciated! Learning to work with the application takes little time, also because the teams themselves contribute to the questions, and we assist in creating the questionnaire.
Most teams collect feedback on a fixed day each week. The process of gathering feedback takes at most half an hour. It is very valuable to ask the questions personally. In that same week, the results are seen, reviewed, and discussed during the daily team meetings.
Nothing is impossible
Niels speaks highly of the collaboration with CareRate. “What I greatly appreciate is that you are consistent in the message you convey. You not only measure patient experiences for others but are also very customer-oriented yourselves. You think along, are proactive, take the lead, and come up with new innovations that we hadn’t thought of but are very inspiring. You also develop based on the feedback we provide.
Under the motto ‘nothing is impossible,’ you make things possible that were not originally part of the package. I think, for example, of the possibilities to integrate the collected data into our system. You work with a strong focus on service, completely in line with what you convey. There is a clear underlying vision of what you want to achieve, and you act accordingly. And I find that very valuable.
