HELPING A HOSPITAL BECOME MORE PATIENT-CENTRIC
Problem
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Improve the patient experience without any negative effects on the quality of clinical outcomes
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Streamline the flow of patients through the hospital system, reducing patient wait time
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Strategize ways of coping with the hospital’s "silo-ed" organizational structure
Action
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Analyzed focus group data and found that developing rapport with patients is not yet fundamental to patient care
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Observed and participated in hospital-wide committees to document the issues they face in improving their patient satisfaction scores
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Interviewed and observed hospital employees to learn what accounts for new initiative success
Solution
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Created 16 tools to prioritize the patient experience and create a highly effective and engaged culture
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Form "bottleneck-buster" teams that cross "silos" and support innovation, solve patient flow issues, and empower employees
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Change workplace incentives such as expectations, metrics, and rewards to advance cultural transformation and reduce the likelihood that new initiatives
become just another "flavor of the month"
COMMUNICATING VALUE TO AN INTIMATE APPAREL FIRM
Problem
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Reinvigorate product sales and marketing for a world leader in intimate apparel
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Determine how the firm’s culture affects its retail sales
Action
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Discussions with consumers revealed frustration in buying matching bras and underwear
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In-store observations and conversations with sales clerks confirmed that stores have few matching sets to sell
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Interviews with employees indicated that "bras don’t talk to panties" underscoring the silo-ed structure of the home office and the sales floor in which bras and panties are located in different parts of the intimate apparel department
Solution
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Recommended offering more matching sets in the product line
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Proposed teams have primary responsibility to produce matching sets
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Suggested improved responsiveness for "hot-selling" products (e.g., having a
designated production facility) -
Advocated reduction in overall lead time through fewer product offerings and more carryover designs
HIGHLIGHTING
THE CULTURE OF A SENIOR COMMUNITY
Problem
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Improve the marketing efforts of an assisted living and nursing care community
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Find out the best ways to describe
the culture of this community to prospective residents and their families
Action
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Gathered views of the current culture from residents, family members, staff, and volunteers
(See word cloud below showing relative frequency of adjectives used) -
Compared views of the current and ideal future culture to identify the community’s perceived strengths and weaknesses
Solution
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Created a "culture story" of this community: its past, current, and ideal future culture
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Offered workshops resulting in the articulation of the "Welcome Home"
care philosophy, now a core part of marketing efforts