Tuesday, September 19, 2006
In Defense Of Receptionists
I had an email from a friend and client today which said in part "I notice you are having another go at medical receptionists." She was referring to a posting on my weblog on 15th September (see below) about 'A Tale Of Two Ultrasounds'.
Please don't think that. As I said in response to one of the comments at an earlier posting ('Mixed Reception' 5th August), I have found some medical receptionists to be wonderful.
For example, at my busy little doctor's surgery where they are likely to get people coughing and sneezing and feeling generally miserable, they are consistently superb. Full of warmth and care yet still efficient and effective.
Yet at many, while I'm sure they work hard, they lack warmth and empathy and fail to connect with the people who matter, their customers. Maybe, its because they have been led to believe that the people who matter most are their bosses, the specialists or the hospital administrators. And this may be part of the problem. If it is, the bosses are the ones who need to attend the training programs first.
Another cause may be that they understand their function but not their purpose. Theo Gilbert-Jamison, a senior executive at the Ritz-Carlton hotel group, put it well when he said of hotel receptions, "The front-desk's purpose is not to check people in. That's its function. The purpose is to welcome the customer."
So, what this tells us is that while the function of the receptionist may be to manage the appointments process, ensure all records are correct and the doctor/specialist gets the right information and so on, their purpose to help customers (patients) feel better about themselves. They are really health professionals too, looking after the emotional health of the patients they come in contact with.
Below is a link to an interesting article, 'The Teddy Bear Secret', that includes more of Theo Gilbert-Jamison's wisdom...and mine!
http://www.terrifictrading.com/The_Teddy_Bear_Secret.html
Please don't think that. As I said in response to one of the comments at an earlier posting ('Mixed Reception' 5th August), I have found some medical receptionists to be wonderful.
For example, at my busy little doctor's surgery where they are likely to get people coughing and sneezing and feeling generally miserable, they are consistently superb. Full of warmth and care yet still efficient and effective.
Yet at many, while I'm sure they work hard, they lack warmth and empathy and fail to connect with the people who matter, their customers. Maybe, its because they have been led to believe that the people who matter most are their bosses, the specialists or the hospital administrators. And this may be part of the problem. If it is, the bosses are the ones who need to attend the training programs first.
Another cause may be that they understand their function but not their purpose. Theo Gilbert-Jamison, a senior executive at the Ritz-Carlton hotel group, put it well when he said of hotel receptions, "The front-desk's purpose is not to check people in. That's its function. The purpose is to welcome the customer."
So, what this tells us is that while the function of the receptionist may be to manage the appointments process, ensure all records are correct and the doctor/specialist gets the right information and so on, their purpose to help customers (patients) feel better about themselves. They are really health professionals too, looking after the emotional health of the patients they come in contact with.
Below is a link to an interesting article, 'The Teddy Bear Secret', that includes more of Theo Gilbert-Jamison's wisdom...and mine!
http://www.terrifictrading.com/The_Teddy_Bear_Secret.html
# posted by Jurek Leon @ 10:31 am 
