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Background
In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, the pursuit of excellence is crucial. Healthcare providers worldwide are continually seeking innovative ways to elevate patient care standards, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure a positive overall experience for their clientele. Within this context, Bethesda Medical, a prominent healthcare institution, recognised the need for a transformative initiative to enhance service and grooming standards.
At a Glance
Bethesda Medical recognised the imperative to elevate its service and grooming standards to meet the heightened expectations of patients. They aimed to ensure not just clinical excellence but an encompassing patient experience. In pursuit of this, Bethesda Medical embarked on a workplace learning project as a member of the Learning Enterprise Alliance (LEA), representing the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning (NACE@IAL).
Through a meticulous diagnostic process, co-creation sessions, and targeted interventions, the company undertook a comprehensive initiative, training coaches in service excellence and conducting rigorous post-project evaluations.
Why the need to Upskill Employees?
Source: Article by by MyCareersFuture, titled “Here’s Why You Should Upskill Your Team”.
Transforming the workforce through the NACE@IAL consultancy initiative
In collaboration with NACE@IAL, Bethesda Medical embarked on a transformative journey to elevate its workforce through the Learning Enterprise Alliance (LEA). The primary objective was to enhance service quality and grooming standards within the essential domestic services sector, specifically in healthcare.
The LEA project was designed to diagnose existing challenges and gaps in service delivery through interviews with top leadership, including CEO Dr. Stephen Tong, and engaging frontline staff in focus group sessions. This initial phase aimed to identify business objectives and establish performance standards critical to Bethesda Medical's commitment to providing top-notch patient care
"I believe employees are the core of ensuring the best patient care and quality service deliveries. Ensuring the quality of the employees’ service deliveries is utmost important and the company focuses on these unique deliverables."
Dr Stephen Tong, Chief Executive Officer
“Embarking on the LEA Project (with CWLP) was beneficial to Bethesda Medical as the content of the training and course structure were practical and relevant. The facilitated discussion sessions with staff were interactive and insightful. In addition, the unique methodology of breaking down the service quality development process into digestible bite-size workshops with onsite follow-up was particularly useful to suit our staff' busy schedule and clinic operational hours. We are happy that our staff have benefited from the program so far and look forward to the continuity of bringing excellent and professional service quality to our patients and all the members of the public.”
Ms Suizlene Kua, Human Resources Director
“It has been a great learning experience; I learnt a lot from this project. Overall, my customer service skills have improved and have gained a deeper understanding in leadership management. Getting the team together was challenging due to clinic operational hours but we managed to do it and it was worthwhile.”
Von Choa, Client Service Manager
Identifying existing performance gaps
In the case of the project with Bethesda Medical, the initial step involved recognising the existing performance gaps related to service and grooming standards within the healthcare setting. The project team conducted interviews with the CEO and management team to understand business objectives, desired service standards, and pinpoint performance gaps. Additionally, a focus group session with staff was employed to gain insights into frontline perspectives, shedding light on areas requiring improvement.
Based on the diagnostic phase, the identified performance gaps were as follows:
- Opportunity to Defining Standards: The organisation has the opportunity to develop clear service and grooming standards, which will provide clarity and set clear expectations for performance.
- Opportunity to establishing Training requirements: With implementation of a structured training curriculum, employees can enhance their skills and confidently meet the desired service and grooming standards.
- Opportunity for increasing Coaching Resources: Recognising the importance of coaching, there is potential to develop comprehensive materials and resources to support effective workplace learning and development
Integration of workplace learning interventions
Following the identification of performance gaps at Bethesda Medical, the project team collaborated with IAL’s workplace learning consultant to co-develop and implement targeted interventions:
- Collaborated on the creation of a comprehensive Service and Grooming Standards Framework to establish clear expectations and guidelines for employees.
- Developed coaching materials, including guides and resources, to support the implementation of workplace learning initiatives.
- Implemented a comprehensive evaluation process, including post-project feedback from supervisors and coaches.
The LEA project with Bethesda Medical serves as a successful example of scaling up workplace learning in the Essential Domestic Services industry. The organisation not only achieved specific goals in service and grooming standards but also demonstrated a commitment to ongoing learning and improvement.
What's next for Bethesda Medical?
After successfully completing the LEA project, Bethesda Medical is gearing up for its next phase of growth and development. As Bethesda Medical looks forward to the future, the commitment to delivering excellent and professional service quality remains unwavering. The LEA project is just the beginning of a journey towards continuous improvement and innovation in healthcare service delivery.
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