Using Voice of the Customer Research to Evaluate Your Account Managers

With all the tasks on a typical account manager's plate, it is easy to forget that account management is a customer service position at its core.

Voice of the Customer (VOC) market research by The Brooks Group is a customer-driven feedback process that enables account managers to be evaluated on a customized set of metrics approved by the Organization’s leadership team relative to their competitors. The Brooks Group routinely conducts this research as part of our healthcare management consulting offerings. Our findings have revealed healthcare organizations’ priorities with regards to the account managers who serve them and underscored the importance of giving weight to the customer feedback during the AM evaluation process.  

Why Consult the Customer? 

Every account manager has room for improvement in some areas. However, many struggle to identify their weaknesses without additional insight from external observers. Feedback is essential for this purpose, and customer feedback is especially useful. 

Account Managers' ultimate responsibility is to their customers. To maintain and grow their accounts, they must first satisfy those customers' needs. A customer's evaluation of an AM not only reflects how well that AM is doing now, but also outlines some ways they could secure more business from that account or improve their services when targeting similar accounts in the future. Consistent feedback can even prompt changes on an organizational level by shedding light on what customers really want from their account managers.  

Top Customer Priorities 

Our 2021 VOC surveys revealed some of the most valued measures of account manager success according to representatives of real healthcare organizations. Respondents are typically asked to rank AMs or other field-facing employees on a custom set of metrics approved by leadership. Some of these measures can include:

1. Acts with the highest standards of ethics and integrity (you trust him/her to do the right thing). 

2. Responds quickly to your requests or concerns. 

3. Demonstrates that he/she is a true advocate for your patients' needs. 

All of these measures were cited as areas that deserved significant investment to help AMs improve.  

Some other general areas of focus in the rest of the listed measures included: 

• Knowledge of new developments and trends within the industry. 

• Proactive services that anticipate customers' needs before they are brought up. 

• The ability to provide targeted suggestions based on customers' goals and patients' needs. 

How to Learn from Your Customers 

Your customers likely have a lot to say about your account managers’ services, but they may not be ready or willing to divulge their feedback face-to-face. Many people find it difficult to give a meaningful answer while on the spot, especially if what they want to say is not entirely positive.  

Instead, it is often more useful to have an independent third party distribute a survey that allows them to provide that feedback in written form. This allows your customers to take their time crafting a thorough response. It also gives them the added benefit of anonymity due to response aggregation. In short, it is the best way to ensure that the feedback you get is detailed, truthful, and applicable to your organization's goals. 

Get the Ultimate Customer Insight with the Brooks Group 

VOC research adds an invaluable dimension to your account manager evaluation process. By finding out what your customers really think about each of your account managers' services, you can evaluate their performance from a new perspective and discover new pathways to improving customer satisfaction.  It also helps companies in planning the right account management training for AM's that will help close the identified skill gap.

The Brooks Group is a leading provider of healthcare executive services including healthcare market research, onboarding training for new employees, and healthcare executive leadership training. Our VOC surveys have given many healthcare firms unparalleled insight into their account management teams' performance using custom metrics approved by the highest-ranking executives.

Contact us today to learn more about our VOC research and how we can help you better align your organization’s account management programs with the needs of real-world customers.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/using-voice-of-the-customer-research-to-evaluate-your-account-managers/

Employee Onboarding - Best Practices

Your company’s employee onboarding process is much more than a courtesy for incoming hires – it is their first taste of what life is like as a part of your workforce. It is also often a key factor in employee turnover. Each employee’s first few weeks should be spent learning how your organization works, what is expected of them, and where they can turn for assistance, inspiration, or support.

Our three-stage overview of onboarding best practices will help you fine-tune this critical process within your company, ensuring that you can attract, retain, and develop the talented employees your company relies on.  

Stage 1: Setting Up for Success 

Some of the most important parts of the onboarding process should be completed well in advance of a new worker’s start date. For instance, your new employee should have all the equipment they need ready and waiting for them when they walk in. Depending on their role, this might include: 

• A desk and/or office. 

• Computer hardware, necessary peripherals, and a company phone. 

• A company car. 

• All necessary logins and access keys. 

• Any special tools they will need. 

Many roles that deal with sensitive information, such as analysts and researchers in biotech market research companies, also require some form of security clearance.

All paperwork should be completed and signed before your new employee's first day on the job. When they arrive, check that everything is in order. You should have completed versions of: 

• Their employment contract. 

• Their payroll forms, including tax and banking documents. 

• Their work visa (if applicable). 

• Any company policies that require a signature. 

• Any background or credit checks needed for their role. 

Stage 2: Breaking the Ice 

Once the new employee is on-site, it is time to begin integrating them into the team. Consider assigning your new worker a buddy from among their peers. This person will be responsible for showing them around the office, introducing them to their coworkers, and generally helping them get used to their new role. Choosing someone of a similar rank for this task gives your new employee the chance to form social bonds within the group of people with whom they will be working most closely.  

However, some aspects of this process can only be handled by someone with workplace authority. Designate a specific higher-up to oversee the employee’s transition and answer any technical and role-based questions they may have. Interpersonal interactions like these are not every leader’s strong suit, especially in scientific and technical industries. Healthcare executive leadership training can teach these high-ranking staff members the skills they need to confidently handle these managerial duties and make every member of the team feel welcome and valued.  

Once the appropriate introductions have been made, you can slowly start to assign tasks to the new employee – perhaps under the guidance of a more experienced mentor. You can use this initial period to familiarize them with your company culture, gauge their competence, identify their weak spots, and begin planning their professional development within your company. 

Stage 3: Charting the Future 

Employees perform better and are less likely to leave a position when they know that structured growth opportunities are available to them. After the first few weeks, set aside some time to let your new employee know what career development initiatives you have available to workers in your organization.  

If you don’t already offer additional training for your workforce, consider doing so going forward. Basic managed care training courses provide an excellent introduction to the managed care market for people entering the healthcare industry. You can offer courses like these to whoever is interested while reserving higher-level material such as strategic account management training for dedicated and promising employees who master the basic courses first.

These programs give employees a way to hone their skills, improve their work in their current role, and demonstrate their readiness for further responsibilities within your company. 

Improve Your Company's Onboarding Experience with The Brooks Group 

A quality onboarding process leads to higher productivity, greater retention, and an overall stronger organization. The Brooks Group has the training programs you need to get your new employees off to a strong start. With our help, your company can implement a custom onboarding training program that will teach new hires everything they need to know about your company’s policies, culture, standard workflows, and more with a limited need for in-person instruction. Our instructional design services take your training programs to the next level, ensuring greater engagement and knowledge retention on the behalf of the trainees.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/08/employee-onboarding-best-practices/

Healthcare Market Trends Overview by The Brooks Group

The US healthcare market is a vast and ever-changing space, and even the most dedicated professionals may worry about falling behind.

The Brooks Group's Key Trends in the US Healthcare Market Primer pulls information from multiple sources (such as the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, the latest CVS Health Trends Report, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) to offer an in-depth look at the latest trends in the American healthcare landscape. Read our highlights below to take a quick look at some of the most important developments in this field, including coverage expansions, alternative payment systems, and the impact of new technologies. 

Section One: US Healthcare Economics 

• US healthcare spending rose by 4.6% in 2019 to reach a total of $3.8 trillion or $11,582 per person. Hospital care and physician & clinical services make up $1.2 trillion and $772.1 billion of that total respectively.   
• Commercial care is by far the largest segment of the healthcare market, accounting for 153M lives and approximately $1.33 trillion in total spending. 

Section Two: Evolving Payment and Service Delivery Models 

• The Biden administration has indicated that they are interested in implementing a Medicare drug pricing model similar to Germany’s Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare (IQWiG). Under this model, drug companies could freely set the price for their products for their first 12 months on the market but would face strict value-based limitations after this period. 
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are also investigating several alternate methods of delivering and paying for care, including physician-focused payment models and value-based care. Now may be a good time to offer employees managed care training as a refresher on the current state of the US healthcare market. 

Section Three: Healthcare Innovation and Investment 

• Precision medicine, pharmacogenomics, and gene therapies have emerged as excellent but expensive treatment options for cancer, rheumatology, and other gene-based diseases. Now is the time for payers to plan how they intend to handle these expenses in the future and invest in strategic account management training for executives in these up-and-coming fields. 
• Similarly, AI is poised to have a greater impact on healthcare in the coming years. Key stakeholders such as hospitals, research centers, and biotech market research companies are most interested in using this technology to streamline billing and administrative efforts and to aid in scientific research.  

Section Four: Better Consumer Healthcare Experience 

• 2021 saw a new focus on social determinants of health, or SDOH. Vulnerable and underserved populations, including racial and ethnic minority groups and those who live in rural areas, will receive $2.25 billion in targeted support from the CDC. 
• To combat waning consumer trust, new CMS rules for 2021 require hospitals to electronically publish comprehensive and transparent pricing information on all items and services they provide. 

Section Five: Health Policy and Government Impact 

• 2021 has seen a new political focus on affordable healthcare, with increasing support for Medicare-for-all and strong outcry over drug prices from increased patient advocacy in the pharmaceutical industry. 
• The Biden administration also plans to work on expanding access to specific types of care, including contraceptive care, mental health care, and care available through community health centers. This initiative will likely require extensive collaboration between payers and health organizations; healthcare executive leadership training courses may be useful in helping leaders develop the skills necessary for these interactions. 

Update Your Knowledge of the US Healthcare Market

These key insights are just some of the many powerful influences reshaping US healthcare at this time. Download the full Brooks Group Primer report for more details on how the US healthcare landscape is changing in 2021 and beyond, and how your organization can prepare for these shifts.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/08/healthcare-market-trends-overview-by-the-brooks-group/

5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team

 

Effective teamwork is the driving force behind most major business breakthroughs. As such, improving the cohesiveness of internal teams should be a major goal for your organization.

The Five Behaviors profile system was developed by business management writer Patrick Lencioni to demonstrate how to build effective and cohesive teams. This five-stage system is structured like a pyramid: to get to the final payoff, employees must go through all of the previous four stages in sequence. It is up to your company's management to guide their team through each behavioral stage as described below.

The Five Behaviors

1. Trust

Trust is the most fundamental building block of an effective team. Each team member should feel comfortable expressing their emotions at any time, confident that they will be supported and not judged. Vulnerability should be seen as a strength, not a weakness.

To that end, the team’s leaders should do whatever they can to foster an open, accepting environment. Fun team-building exercises can be helpful in this regard, providing a casual environment where team members can get to know one another as people instead of just as colleagues.

2. Conflict

If true trust is in place, a team can handle the conflict that always arises as part of group dynamics. It is understandable that not all people on a team will agree on every issue, and this is actually a good thing.

To a good team, disagreements are not scary – they are a chance to work through issues and come up with the best possible solution. When presented with a challenge, your team should take the time to thoroughly discuss the matter, giving everyone a chance to voice their real feelings on the matter

3. Commitment

When all relevant concerns have been expressed and a decision has been reached, a good team becomes committed to that course of action.

Leaders must not confuse commitment with consensus. Commitment can only happen when everyone on the team genuinely feels that their thoughts have been heard and seriously considered. Any given team member may still have preferred to do something else, but each understands why the final decision was made and are prepared to support that choice in any way they can.

4. Accountability

A good team not only works together but shares responsibility for the final results of that work. Each member strives to keep the others accountable for their input on each project they tackle together.

Remember that this must be done tactfully and supportively as well as consistently. If someone on the team is struggling to deliver what they promised, they may need extra support from their colleagues to finish the job. It is the genuine effort that matters during this process.

5. Results

Results are the ultimate outcome of a cohesive team. With all members working diligently toward a collective goal, it is possible to achieve incredible things.

Many teams will falter before this stage, becoming uncoordinated and unproductive due to difficulties in establishing one of the other behaviors. Most often, it is Accountability that gives them the most trouble. Do not lose heart if this happens to your team. Each project is a fresh chance to try to instill each of these five behaviors, and you may well reach a better outcome next time.

Strengthening Teams One Behavior at a Time

Lencioni's Five Behaviors model is proven to help teams succeed in achieving better outcomes for collaborative tasks. Managers and executives who receive training on how to implement this framework will have a powerful new tool at their disposal in their efforts to mobilize your organization’s workforce. This investment in team cohesiveness is sure to help your employees produce the industry-leading results you know they are capable of.

The Brooks Group utilizes the Five Behaviors™ model in its interactive healthcare executive leadership training workshops to help team members learn to work together more efficiently and effectively and to become a more cohesive team.

This blog is originally posted in https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/07/5-behaviors-of-a-cohesive-team/