Leadership Book Review Blog: Patients Come Second
It’s a provocative title for sure, and that’s what the authors were going for with this book. If you’ve ever worked in healthcare, you know patients come first. Physicians stay up to date with the latest and greatest treatments for better patient outcomes. Patient care teams bend over backwards to ensure the patient experience is top notch. Healthcare administrators and executives tell emotional stories and tearful experiences to remind their teams that patients are the number one priority. But should they be?
In 2002, Hal Rosenbluth and Diane McFerrin Peters wrote a business book called The Customer Comes Second. Since then, we’ve all seen the famous quote by Richard Branson, “Take care of your employees, they’ll take care of your business.” J.W. Marriott said, “Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your customers.”
Paul and Britt applied that same concept to healthcare, and why wouldn’t they? Your employees can’t pour from an empty cup. If you want them to pour into your patients, you need to pour into them.
Right away, the authors point out compelling statistics for creating a strong employee culture. For example, the companies in the book Good to Great by Jim Collins saw a 316% ROI over the course of ten years. The companies with strong employee cultures, however, saw a 1025% return for their investors over the same ten-year period.
Ron Swinfard, CEO of Leigh Valley Health System says, “I tell my employees that this isn’t just a feel-good idea; it is also a business strategy.” Yes, Ron, yes!
What I really liked about this book is the plethora of examples the authors give for improving employee experience. Many of us aren’t the idea generators and need help in that arena. They are generous with sharing what they, along with several other hospital executives, have done and found success with. They are in the trenches, testing hypotheses and sharing results, which means you don’t have to guess what works and what doesn’t.
On the flip side, if Free Pizza Friday is the highlight of your employee experience initiatives, you’ve got some work to do. Don’t get me wrong, everyone loves free pizza, and it will be welcomed, I am sure. But you can’t hang your hat on pizza keeping your employees engaged and feeling cared for.
If you work in healthcare and “patients first” has always been your party line, I recommend you read this book. At the end of the day, we are all looking for the same outcome, which is excellent patient care. How we go about may look a little different though. I encourage you to explore the “excellent employee experience” path to success.
If you’ve read this Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today Best Seller, share your thoughts below!