Bad Processes Are A Stumbling Block To A Good Reputation

Last week I had to have a procedure done at a local hospital. Since it wasn’t a routine process, they had to keep me over night to make sure I was in good shape before they let me go home. The doctor said, I could leave early in the morning the next day and pre-signed the release. Well needless to say I didn’t get out of this hospital until 5:30 PM when I was dressed and ready at 7:00 AM in the morning. It reminded me of an older Eagles tune, “Hotel California” where the lyrics went something like this: “You can check in any time you want, but you can never leave”.

To be honest, the medical care was excellent, but I went away with a sour taste and the reputation of that hospital is not good in my mind. I would not recommend them to others because this is twice I have experienced this checkout process. I understand Hospitals aren’t hotels, but this was so poor that it’s a reputation killer. Poor processes contain some common themes and I would like to describe some of those themes here:

Setting Improper Expectations:

The doctor stated I would be able to go home in the morning. Well since he did not have to deliver or be measured on the result, he could promise anything. Setting expectations and not living up to them is a real problem any number of processes today.

Having No Visibility To Status:

I had no clue as to what was happening or what the process looked like. I would hear that we were waiting on a signoff from one person and then there would be something new. I had no idea of all the steps and where I was in that process. Flying blind was certainly the game here.

Having No Stated Goals:

I asked how long this normally takes and nobody had an answer. Clearly, they didn’t know or care, but worse this implies there is no goal. How many of us understand our goals each and every day?

Accepting The Status Quo:

I was told to be patient and nothing could be done to speed things up. I found that hard to believe. I wonder if anyone has simulated the process or even looked at average checkout times? Things certainly could be done better.

No Collection Of Feedback:

I was never asked of my opinion on my visit this time or the time before. Really? You want to be a first class compliant hospital and yet you don’t talk to the patients or the hospital workers about ideas for improvement? Everyone I talked to agreed that it was a poor process. One would think someone might collect some data.

Net; Net:

There are many ways to foul up processes and ruin a reputation. Do organisations really want this? I don’t think so…

The author is a Vice President in Gartner Research.

For more blogs by Jim Sinur, log on to http://blogs.gartner.com/