Lately in our Change Management Consulting work, we are seeing a lot of organizations who are strategically hoping to become customer-centric-- or for those of our clients in the health care industry, patient-centric. Simply put, these organizations are making changes to their inherent culture to make their primary focus the customer they are serving rather than the product they are trying to sell.
From a buyer and consumer perspective, working with an organization that is customer-centric can only be a good thing. Having your voice heard is invaluable. From an organizational point of view, there is clearly a lot of value in doing a better job of listening to the voice of the customer, and designing processes that are intended to build customer satisfaction.
But if you are like many organizations, you may be asking yourself what the best way is to actually implement customer-centric strategies. Is it just a question of making a few incremental improvements in how things are done? Or does becoming customer-centric require transformational change in the organization?
Transformational Change
There is no doubt in our minds that changing to a customer/patient-centric model is transformational. This type of change demands your entire organization do different things in different ways. People, processes and technology will all be significantly impacted, thus, defining the change as transformational.
Like most transformational changes, moving to a customer/patient centric model will not be easy. In order for your organization to implement this new venture successfully, there are 5 metrics that must be met:
To achieve these 5 objectives, our change management consultants recommend following 5 basic steps using a structured repeatable implementation process like AIM.
5 Steps to Ensure Transformational Change Success
Tips
Following the above 5 steps will ensure you are well on your way to implementation success. However, here are a few more tips and best practices when launching customer/patient centricity:
If your organization is thinking about becoming customer/patient-centric, remember, it’s a transformational change that requires more than just a power-point presentation on what good customer service looks like. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dig deep as you are inherently changing the culture of your organization.