Vital Insight Into Management Training Success

Good communication is a linchpin of effective health care, and if it's missing, your entire business is likely to suffer. A recent benchmarking report from CRICO focuses on communication failures in the health care system. This report shows that 80 percent of serious medical errors result from miscommunication between providers and 1,744 deaths were traced to this problem during a recent five-year period.

Healthcare functions only because dedicated staff members work closely together as part of a cohesive team. To ensure the team meets the high standards required for patient care, administrators must implement quality control measures for workers and equipment. The most talented and caring healthcare workers may fail patients if systems are not in place to keep things functioning smoothly. 

A breakdown in communication in any situation can be disastrous, but in the realm of healthcare, it can be fatal. It's important that each member of a medical team communicates clearly and works cohesively to ensure patient and staff safety. If you're reading this, you likely have concerns about how information is exchanged in your work environment. Of course, it doesn't just stop at communication among the medical team. The exchange between staff and patients needs to be strengthened in order to ensure the best outcomes.

The presence of a great leader can be the difference between a team that succeeds and one that fails. Studies have shown that companies with strong leaders have nearly double the revenue growth compared to companies with weak leaders. This is especially relevant in the modern information economy, where productivity often depends not on a rote set of mechanical skills, but on the complex interpersonal factors inherent in coordinating a team of people with wide-ranging disciplines.

While there’s no “secret formula” to becoming (or making) a great leader, there is a set of common traits that many great leaders share. Here are five of the most important traits of great leaders, and how you can put them into practice in the workplace.

For many, a lack of office professionalism is a regular occurrence. As a manager, you may run into it with your employees and fellow leadership team members.

In fact, you might be guilty of unprofessional workplace habits, too. These practices break down productivity and team morale. Whether intentional or unintentional, they don’t help to cultivate a healthy work environment.

Explore some of the common – yet critical – areas where you should be especially mindful of displaying professional behavior in the workplace.

One of the biggest responsibilities owned by a manager is the professional development of their employees. Look back at how your team operated a year ago, and compare it to now. Are they working more efficiently and making regular progress?

If not, your performance training and reviewsmay be a contributing factor. Providing performance feedback is a critical skill that managers must possess. By making your feedback constructive, you’re able to coach improved employee performance.

Whether you’re conducting employee performance reviews on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, take note of the following tactics and apply them to your process.

With the start of a new year, you’re likely to see more people heading to the gym to improve their fitness. Maybe you’ll observe some individuals with nicotine patches trying to kick their bad habit. New Year’s resolutions are commonly associated with personal goals, but it’s also important to set objectives for your professional life.

One of the key components of being an effective sales representative – one who creates business and generates revenue for your company – is mastering the incoming sales call. After all, the sales call sets the tone for your company’s entire relationship with a customer.

So, do your people have this skill, or are they in serious need of sales performance training?

In evaluating your current sales team, you may find that some team members are comfortable on the phone and connect with customers easily, while others are stumbling through sales calls and having difficulty closing deals. Regardless, even the most experienced sales representatives make mistakes that could cost your company a new account.

Review the following list of sales call “don’ts” to help your team avoid these major blunders and master the incoming sales call.

In business, it’s usually more valuable to develop a long-term customer relationship than to make a one-time sale. But, if your team is too focused on closing the deal and pushing products, they’re going to have difficulty developing that all-important relationship with your customers.

A customer-oriented sales approach is the key to increasing customer satisfaction, loyalty and business. Instead of forcing your products and services on prospects, your reps should be thinking about identifying customer needs and working to solve those problems.

Consider the following ways to improve your sales team’s success through customer-oriented selling.

When a company seeks to grow its current client base or increase profits, the first impulse is often to invest in pricey marketing efforts or bulk up the sales team. But, in reality, these may not be the solution.

In many cases, it’s more effective to turn your focus inward and examine the customer service skills of your employees. Here are a few statistics that illustrate this point and put the value of customer service into perspective:

• 84% of customers say their expectations were not exceeded during their last customer service interaction.
• Approximately 64% of consumers take their business elsewhere after having a poor customer service experience.
• It costs five times as much to acquire a new customer than it does to retain a current one.