I was at a conference recently and had the opportunity to listen to several speakers who addressed the importance of the patient experience as true brand activation.
One particular speaker spoke with clear authority about KPIs and which metrics matter most when quantifying the patient experience. And she knew a lot about data but was new to the healthcare industry and was struggling with the people elements needed to improve experience. After all, to make improvements to the scores, you must change human behaviors. And the scores are simply a reflection of the experience.
The People Component Problem
Organizations are getting really good at data. Really good at analytics. Really good at establishing core metrics.
What they’re not good at is understanding that none of it matters without people who can manage the patient experience in ways that are most meaningful to consumers.
Your strategic plan has goals related to the patient experience. To staff engagement. To culture. You have quantifiable goals. You have KPIs.
But how do you do actually achieve any of your goals without your people? Who’s going to be your champions? How are you going to make sure people have the resources and the support they need? How are you going to support the influencers, the people who don’t have legitimate authority but who sway others? What systems or processes must be in place to support team members in delivering the best experience?
You can have the best KPI dashboard in the world. You can know exactly what numbers you’re hitting. But if your people aren’t aligned, if they don’t understand why it matters, if they don’t know how to create an experience aligned with the brand promise, if they don’t feel supported in achieving it, the dashboard becomes a beautiful fiction.
What AI Is Revealing
AI is amplifying this problem. It’s making analytics easier. It’s making data sexier. It’s making the numbers feel like they’re the answer.
But here’s what AI can’t do: it can’t create human connection. It can’t deliver compassion. It can’t make a patient feel seen and like someone cares about them and their experience.
And right now, in a world where AI can do more and more, that human touch is becoming more valuable, not less. Because the more tech increases, the more the human connection can be inadvertently pushed to the wayside.
And that human connection is going to be a greater differentiator, especially in healthcare organizations.
When People Are Vulnerable
People seek healthcare when they’re at their most vulnerable. When their emotions are on edge.
That’s when the human touch matters most.
They don’t need a data analyst at that moment. They need someone to listen. Someone to care. Someone to make them feel like they’re not alone in whatever they’re facing.
Can AI do that? No.
Can a perfectly designed patient experience protocol do that without a person behind it? No.
But can a person who understands protocols, who has data about what works, who is supported by systems and resources and leadership do it? Absolutely!
The Marketing Question
Here’s something I ask healthcare leaders and they look at me like I’ve lost my mind: Where is marketing in your patient experience strategy?
And they say: Why would marketing be involved? This is patient experience.
That’s when I know they’ve created another silo. Because marketing isn’t about billboards and commercials. Marketing is about listening to the voice of the consumer and delivering what they want and need.
Marketing is about understanding people. Understanding what they’re experiencing. What they value. What drives them. Why they choose one provider over another. What makes them loyal.
If you don’t have marketing involved in your patient experience strategy, you’re missing a vital component.
That’s where Baird Group really stands out and why our name continues to come up in healthcare-related conversations. The people part of the healthcare experience is our differentiator.
We understand that the clinical, compassion, and communication aren’t separate things. They’re together and rolled up into the patient experience. We help you build a culture where people want to work. We help you build an experience where patients feel valued. We help you understand that the human touch is what’s going to differentiate you in an AI world.
Because technology will get commoditized. Everyone will have the same tools. Everyone will have the same data. Everyone will have similar KPIs.
But your people? Your culture? How you make someone feel? That can’t be commoditized. That’s not replicable.
That’s your competitive advantage. And ours.
Tags: AI and Human Touch, Brand Activation, Culture Matters, healthcare culture, healthcare leadership, leadership development, Organizational Culture, Patient Experience, strategic planning
