Just Talk: Building Trust Through Positive And Effective Communication
Why can’t we just talk anymore, like we used to do in the olden days? Well, it seems today we might want to communicate more positively and effectively at work and at home. Just ask WellPoint, one of our nation’s largest insurers. According to Julie Appleby’s article in the 10/22/07 issue of USA TODAY, WellPoint-associated doctors will be rated, by their patients, on what it all boils down to is — communication. Poor communication can kill trust and kill the patient. Zagat Survey has been chosen by WellPoint to administer and analyze the customer satisfaction audits.
FACTORS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION
Why Zagat? Zagat has become known as the expert in their field, putting out a burgundy-colored restaurant-going guide that ranks eateries on food, decor, service and cost, to help guide our choices. WellPoint wants to know how well their doctors are doing on the communication chart, so they’ve secured the assistance of the master. In your mind, what makes up the art of good talk? Making time to talk? Using positive non-verbals like smiling or shaking hands? Giving critical information in a positive way? All of these are factors in good doctor-patient or manager-employee communications. Zagat’s rating guide will consider trust, communication, availability, and office environment, on a 30-point scale…with the added dimension of comments from patients. Here are the factors of positive and effective communication to be measured and my take on the top two:
1. TRUST (EFFECTIVE vs. INEFFECTIVE TALKS)
2. COMMUNICATION (RESPONSIVE vs. REACTIVE TALKS)
3. AVAILABILITY (OPEN vs. CLOSED PROBLEM-SOLVING DISCUSSIONS)
4. ENVIRONMENT (POSITIVE vs. NEGATIVE COMMUNICATION CLIMATE)
Making us all feel like jerks, knee-jerk communication is a leading cause of miscommunication, causing hard feelings. These resentments cause low ratings, helping to make a point. But how do we walk the talk of good communication? How do we make positive and effective communication more natural in fast-moving and stressful office environments?
JUST TALK: BUILDING TRUST THROUGH POSITIVE AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
MOTOMAN, Inc. President Craig Jennings is ahead of the communication game. He intends to build trust and good communication from the top, through all levels of his organization, and no one is going to stop him. MOTOMAN, Inc. Vice-President of Human Resources and Facilities, Mike Gabbard also knows that good talk isn’t cheap but priceless…as we put our minds together to promote good talk. Mr. Gabbard taught me that trying to talk across different levels of the organization, to opposing communicator types, is fraught with difficulties and speed bumps or slick oil patches that can spin off our communicator cars right off Talk Highway.
GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS ARE TAUGHT, NOT BOUGHT
That’s why, at MOTOMAN, Inc., we’re all working together to improve communication at all levels of the company, beginning at the top! In fact, I’ve just finished the communication training manual, Just Talk: Building Trust Through Positive and Effective Communication, for this Yaskawa company. It’s a communication trip we won’t soon forget. Here’s what we’re doing at MOTOMAN to make all of us better communicators, by using the innovative Talk to Me© effective communication education system:
1. Employees and managers will learn the important skill of typecasting, or how to know the communication type of your talk partner — and yourself.
2. Employees and managers will learn to use confirming talk in difficult situations by using The Clarifying Talk Tool.
3. Employees and managers will feel prepared and enabled to give and receive corrective feedback.
4. Employees and managers will markedly improve their listening skills.
5. Employees and managers will become responsive — vs. reactive — communicators by using The Communication Matrix.
6. Employees and managers will communicate more effectively in ways that build trust, clarify difficult issues, and avoid costly communication mistakes.
7. Employees and managers will use the Talk to Me© communication tools that work at all levels of the organization, creating a positive work atmosphere.
ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGIST DENNIS O’GRADY
Dennis E. O’Grady, Psy.D., is the founder of New Insights Communication, a relationship communications coaching and corporate training company located in Dayton, Ohio. Dennis holds a B.A. degree from Michigan State University, a M.A. degree in College Counseling from Michigan State University, and The Doctorate of Psychology degree from Wright State University School of Professional Psychology. Dr. O’Grady is the president-elect of the Dayton Psychological Association. His latest book, Talk to Me: Communication Moves To Get Along With Anyone, is available at Amazon and drogrady.com. You can talk with Dr. O’Grady today by calling (937) 428-0724.
WELLPOINT DOCTORS TO GET ZAGAT RATINGS
Patients to assess four factors–but not cost or medical expertise
By Julie Appleby
USA TODAY
October 22, 2007
One of the nation’s largest health insurers, WellPoint, has teamed with Zagat Survey to let patients rate their doctors, just as diners rate restaurants in Zagat’s burgundy-colored guides.
Instead of Zagat’s four categories for restaurants — food, decor, service and cost — the ratings guide will consider trust, communication, availability and office environment. In addition, to giving doctors a numerical score based on a 30-point scale, the site will include comments from patients.
The WellPoint program will be available online to more than a million members by the end of March. It plans to roll it out to all of its 35 million members but would not give a schedule.
The move by the insurer comes as consumers increasingly turn to the Internet to learn about products and services — ad see customer reviews.
Other insurers, including Aetna, survey patients about physicians in their networks, posting the results online for members. A few commercial websites, such as Revolution Health and RateMDs.com, offer the public an opportunity to rate doctors. But WellPoint is the largest insurer to partner with such a well-known survey firm as Zagat.
“More consumers are asking for information about what other consumers think about their doctors to help them make better choices,” says Jason Gorevic, chief marketing and product officer at WellPoint.
Still, efforts to rate doctors have brought controversy. Another type of doctor ranking, in which insurers use claims data and other methods to evaluate doctors on cost and quality, has led to lawsuits from doctor groups and warnings to insurers from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who says the ranking efforts may be misleading or designed to steer patients mainly on cost.
WellPoint, whose Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiary is among those being reviewed by Cuomo, says its Zagat survey is unlike the doctor rankings. “The survey tool developed by WellPoint and Zagat is different because it’s peer-to-peer consumer information and is not based on claims data or any other health-plan-generated data,” says WellPoint spokeswoman Jill Becher.
Cuomo’s office did not respond to inquiries about the WellPoint program.
WellPoint says its Zagat survey will not include information about medical expertise or other factors, such as malpractice settlements. At least 10 responses will be required before anything is posted.
While customer satisfaction is a factor in picking a doctor, some consumer advocates say it falls short. “The fact that a doctor might have a friendly administrator at the front desk is meaningless if they have a high medical-error rate,” says Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights.
Disgruntled patients are more likely to submit a survey than happy ones, says physician Jim King, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Still, he’s not too concerned. “In my small town, it’s word-of-mouth,” King says. “If someone uses this survey intelligently to make a short list of doctors to interview, that’s OK. But they still need to depend on their own personal opinion.”
Comment by Dr. Dennis O'Grady — October 25, 2007 @ 8:33 am