Problem Statement
Clinical Concierge Services (CCS) is an international department at SHP that offers different services among them medical, hospitality, translation, cultural, administrative and financial services. Communication is very important in any organization because it enhances interaction among people (Importance of Communication in an Organization, 2012). However, there are communication problems at CCS that should be addressed. While the international office plays an important role, clients’ concerns directed towards this office are not immediately responded to. International clients have difficulties understanding the health system’s operations and internal flow patterns. One of the internal problems at CCS is the silo mentality which is caused by lack of collaboration between divisions and employees. As a result, when a coordinator leaves the office, it is difficult to transfer information and follow up on crucial cases of patients.
Communication breakdown is a critical issue. Resolving the communication phenomenon at CCS will ensure patient satisfaction and internal productiveness. Communication barriers cause serious consequences especially when international cases are not responded to at the right time (Baker, 2002). Addressing the phenomenon of communication barrier is essential to the patients and their families’ mental health as both are always concerned about health progress. Physicians’ updates are critical in the health care industry to all patients, family members and CCS care givers. Serious consequences arise when communication barriers prohibit responses from patients, family members, or their attending physicians. The problem of communication barriers at CCS should therefore be investigated and solved to save the department.
Research Design
Research Questions
- What is the central communication phenomenon at CCS?
- What are the implications of communication problems at CCS?
Subjects
In order to gather credible information that can be used to solve the problem at CCS, certain individuals will be interviewed. For example, the employees who work at CCS will be interviewed since they can give important insights about communication problems at the department. In addition, the managers and other senior employees will be interviewed in a bid to establish the root causes of the problems. Finally, international families from Middle East will also be interviewed since their feedback about the services at CCS will provide important information with regard to communication issues.
Study Design
In order to study communication problems at CCS, there are several appropriate methods that will be used to collect data. The first method that will be used to study the problem is the survey method (Pawar, 2004). Surveys are used in research to collect information from certain groups of people through questionnaires that are standardized or interviews (Data collection methodology, 2012). Surveys involve ensuring validity and analyzing results. They are used regularly to enhance performance in organizations by analyzing the expectations of customers and determining whether they are satisfied or not.
The survey will sample different employees at the hospital to get important information. Surveys are supposed to be valid and this will be ensured by sampling participants with direct involvement in the communication problem. Survey questions will be a mixture of open-ended and closed questions. Open-ended questions will give participants a chance to respond to questions in different ways without being restricted. Through the questions, their feelings with regard to the communication problems will be elicited and this will provide depth to the problem since a lot of information will be provided.
In addition to surveys, the study will also employ a focus group method. This method emphasizes communication between research participants in order to generate data (Fowler, 2001). It will be used to explore knowledge and experiences of employees at CCS. It will also examine what they think about the general communication strategies at CCS and reasons behind their thinking (Sapsford, 2006). Since there will be sharing of information and interaction among participants, they will present their views more clearly. Surveys and focus groups will therefore be appropriate methods of gathering important information from participants for the study (Horn & Monsen, 2007).
Survey Questions Sample
The survey items included:
- What is the name of the physician who attended you?
- When did you visit the department?
- Was this your first visit at CCS?
- What are the specific communication challenges that you would like addressed?
- How long did it take you to get a response after making inquiries?
- What were your expectations before you visited CCS?
- Who referred you to CCS?
- How can you rate your health before and after visiting CCS?
- Would you refer another person to CCS?
- What suggestions can you propose for the department?
Results of the Study
After carrying out the study aimed at solving communication problems at CCS, the following issues emerged. Results from the study showed that one of the root causes of communication breakdown at CCS is lack of clear communication policies. It is important for any organization to have clear communication policies that guide all communication procedures. For instance, the institution is supposed to clearly stipulate the importance of disseminating information to clients within specified timelines in order to maintain its reputation. However, this is not the case at CCS because employees do not give clients immediate feedback when certain information is required urgently (Kumar, 2010).
The study also revealed that lack of motivation among employees is a cause of communication breakdown. The employees work under conditions they consider difficult. In addition, they are poorly paid, something that makes them less motivated (Reeves, 2008).
Finally, the study revealed that CCS should put in place proper information management systems. The hospital does not have proper systems for managing information. Hence CCS experiences communication breakdowns as information is passed from one division to the other.
Recommendations
The first recommendation is that CCS should come up with proper communication policies that guide employees in all departments. This would ensure that information is passed on to the relevant people without major delays. Presence of communication policies ensures that employees perform their roles of disseminating information in a timely manner. The second recommendation is that CCS should embrace technology in its communication strategies. Technological advancements that emerge everyday have made it possible for different organizations to improve services to their clients. This is something that CCS can also make use of. For example, video conferencing can be used to communicate with international families of patients (Haddon, 2004). Social media is also an important channel of communicating with people across long distances (Leistner, 2012).
References
Baker, K. (2002). Organizational Communication. Web.
Data collection methodology. (2012). Web.
Fowler, J. (2001). Survey Research Methods. Washington: Sage.
Haddon, L. (2004). Information and Communication Technologies in Everyday Life. New York: Berg.
Horn, L., & Monsen, E. (2007). Research: Successful Approaches. New York: American Dietetic Associati. Importance of Communication in an Organization. (2012). Web.
Kumar, R. (2010). Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. New York: Sage.
Leistner, F. (2012). Connecting Organizational Silos. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Pawar, M. (2004). Data Collecting Methods and Experiences: A Guide to Social Researchers. London: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd,.
Reeves, S. (2008). Qualitative research methodologies: ethnography. Web.
Sapsford, R. (2006). Survey Research. New York: Sage.