We are easily desensitized to the common hospital noises we live with day in and day out. A great exercise for us would be to make a conscious effort to listen to our hospitals' sounds through the ears of our patients, visitors, and employees. Here are a few examples:

The Paging System: Have you ever heard an announcement for a meeting or activity that involves only a few staff members blaring through the halls of the whole hospital? According to a patient satisfaction WorksWell survey conducted several years ago, these overhead pages were the number one annoyance. Even though paging systems play a critical role for announcing codes and emergency procedures, they can be misused by employees. In my hospital, staff members have even asked the operators to page other employees for their own convenience. They did not intentionally set out to annoy patients, they just didn't think about it. In other words, the staff wasn't listening! As a result, my hospital installed a cut-off switch to disable speakers located in patient hallways after 9:00 pm.

Automated Attendant Greeting and Options: Have you recently listened to your hospital's automated attendant? Are there too many navigation options? Is the wording confusing? How difficult is it to connect to the right department? You may be familiar with the departments and know what options to select, but the correct route may not be obvious to callers. If the greeting is not worded correctly or the speaker does not pronounce the words correctly and distinctly, the experience can be very frustrating and time consuming for callers.

The ACD and On Hold Messages: When was the last time you called an ACD group to check out the message the caller hears while waiting in queue? Is it the same announcement every time? One way to decrease caller frustration is simply to vary the ACD queue message. If the first announcement says, "Thank you for calling the Registration Department. All of our agents are assisting other callers, please hold for the next available representative", make the second announcement a little different. For example, "All of our Registration Representatives are still helping other callers. Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received." Make sure the announcement is not garbled and that the tone and voice inflection give callers a sense that you really do care. If possible, provide the expected wait time and make sure callers are not trapped in endless loops. Have a separate after hours greeting so callers will not be in queue when departments are closed. On hold messages should be reassuring and customized for your hospital. Rather than playing music alone, combine music with health education and service line and event promotion. These messages will both inform and entertain your audiences, while creating the perception of a shorter wait.

Personal Voice mail Greetings: Have you listened objectively to your own voice mail greeting? Little things make a big difference to callers. Are you respectful? Do you provide a current message? If you're not in the office, record a new greeting telling callers that you are away and letting them know when you will return, so they will know when to expect a return call. Please revisit my July 2005 article for more detailed ways to improve your voice mail greeting (see http://www.vericom.net/Newsletters/tel_july_05.html).

Active listening is critical, and we don't do it often enough. You can create a more pleasant experience for everyone by simply listening to the messages your hospital is sending. Listen through the ears of your patients and employees, and see if you like what you hear.