Transforming Experiences

Co-host Alexandra Archer interviews Steven Carleton, the Vice President of Customer Experience at Premera Blue Cross, on how he is approaching the overall customer experience in the medical insurance industry. Steven has been working hard to improve the user experience at every level, and he’s in the middle of developing a company culture that is accepting of “not always knowing the answers.” Coming from a tech background, Steven is excited for the new opportunities and challenges ahead. Find out more in this week’s episode.What You’ll Learn:The difference between working in a tech environment vs. medical insurance.How to create a company culture that’s open and curious.A bigger overview of some of the missing pieces in customer experience, and how to bridge that gap.Employee engagement and why a purpose-driven approach matters.Key Takeaways:What lessons has Steven brought from working in tech to healthcare? [2:20]Steven wants to create a culture where it’s okay to not know all the answers. It’s okay to ask others for help, and to source new information from outside sources. [3:35]How has member feedback helped transform Premera? [5:30]Steven shares how he is currently measuring the success of incorporating new member feedback and where he sees the company going in the future. [8:20]Steven shares his approach on how he plans to expand this model beyond his direct members to satisfy users and employers. [13:25]Right now, Steven has identified key gaps where he can improve the customer experience and he’s working diligently to close those gaps so that everyone involved, from the insurance broker to the provider, has a good experience. [15:45]How does Steven plan to turn traditional systems and processes into a purpose-driven endeavor? [20:00]It’s important that Steven’s employees are engaged and aware of their impact on this industry. If you don’t have engaged people, everything falls apart. [24:00]Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comPremera.comSteven on LinkedIn

Your hosts Zack Hamilton and Mike Debnar sit down to talk about the upcoming perfect storm happening in retail and that’s Black Friday. For many retailers, this is like The Super Bowl. However, there is significantly less labor working than there was this time last year. We still have COVID-19, we still have supply chain issues; how will shopping habits differ this year? Zack and Mike weigh in with their thoughts.What You’ll Learn:How to properly prepare for this holiday season’s perfect storm.What customers actually care about in their shopping experience.What to do with out-of-stock and other supply chain issue items.Key Takeaways:Black Friday and Cyber Monday are happening! It’s retail heaven! [0:50]What factors should retailers be aware of this holiday season? [1:00]Holiday deals are starting early. This is like The Super Bowl of the holiday season. [1:25]We have to be aware of the labor shortages that are happening. We also have supply chain issues. Product is being docked on ships with it unable to go anywhere. And! We also still have COVID-19. We are going to see a perfect storm happening. [2:00]Where does the term Black Friday come from? [3:10]What is the definition of a “supply chain,” really? What does that actually look like in retail? [5:00]Why are shipping containers stuck at the ports? [7:50]Although we are just talking about retail, this lack of labor is a serious problem for all industries. Many industries ship life-and-death products that people depend on. [8:15]What’s important to consumers and shoppers during the holiday season? [10:25]We need to be providing more attention to the employee, not just the customer. How can you help them serve the customers better? [14:30]When you’re out of stock, the best policy is communication. Talk to your customer and be transparent. [21:10]Customers are going online first to see if you have that item in stock before they physically go to your location. You want to keep your store updated in real-time. [24:50]The retailers are going to win this holiday season! [27:35]Mike recently visited New York City, which has a COVID-19 mandate, from Texas and it was like living in two different worlds. He’s curious to see how retail will be affected across different regions based on this. [30:25]Will we ever get back to normal? [31:45]Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comZack on LinkedInMike on LinkedIn

Your hosts Zack Hamilton and Mike Debnar sit down to talk about the latest data and research happening in the retail space and what retailers should expect when it comes to back-to-school shopping. Will it happen this year or is it canceled due to COVID-19? Parents are on the fence, which could mean bad news for retailers. Find out more about Zack and Mike’s thoughts on this week’s episode.What You’ll Learn:Back-to-school shopping and what retailers should expect for this year.The top attributes driving customer behavior right now.How to maximize the shopping experience.Key Takeaways:Are students going back to school or does COVID-19 have other plans for us? [1:20]The supply chain right now is in peril. [3:15]People are more pessimistic about the COVID-19 restrictions ending. [4:55]Parents are about 50/50 on whether their children will actually attend school in person. [5:20]There is a huge labor shortage happening, too. Fewer people are inspired to work for brands. [7:25]Trends show that back-to-school shopping will happen more online than in person. Retailers did expect this shift to happen and are prepared for it. [9:25]The average shopper now has to do two to three stops to find everything they need. [11:55]How can retailers get better at their customer experience post-COVID-19? [16:25]If you have a great digital experience but a bad in-person experience, the whole experience is still bad. [22:35]Zack offers some solutions on how to close the gap and build stronger customer relationships. [27:25]The average cart value of a customer is $85.86 when they find staff to help them. It is often half that if they can’t find help. [31:55]Employees are the new battleground. They are highly valuable in this landscape. [32:10]Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comZack on LinkedInMike on LinkedInThe Origin of Brands: How Product Evolution Creates Endless Possibilities for New Brands, by Al Ries and Laura RiesAtomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear

René Carayol is the Executive Vice President of Environment, Social & Governance at Medallia. René is an internationally renowned speaker, advisor, and author on diversity, leadership, and culture. Today, René talks about something very dear to his heart - inclusion. How can organizations be more inclusive? What do we need to do as executives to create impactful culture? René shares his powerful insights on this week’s episode. What You’ll Learn:What does true inclusion look and feel like?How organizations can get started and become more inclusive.How to have tough conversations and how to teach your executives to have tough conversations.The powerful impacts of a community that comes together.Key Takeaways:Everybody in and nobody out is one of René’s mottos. What does he mean by that? [2:20]It’s not enough to just be heard, it’s how do we treasure those voices in the end? [3:50]René has seen first-hand what it feels like to be excluded. [4:00]If people were listened to in the right way, they wouldn’t feel the anxiety of speaking up. [7:30]Want to become more inclusive? It starts with curiosity. [8:00]People are afraid to have tough conversations because they don’t want to offend anyone. [11:25]We will have a more open world if people felt a little safer, braver, and informed. [14:25]René shares a powerful story of why it’s important to treat our global citizens with care and respect when they’re on “our” soil. [19:45]Want to be part of the change? Continue to hear and elevate the stories of those who are under-represented. [23:10]If René had one wish that would improve equitable listening, what would that wish be? [27:35]Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comMountsinai.orgCarayol.com

Welcome to the first episode of Transforming Experiences in Retail, Restaurants, and Grocery! A podcast series that dives into improving the customer experience in retail and the latest innovative strategies that improve customer satisfaction. For this first episode, your hosts Zack Hamilton and Mike Debnar share how they got started at Medallia, their passion for this industry, and so much more!What You’ll Learn:The importance of the customer and their experience around your product.How to create brand affinity through excellent customer service.The best ways you can attract passionate employees into your company.Key Takeaways:How did Zack first get introduced to the customer experience? [2:06]If you put the customer first, and do not minimize their needs, the profit will always be there in the backend. [5:32]A little bit about Mike and how he became passionate about customer experience. [6:57]What happens when you can truly align your values to a brand’s purpose [9:41]Connecting the passion and understanding the “why” [12:03]What is Mike’s favorite brand and why? [14:18]What’s Mike’s favorite product experience? [15:50]What’s Mike’s favorite book? [16:19]What does Mike like to do for fun? [17:29]It’s Zack’s turn! What is Zack’s favorite brand and why? [18:42]What’s Zack’s favorite product experience? [19:42]What’s Zack’s favorite book? [22:35]What does Zack like to do for fun? [23:57]Tune in for more episodes! Zack and Mike have some interesting data points to share about the future of retail.Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comZack on LinkedInMike on LinkedInThe Origin of Brands: How Product Evolution Creates Endless Possibilities for New Brands, by Al Ries and Laura RiesAtomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James ClearQuotes:“My job is to deliver consumers what they want. My job is to not minimize what they want in order for us to make a profit.” — Zack Hamilton“If you do the right thing, you will be rewarded.” — Mike Debnar“We engage with brands for the why. Why they do what they’re doing. Then the how, and then the what, comes next.” — Mike Debnar

Erica Rubinstein is the Vice President of Service Excellence and Patient Experience at Mount Sinai Health System. Mount Sinai is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the U.S. As they are located in New York City, they were the first to receive an uptick of COVID-19 patients at a time when there was very little information about the virus. Erica shares her experience over the last year and a half, the mental toll this has taken on medical professionals, and offers advice on how to quickly provide resources to prevent burnout and mental exhaustion for the frontline staff.What You’ll Learn:How COVID-19 unfolded in New York City and the impacts of it being at the epicenter.How to quickly mobilize additional support for exhausted frontline staff.The emotional well-being of frontline staff a year and a half later into the pandemic.Why the staff experience affects the patient experience.Key Takeaways:Erica shares her perspective over the last year and half as the pandemic was unfolding. [2:40]When food and housing resources became less of a need, they started to see the mental toll the pandemic has taken on our staff [5:49]So many people have become burned out and have completely left the healthcare industry. [6:41]They constantly ask themselves - Is it enough for our teams? Are we doing enough? Are we meeting their needs that are comfortable? [8:38] What Mount Sinai’s Center for Stress, Resilience, and Personal Growth is doing to help its staff. [9:07]They are providing immersive evidence-based experiences to de-stress and rejuvenate their teams. [10:39]The Patient Improvement Coaches shifted their focus to listening sessions to better understand their needs and shared these insights with leadership. [14:56]Erica and her team recently released an employee engagement survey “Your Voice Counts” to better help and support their unique needs. [16:53]There is a connection between what patients tell you and what the staff tells you. It’s all about combining and implementing this feedback as best as possible. [19:36]Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comMountsinai.orgErica on LinkedIn

Fred Reichheld, best known for creating the Net Promoter System℠ (NPS®), is a Fellow at Bain & Company. At Bain, he founded the company’s loyalty practice, which helps companies achieve sustainable results through improved customer and employee loyalty. He is a New York Times best-selling author and recently published his latest book Winning on Purpose: The Unbeatable Strategy of Loving Customers. What You’ll Learn:How NPS is designed to help you win on purpose.Learnings from those who have implemented NPS.NPS best practices and some examples of great companies that embody this system.How to change the culture from within and be a more customer-focused organization.Key Takeaways:A little bit about Fred and his career path [1:45]When you touch a life - you either enrich it or you diminish it. [3:44] Unfortunately, many people are not using NPS to its full potential. [6:47]Fred doesn’t recommend linking NPS to employee bonuses or key performance indicators. It destroys the learning power of NPS. [8:08]Coaching is done best when it’s constructive and allows people to learn, listen, and get better. [11:49]Fred shares some examples of companies who use NPS to run their business. [15:34]Leaders should inspire teams to embrace the mission of enriching the lives they touch. [18:14]What’s the one question that gets to the heart of what makes teams happy and what makes them unhappy? [22:26] Healthcare can be improved by making sure patients are treated with love and care. [27:26}Experience should be “mother care,” where everyone is treated as well as your mother should be. [30:02]Your reputation is everything. [32:07]Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comNetpromotersystem.com/about/Bain.comFred on LinkedInWinning on Purpose: The Unbeatable Strategy of Loving Customers, by Fred Reichheld

What You’ll Learn:The importance of Net Promoter Score.How to accurately measure customer loyalty.The benefits of NPS and how it makes you stand out.How to truly embody exceptional service throughout your facility.Key Takeaways:What is NPS and how does it work? [2:26]How to use your promoters to grow your organization. [4:35]Since healthcare is personal and emotional, his loyalty metric is so perfectly aligned to us. [8:35]NPS is how you get better. Kevin is more convinced than ever that this is the right approach to get good patient feedback. [10:42]We are engaged in a relationship with our patients. NPS helps gauge how strong that relationship is. [13:31]Why Kevin joined University of Missouri Health Care. [16:42]Ask your patients “why” you gave us that score. [19:27]Kevin explains how they address and follow up with patients who aired their grievances and complaints. [24:01]Kevin shares an example of how they turned a super negative into a super positive situation. [26:48]It’s Kevin’s job to create a work environment for everyone on his team to do their best work. [29:43]The work is worthwhile and fulfilling. [30:51]Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comKevin on LinkedInMuhealth.org

What You’ll Learn:How organizations should address health disparities.Community zip codes and the differences in the quality of healthcare received.The proper communication channels for feedback and outreach across various communities.Why trust is a critical piece in narrowing the health disparity gap.Key Takeaways:Show introduction. [0:30]About Dr. Nwafor. [1:45]Let’s define what health disparities are in healthcare. [4:42]What are some of the best ways organizations can address health disparities? [6:53]The best relationships are those that are built on trust and mutual respect. [10:11]We are listening for the “why” and then we are figuring it out. [11:43]As innovation continues, we need to make sure we don’t leave people behind. [15:37]Listening to learn to understand where people are coming from. [16:30]What are three things that would really impact health disparities? [21:11]Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comToni on LinkedInViivhealthcare.comQuotes:“Health disparities do exist….Until those two things are in place, we’re not going to give it the attention that it needs.” — Dr. Toyin Nwafor“We need to build trust within our organizations so that people feel like they can talk about what needs to be done, and also know that someone will actually respond.” — Dr. Toyin Nwafor“In any personal relationship, unless there’s trust and mutual respect, a lot of things don’t follow through.” — Dr. Toyin Nwafor

What You’ll Learn:The importance of well-being.Why boards are having well-being conversations, and what they’re doing about it.Impacts of COVID-19 and burnout.Ways to successfully implement well-being practices into your organization.Key Takeaways:Show introduction [0:30]About Dr. Jenike [2:40]The impact of COVID-19 and people’s well-being. [8:53]Reduce the stigma of “Not Being Okay.” [10:504]Ways companies can support their employees’ well-being. [12:49]Selfcare is not selfish. Time to take a mindset shift. [18:40]Best ways to reduce physician overwhelm. [22:18]How to become a resilient organization. [25:32]What is Dr. Jenike hopeful for this year? [30:58]Continue on Your Journey:Medallia.comKristi on LinkedInNovanthealth.orgDr. Tom on LinkedInQuotes:“I was so dedicated to being the best family physician possible that I let other parts of my life, and things that were important to me, slip.” — Dr. Tom Jenike “There was a study done of 3,600 employees, frontline workers, and it found that 39% met the criteria for PTSD, anxiety, or depression.” — Kristi Roe“What I found to be really impactful is to start asking people how they are doing and doing everything we can to reduce the stigma of, it’s okay if you’re not doing well.” — Dr. Tom Jenike