Leading by Going Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
When it comes to marketplace performance and customer service, the ideal is serving a need so well that your customers view you as doing nothing less than saving lives. At Alternative Solutions HomeCare in Kettering, Ohio, many of their 366 employees literally do this every day.
Founded 12 years ago, Alternative Solutions HomeCare (ASH), a 2010 Winning Workplaces/Inc. Magazine Top Small Company Workplace, provides multidisciplinary home health care services to the elderly throughout the greater Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus areas. In addition to skilled nursing, the company offers physical, speech and occupational therapy as well as personal care and medical social services. Everything they do is part of a mission to improve the quality of life in the comfort of one's home.
One of their patients spoke to ASH's fulfillment of this mission in terms of her own health care scare. At the time that ASH completed their Top Small Company Workplaces award application, Sue (not her real name to retain confidentiality of her medical history) had been under the firm's care for three months following the rupture of her appendix. One night the device ASH had implemented to facilitate healing by converting her open wound to a closed wound started beeping.
"I thought I was going to die because it had quit pumping," she told us as part of the due diligence process for our award. "They don't start working until 9 am but they came at 5:30 that morning to help me. This was way beyond what they were expected to do."
The "above and beyond" service that ASH's nursing staff provided Sue that day included nutrition and exercise guidance, focused on both helpful tips and things to avoid, as well as psychological care to bring Sue back from a panicked to a calm mental state.
ASH didn't need to be so ahead of the curve in Sue's case. As she mentioned, they arrived at her home to help hours before they were contractually obligated to do so. Sue also shared the experience of a friend's mother who, based on geography, had to rely on a different health care provider, whose nurses "come in pretty grumpy and boss her around."
The truth is that ASH is delivering exceptional service not merely to increase competitive advantage in an industry that may be complacent in spots but, rather, to continually remake itself in order to respond to new market and client demands. And that starts with a high level of employee engagement, empowerment and development.
ASH is among a growing number of smaller firms that employ a workplace culture coordinator tasked with helping to maintain a healthy work environment and employee relations – a worthwhile investment given that the company has reduced its turnover to 12 percent, less that half the average for their industry.
Practices that have helped them achieve this metric include customized manager training which runs the gamut from communication, personal development and strategy to staff recognition and managing a multi-generation workforce. Developing strong interpersonal skills is a theme that trickles down to the lowest levels: ASH provides training on team communication and writing as well as technical skills.
Todd Muckerheide, who has been with the company for over three years, has benefitted from ASH's emphasis on personal development – and through it, he has enabled the business to better serve its customer base.
"I was one of our marketing reps out in the field," he told Winning Workplaces, also as part of our award due diligence process. "I noticed that we did not have a formal marketing department. I brought up the idea that we should look into that and develop certain programs regarding what we do clinically for our patients. Leadership agreed on a more formal department for the company and I created a position for myself. I am now in charge of our program development; we created three new programs in 2010."
Gina Chiancone, who has been with ASH for two years, is one of the company's many, direct customer-facing staff members whose expertise Muckerheide helps to promote. She likes that the firm doesn't balk at investing to equip her with the latest technology in the field for both care and communication with her manager.
"I've never been satisfied in my other jobs – I felt like just a number, like my input didn't matter," she says. "I can always call my supervisor here and they take time to help me find a solution or fix a problem. I feel like I really have a voice here."
ASH's compensation system serves to complement its focus on cross-departmental communication and process improvement. Employees are eligible for an annual bonus – a generous 10 to15 percent of salary – based on attainment of goals as well as the extent to which they help their coworkers and offer ideas for firm-wide improvement. "It definitely incents us to work together," Muckerheide says.
Taken together, the company's employee management practices have allowed it to meet revenue goals (it grew 11 percent from 2008 to 2009) and important industry designations (it's been named one of the top 100 home care agencies in the U.S.). Its one-on-one service, however, is where the effectiveness of these practices are most evident day to day.
"They saved my life and always made me feel like I was their only customer," says Sue. "If I were a nurse, I’d work for them."
Company: Alternate Solutions HomeCare
Web site: www.ashomecare.com
Industry: Multidisciplinary home health care services for the elderly
Location: Kettering, OH
Number of Employees: 366
Sales: $29.5 million
