Impact of a novel training experience on the development of a customer service culture in a large hospital trust

Abstract

PurposeThis study was designed with the intention of exploring the effectiveness of a novel approach to training health services workers to meet the aims of raising awareness of their customer care framework and encouraging a culture of customer service throughout their organisation.Design/methodology/approachThe impact of the educational intervention was examined using a mixed methods approach involving pre‐ and post‐workshop questionnaires and one‐to‐one, semi‐structured interviews.FindingsThe paper finds that the approach adopted was effective in raising awareness of the customer care framework and in enhancing participant's self‐efficacy in relation to the principles of customer care. Transference to the workplace was dependent on personality and departments having sufficient numbers of staff participating.Research limitations/implicationsTime and resources for the project limited the follow‐up interviews designed to explore if, and to what extent, the learning had had a lasting impact on participants and if it had enabled transference to the workplace. In addition, complications in releasing people from work in order to take part meant that a number of volunteers had to withdraw. This limits the range of data obtained.Originality/valueThis paper describes a novel research‐informed approach to training, involving participants in high fidelity, error‐based simulations and in a research process which facilitated their repeated reflection on the learning. As a result the paper demonstrates large‐scale training of customer care can effectively impact on practice.