How do you define and measure customer satisfaction in your QI projects?

In my experience, VOC may not go far enough around really developing empathy with your customer/client/user. It might be helpful to use a design concept and tool (e.g. empathy and empathy mapping) to help you understand your customer's values, priorities and pain points.

VOC represents the needs, expectations, preferences, and feedback of customers. It's critical because: Guides Improvement Efforts: Understanding the VOC helps in aligning QI projects with what customers truly value. Identifies Pain Points: VOC highlights areas where customers are dissatisfied or where improvements are needed. Enhances Customer-Centricity: It helps in creating products, services, or experiences that cater directly to customer needs and desires.

In our CQI projects we initially use VOC to better understand current state and uncover the true presenting problem. Once we have the data and metrics to justify improvements from the VOC, we may collect a more refined VOC in the form of Focus Groups or interviews in order to ensure adherence and support for improvements by basing them on the end users own ideas.

VOC stands for Voice of the Customer. It's important because it helps you understand customer needs, align projects with requirements, and monitor satisfaction.

Definir e medir a satisfa??o do cliente em projetos de melhoria da qualidade envolve identificar expectativas e resultados desejados dos clientes. Utilize pesquisas de satisfa??o, e análises de feedback para capturar a experiência do cliente. Avalie métricas como tempo de resposta, resolu??o de problemas e qualidade percebida. Periodicamente, revise os dados e ajuste as estratégias para garantir que as melhorias atendam às necessidades do cliente.

Sometimes initial VOC data sparks the need for deeper digging in order to understand root cause or to clarify requirements or ROI on an improvement. This is where Focus Groups and Interviews can be helpful.

In my experience, to measure customer satisfaction, various tools and methods can be used. One effective way to measure customer satisfaction is to use standardized survey instruments, such as the Canadian Patient Experiences Survey (CPES). This survey has been validated and widely used in Canada to measure patient satisfaction with healthcare services. Another approach is to conduct interviews or focus groups with patients and their families to gather their feedback and insights about their healthcare experiences. This can help organizations identify areas for improvement and develop targeted QI initiatives to address patients' concerns and needs.

Some of the interventions that seem to work best are not high tech, rather, it is a conversation built over time with the customer. As humans, we connect with others through dialogue. We can feel when someone is genuinely engaged and interested in our conversation. To get candid feedback, show genuine interest by having a real conversation.

If the customer is external for a QIP, the mentioned tools could be deployed. If the customer is internal, then besides the outcomes, it is important to gauge the pulse of the QIP members by understanding their key learning, their emotion towards the particular QIP and most importantly to check if they are willing to undertake QIPs in the future too. After the more involved the members are in the QIP, the better the outcomes. Customer satisfaction then could be used as a validation factor.

Surveys and Questionnaires: Use online surveys, email questionnaires, or in-person surveys to gather structured feedback. Interviews and Focus Groups: Engage directly with customers to gather more in-depth and qualitative insights. Social Media Monitoring: Monitor social media platforms for mentions, comments, or reviews related to your product or service.

Quantitative Analysis: Analyze survey responses statistically to identify trends, patterns, and numerical metrics like satisfaction scores. Qualitative Analysis: Analyze open-ended responses, comments, and narratives to gain deeper insights into customers' feelings and experiences.

We typically use an Affinity Diagram to aggregate the data from open ended questions on a survey or Focus Group. Once we have determined the main themes, we may use those themes as our business requirements for brainstorming improvements. Pareto charts are helpful if the data is complex or goes in varying directions, which helps to scope out what information is useful to the direct objective and what might be useful for a future or "spin-off" effort.

To analyze customer feedback effectively, start by categorizing it into needs, expectations, satisfaction, and improvement using a VOC template. This helps prioritize requirements, measure satisfaction, and identify improvement areas. Utilize a Pareto chart to visualize feedback frequency or impact by categories or causes, aiding in identifying significant issues or improvement opportunities. Finally, employ an affinity diagram to group feedback by themes or patterns, revealing common or hidden customer needs and expectations.

We typically use the data from the VOC exercises to define requirements for improvements, then brainstorm and refine results within the Gemba Kaizen team. The finalized improvement list is put into a PDSA (or PDCA) schedule where results of each improvement can be baselined, tracked and ROI determined. The improvements with highest potential ROI are usually completed first, depending on predecessor requirements or time to complete.

Address Pain Points: Prioritize and work on areas highlighted by customer feedback. Implement Changes: Make necessary improvements based on customer suggestions and needs. Continuous Monitoring: Regularly collect feedback and track satisfaction levels to ensure sustained improvements.

To enhance customer satisfaction, begin by setting SMART goals, like increasing NPS by 10% within six months. Utilize the PDSA cycle to plan and test changes on a small scale. Monitor and evaluate the results using data and metrics such as dashboards or reports, tracking customer satisfaction before and after implementing changes.

Baselining any improvement and performing evaluation is critical to effective communication of any improvement - which increases customer satisfaction because the results speak from data. These results can be communicated in the form of Team or company-wide meetings, client newsletters, or general conversation.

While the VOC is important, it’s only part of the holistic approach to evaluating customer satisfaction. Individual’s perception might differ at different stages. Therefore, assessing the quality of life on the spectrum, in collaboration with outcomes measurements, may give the full picture of the customer’s experience.

Internal Communication: Share customer feedback with relevant teams or departments to initiate necessary changes. External Communication: If appropriate, share improvements made based on customer feedback with customers, demonstrating responsiveness and commitment to their satisfaction.