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piness. "I think personalized service, for both patients and staff,
makes the difference," says Ms. Harless. "There is such huge competi-
tion, both for patients and staff, in our market that you need to differ-
entiate yourself."
The little things matter
Ms. Harless says that for staff, personalizing rewards has become a
great way to get to know her team a little bit better and to ensure
that when they are acknowledged for good service, they earn some-
thing they truly appreciate.
It started when Ms. Harless handed out "spoil me" cards to all the
staff, asking them to list 3 things they considered meaningful
rewards. The things employees listed ranged from a department
store gift card to an afternoon off to watch their child play in a
sport. Now, when someone is recognized for an achievement, the
managers pull out that card. She notes that it's not any more expen-
sive, but it's definitely more meaningful.
"It's always nice to be recognized, but it's always better for it to be
personalized," says Ms. Harless. "If I give you a Starbucks gift card,
but you don't drink coffee, it's nice, but you might just go home and
give it to your husband."
She says patients frequently comment that it's evident that "the staff
actually enjoys their jobs." When patient satisfaction survey results
are in, Ms. Harless says she makes sure to post them and highlight
whenever a patient recognizes an employee.
This idea of the individual also runs deep in the center's care of
patients. Ms. Harless says that the staff is acutely aware of high-anxi-
ety patients and makes sure to do everything it can to comfort them.
The center recently had a patient who was extremely nervous about
her procedure. Staff scheduled her a tour of the facility, walked her
