eric douglas

It can be difficult to change the culture of an entire organization, especially if it is large and spread out. To find out what works, you can always look to the success stories of organizations that have gone before you. Adventist Midwest Health is just such a success story.

Adventist needed to start with straightforward, concrete steps that all 5,000 employees, spread over multiple facilities including hospitals, outpatient and support locations, could talk about and achieve.

A major goal was to correct patient's and patient's family's opinion regarding the quality of care they were receiving. The organization had always been dedicated to providing great medical care, but it often happened that the staff's focus on the task at hand caused the impression they were in a hurry and non-communicative to those they encountered during the day. While this was not correct, patients often expressed concern over the health care quality they were receiving as a result.

Adventist took on the challenge of becoming a more responsive organization that was committed to responsive communication with all parties, as it knew this was imperative to gaining the trust of patients and their families. It is common in many organizations to attempt to change the employee's behavior with a vague directive such as "be nice to people", but Adventist knew it was important to define manageable actions that would help them to reach that goal.

Consultants from the Studer Group helped the leaders of Adventist to implement the 10/5 Rule. Staff were trained to look any patient, staff member or vendor in the eye who was within ten feet, and to say "hi" to them if they were within five feet.

What resulted was that the entire staff had a model to strive for with a specific name. The employees would check each other on whether or not they were following the rule and kept each other accountable. Most agreed they didn't like to be corrected by a co-worker for failing to greet someone in passing, but acknowledged that the process resulted in a friendlier environment for staff and patients alike.

The 10/5 rule has become deeply embedded in Adventist's culture. Within a month of implementing the rule, patients began to remark that "something is different around here," and employees starting saying, "this feels like a better place to work."

Lessons Learned

Adventist's experience with the 10/5 rule brings up several points regarding change and influence.

1. Concrete steps to achieve change work best.

According to the book, Influencer, it is important for leaders who want to effect change to identify vital behaviors. These behaviors are the initial key actions that the members of the organization must achieve in order to lead to other changes. At Adventist, the first vital behavior was to look up and acknowledge other people. While this action didn't change the culture in and of itself, it did create a ripple effect that resulted in other positive changes within the organization.

2. Make messages "sticky".

Authors Chip and Dan Heath suggest in their book Made to Stick that an idea has to be "sticky" in order for people to grasp the message and then spread the word. Adventist discovered a sticky message in their 10/5 rule - it was concrete, creative, and easy to remember.

3. Make it a priority for all members of the organization to share accountability.

The final lesson learned is that shared accountability is a crucial factor to the positive outcome of the initiative. Adventist leadership encouraged employees and staff throughout the Adventist organization to hold each other accountable with respect to the use of the 10/5 rule. This involved the entire staff in the success of the campaign.

Organizational culture is difficult to define because it is so abstract. However, the lessons learned from Adventist is that, rather than trying to force a certain culture on an organization, it is better to focus on changing specific key behaviors, which, when changed, will ultimately lead to a successful change in the overall culture.

eric douglas

eric douglas

eric douglas

Vinnie Garufi is the Director of Organization and Leadership Development for Adventist Midwest Health. Wendy Mack is a advisor, keynoter, and change catalyst who specializes in leading and communicating change. For more articles and resources on mobilizing energy for change, visit WendyMack.com.

eric douglas: eric douglas

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