Customer focus at MDH

Background
Current state and needs assessment
Expectations for MDH
Customer focus campaign

In 2016, 36 percent of MDH all-employee survey respondents indicated that MDH seeks and uses feedback from customers for continuous quality improvement. Listening to and engaging the customer in designing and improving MDH’s services is a component of advancing health equity, community engagement, and quality improvement. Customer focus is also a Public Health Accreditation Board measure (PHAB Standards and Measures, Version 1.5, Measure 9.1.4A).

Based on this, the MDH Quality Council chose customer focus as a priority area for the agency. The MDH Center for Public Health Practice leads customer focus at MDH. The purpose of the initiative is to improve MDH’s use of customer feedback for continuous quality improvement.

Customer focus at MDH utilizes a quality planning approach: current state and needs assessment, design, pilot, implement, and monitor results.

Based on the current state and needs assessment results, the MDH Quality Council chose a few key strategies to implement in year one (2018):

• Customer focus expectations for MDH
• Customer focus campaign
• Regular website updates, specifically additional tools and examples
• Integrating customer focus into agency-wide project planning templates

Future strategies include creating a community of practice for customer focus and training on customer focus.

The MDH Quality Council monitors several measures to help determine the success of the strategies and initiative as a whole:

Overall outcome measure

• % of MDH employees who respond "strongly agree" or "agree" to the MDH Employee Survey question: Customer satisfaction information is routinely used by many individuals responsible for programs and services at MDH (2018 Baseline: 35%; 2022 Target: 50%)

2018-2019 measures

Focus on monitoring the reach/spread of initial strategies. Additional measures will be added as strategies are added. Data will be tracked on the customer focus at MDH SharePoint site.

• # of hits/views of MDH customer focus intranet announcements, videos, and podcasts
• Average viewing/listening time of MDH customer focus videos and podcast episodes
• # of MDH customer focus webpage hits
• # of MDH customer focus webpage downloads
• % of MDH divisions/offices that share the MDH customer focus expectations at a division meeting in 2018
• % of MDH divisions/offices that share the MDH customer focus videos at a division meeting in 2018
• % of MDH divisions/offices that share customer focus testimonials/examples for the MDH customer focus podcast and webpage
• # of customer focus follow-up questions/requests received by MDH Quality Council members

The current state and needs assessment used in the customer focus at MDH helped the agency a) understand the current state of customer focus at MDH and b) identity barriers and needs to improving customer focus at MDH. The methods used to conduct the assessment were focus groups and an assessment tool. Sixteen divisions and over 86 employees participated in the assessment—65 percent were front-line employees and 35 percent were managers/supervisors. Below are the tools MDH developed and used for its customer focus current state and needs assessment.

• Current state and assessment plan: Customer focus project (PDF)
• Customer focus assessment tool (DOC)
• Customer focus: Focus group questions (PDF)
• Customer focus: Focus group notes template (PDF)
• Customer focus: Next steps (PDF)

MDH staff identified the need for agency guidance and expectations for customer focus. Based on this, the MDH Quality Council chose to develop customer focus: Expectations for MDH. These expectations help provide a framework for implementation of customer-focused efforts across the agency. The MDH Quality Council officially launched the customer focus expectations in June 2018 via an agency-wide meeting, internal announcements, and division staff meeting presentations.

• Customer focus expectations for MDH (PDF)
• Customer focus at the Minnesota Department of Health (note: video autoplays)
  This video describes Customer Focus at MDH and expectations.

MDH staff identified the need to become more familiar with customer-focused practices. Based on this, the MDH Quality Council chose to launch a customer focus campaign. It is a multi-year, three-phased communications initiative that focuses on two main audiences: front-line MDH program staff and managers/supervisors. Phase one is meant to increase awareness and understanding of customer focus. Phases two and three build off the increased awareness with the purpose of moving programs into action. Communications methods used include animated video, real people video, audio interviews (podcast), internal promotional announcements, and division-specific presentations.

Resources and tools

You can find tools and products developed for the MDH Customer Focus Campaign below.

• Smart Chart
• MDH Customer Focus Connection: In this podcast, MDH staff share their experiences using customer-focused approaches.

Customer focus at the Minnesota Department of Health

This video describes customer focus at MDH and expectations.

Permalink: Customer focus at the Minnesota Department of Health (3:58)

Customer focus at MDH: Who are our customers?

This video describes how to identify your customers.

Permalink: Customer focus at MDH: Who are our customers? (2:04)