It seems as if 2011 maybe the year social media is not a neat fad or hobby (or only for celebrities) but actually earns some credibility among senior leaders. Now of course there are many healthcare organizations around the country that have capitalized off of social media and understand it’s value but now with the Baldrige Program including social media in their 2011–2012 Criteria for Performance Excellence it takes the value of social media up a level in my opinion.
Category 3 of the 2011-2012 Criteria is titled “Customer Focus” and this is where you will find the primary tie in for social media.
Baldrige defines the customer focus category as:
The Customer Focus category examines how your organization engages its customers for long-term marketplace success. This engagement strategy includes how your organization listens to the voice of its customers, builds customer relationships, and uses customer information to improve and identify opportunities for innovation.
Category 3 is comprised of two subsections:
3.1 Voice of the Customer: How do you obtain information from your customers?
a. Customer Listening
b. Determination of Customer Satisfaction and Engagement
3.2 Customer Engagement: How do you engage customers to serve their needs and build relationships?
a. Product Offerings and Customer Support
b. Building Customer Relationships
This is great news for all of us in social media. This IS what we do… right? I think the important thing to take from this is now the world is understanding that the dynamic of communication has changed and it is important to understand how we listen and interact. I am excited about the inclusion of social media in Baldrige and look forward to working with organizations in this journey.
More to come on this topic but I would love to hear what your reaction to this is? Are you already fielding Baldrige questions from your organization?
– Reed
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