Thursday, January 21, 2010, St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) officially signed off on the launch of a series of the instructional and interactive St. Maarten SuperHost Customer Service Training and Certification programs for approximately one hundred and fifty (150) of their employees. SMMC’s multi-disciplinary team includes emergency room attendants, in- and out-patient departments, nurses, administrative, maintenance, kitchen and housekeeping staff, as well as the SMMC’s core management team.
Pictured from left to right:
Gilda Jandongan (Finance Manager), Natasha Ortega (SMSH Facilitator & Program Coordinator), Jacqueline Louis (IMC General Manager), Dr. George Scot (SMMC General Director), Antonio Pantophlet, RN (SMMC Education Department Courses Coordinator), Etienne Brookson ( SMMC HR Officer)
The St. Maarten SuperHost training sessions will begin in February, 2010 and conducted over a 3-month period onsite at the SMMC training facilities with the goal of empowering employees to be service-centered ambassadors at every point of contact with patients and/or visitors throughout the hospital.
"The SuperHost program aims to empower SMMC’s staff with the skills, and expertise for providing quality service in an environment where patients and their families require quality care, empathetic communication and patient-focused service," says Jacqueline Louis, General Manager of Innovative Marketing Creations (IMC), the local agents of St. Maarten SuperHost. "This is only the beginning of an ongoing initiative to assist SMMC with their management’s vision to improve patient and visitor services by providing them with the tools during the trainings, as well as ongoing reinforcements."
For the SMMC team, the SuperHost training program will touch on the fundamental skills for providing quality customer service, with a focus on personal employee self-development. This further translates into the improvement of interpersonal skills for team-building, as well as patient and general customer service. In addition, the program will encompass, the power of first and last impressions, great communication skills, how to be attentive and empathetic to patients’ needs, the power of listening, SMMC’s brand essentials, frontline management solutions, and the importance of patient-focused care.
"SMMC has had a long-standing dedication to the ongoing training and development of our team," says Dr. George Scot, General Director of St. Maarten Medical Center, "and we remain steadfast in our commitment as part of the overall delivery of quality medical services to the local community, as well as visitors. The St. Maarten SuperHost program was selected after careful review and deliberation of the most suitable customer-service training program to complement our extensive training initiatives, and employee development needs."
SMMC’s efforts do not go unnoticed, as was evidenced by SHTA’s recognition for the Crystal Pineapple Award for Outstanding Employee Training Program for the past four years, among other awards won by SMMC over the years.
"The movement to bring back our friendly island continues!" declares Jacqueline Louis, "We commend SMMC for their leadership in launching this initiative, and challenge local businesses and organizations to better prepare their workforce, through programs like St. Maarten SuperHost, to provide customers, tourists and in this case, patients with excellent customer service; our livelihood depends on our ability to treat people with courtesy, respect and quality service."
SuperHost customer service training was first introduced in 1985 to prepare British Columbia’s tourism workforce to host the world at EXPO ‘86. The programme’s excellence is recognized internationally. After an extensive search for the best in the world, American Express selected SuperHost as its customer service programme.
St. Maarten SuperHost is one of several prestigious agencies certified and licensed to give this consumer service enrichment programme, and has been endorsed as the official consumer training programme for St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA).