Enhancing Customer Services in Low Budget Hospitals in UK: Role of HR Leader

Running head: HR AND CUSTOMER SERVICES
HR and customer services
Name of the Student
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Introduction
This essay presents a detailed analysis in the form of an essay with respect to
capability and skills of employees in the health organizations. The hospitals in UK are
facing stiff challenges due to lack of nurses, poor customer services and improper guidance
towards the work and the responsibilities. The human resource department of the
organizations should play a major role in leading the employees towards the work and
organizational responsibility including customer service. However, HR leaders should also
think of the needs and demands of employees when leading them towards the goals. The
leader should ensure that employees are satisfied and inclined towards their job
responsibilities. The major area of the essay is the assessment and analysis of the role of HR
leader to enhance the customer services in a low budget hospitals in UK while ensuring that
organizational staff are satisfied and motivated about the work. On the basis of this area, the
essay particularly focuses on the operational functions of front line employees such as the
nurses, as frontline employees mostly interact or deal with the customers.
In addition to this, an equal attention has also been placed on the labour shortage in
UK health organization as there is a certain fact that due to aging population and increasing
of number of retirement of nurses created the shortage of staff. Moreover, it is a true fact
that governments hospitals in UK are under budget. Additionally, it is also identified that
long hour shifting, workload, lack of clarity of the roles lead to workplace shortage. It is
certain that health organizations run by the governments in UK are short of financial
resources, which is affecting the overall services of the hospitals. Due to lack of budgets, the
organizations are not able to invest in their employee skills development. Likewise, there
could be other reasons or factors creating the impact on the employees at each level of the
organizations, have been analysed intensively in following sections of the essay with valid

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and reliable data. These issues or the questions of the essay are interpreted with the facts and
findings provided in the existing literature.
Main Body
Healthcare organizations in UK in the recent time have faced increasing number of
issues related to customer service. As put forward by Silvain et al. (2007), customer service
is one of the major segments falling under all sector or businesses which requires adequate
attention because if the customers services are not properly enhanced, it could be difficult for
any business to run its operation. If the scenarios of the hospitals are considered here, then it
is worth mentioning that if the front line employees are not able to provide adequate
information to the clients or families of the patients, those customers will not pay a second
visit to the hospital. For example, London Bridge Hospital in UK faced a dire situation
emerged from the poor customer service; in 2009, a bus accident at the downtown of the city
increased the number of death to 13 and some of the patients were supposed to be admitted to
London Bridge Hospital but all of patients had to shift to other nearby hospitals because the
front line staff were not able to give information about the availability of doctors then
(London Bridge Hospital 2018). This incident created the urge for developing a proper
internal management at the London Bridge Hospital.
It is certain that nurses as the front line employees of the hospital plays a great role in
enhancing the customer service. However, it is also a fact that nurses face stiff challenges at
the hospitals as the number of nurses is decreasing gradually due to the increasing retirement
cases, low pay structure, improper work conditions and others. The following are some
specific challenges that nurses face in the recent time at hospitals.
Low paid and high turnover-based profession:

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The government hospital in UK is under budget and due to lack of fund, the service quality is
going down gradually. The existing nurses at the hospital do not find motivation in
performing their duties because their wages are low and due to this low pay structure, the
newly joined nurses are leaving the organization. Consequently, the existing nurses face
workload of absconded nurses. Even though, the HR plays the role of motivating the nurses
to perform their duties but when the pay structure is low, the turnover is inevitable.
According to Herzberg’s hygiene factor indicates that the employees should be provided with
reasonable and appropriate pay which should be equal and competitive to those in the sae
sector (Dartey-Baah and Amoako 2011).
Work life balance: It is identified that the due to labour shortage, the existing nurses in the
hospital face or go through an increase burden of work. The nurses have to work under a long
shift hours, which is challenging for them as they also have to manage their families and
children. Due to improper human resource guidance, the nurses are not sure about their role
and responsibilities. Consequently, most of the day, the nurses have to stretch their working
hours.
Workplace hazard:
Physical- Due to lack of fund, the cleaning is usually not done in the government hospitals;
thereby, the workface becomes infectious and nurses often fall sick. In addition, the nurses
often meet with the accident caused by slippery floors and failing.
Psychological impact: Healthcare services require high attention and instruction because any
small mistake such as wrong use of injection can cause series trouble. Thereby, keeping the
mind busy for long hours often create internal pressure in brain.