Upcoming NorthWest MRA Events

“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection." – Mark Twain

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

President’s Message: Continuous Improvement, by Brian Fowler, CfMC

One of the cultural changes that was brought to NUMMI by Toyota is the uniquely Japanese practice known as “kaizen”, or “continuous improvement”. The kaizen process encourages employees at all levels of a company to constantly look for ways to do what they do better. By improving standardized activities and processes, kaizen aims to eliminate waste. On the individual level, it promotes teamwork and personal discipline, which ultimately lead to higher morale.  Though GM didn’t benefit from the lesson about kaizen, we in the research industry can reflect upon how we can use this philosophy in our industry as well as our own companies.

• At your company, consider encouraging your interviewers, facility hosts, data analysts, even receptionists and assistants to suggest to managers how their jobs and processes could be improved, even if the suggestion saves them only 15 minutes a day. Then reward them with a small bonus/a gift card, and recognition via a company email if a change is implemented. A bevy of small improvements can add up to big savings in the course of a year.
• As an industry, we should encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing across organizations, by employees across different disciplines—account management, data processing, programming, etc. Encourage and support your employees in attending networking events and conferences, or at least to sit in on webinars to learn about new trends. Encourage them to ask questions and make suggestions for improvement—perhaps share their knowledge by contributing to a white paper or presenting at an industry event.

Over the last couple of years, the NorthWest Chapter has continuously looked for ways to improve our offerings to our members and the markets we service. Suggestions have been made and acted on from all directions and we continue to recognize the importance individuals – their voices and their dedication – play in our success.

The Chapter thanks the following individuals for their dedication and leadership over the last few months:

Jackie Weise of Research Assurance and Jeff Spitzer of Universal Survey Center – Jackie and Jeff have been driving the Chapter’s efforts to establish the NorthWest Chapter Endowment and Scholarship Funds. Because of their commitment, we will be awarding our first set of endowment awards this year and providing financial awards to two future researchers in our primary markets.

Katherine Horrocks of Amplify Research – Katherine has almost single handedly organized the upcoming Spring Educational Event in Napa (April 29-30).   She also organized our ground breaking discussion-based event on social networking in research which occurred simultaneously in three markets.

Rommell Montenegro of TNS Research – Rommell organized, promoted and facilitated our first Webinar featuring Don Bruzzone’s study on Advertising Effectiveness in the Super Bowl, and assisted with both sponsorship and on-site volunteer efforts in support of the Las Vegas Joint Chapter Conference.   He’s also helping the Chapter in refreshing our website.

Finally, a tip-o-the-hat to Don Bruzzone, a true pillar of the market research industry in the Bay Area who announced his retirement at our Super Bowl Ad Review event in February. After more than 50 years in the industry, Don is stepping down to enjoy the finer things in life. Don’s commitment to the industry extended beyond his long-running study of Super Bowl advertising recall and recognition. He spoke, he mentored, and he supported the industry through much of its history.   Thank you for your commitment and service, Don!

Back to top

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guest Article: Consumer Perspectives in the Face of a Changing Healthcare Landscape, by Carol Foley, PhD

They have included people with employer based insurance coverage, employers who offer coverage to their employees, those who buy insurance individually, people who have no coverage, agents who help companies and individuals buy their coverage, people on public assistance, and doctors and hospitals who provide healthcare.

General concerns. As more and more people must purchase health insurance coverage on their own outside of employer coverage, the overriding fear that has been gaining ground is that it will not be possible to get it due to a pre-existing condition. Concern has also been growing that a person could be dropped from coverage if a serious illness occurs. And perhaps the biggest fear is that it will be unaffordable.   Increasingly, consumers (and employers) have been choosing plans with high deductibles in order to lower the premium. Many consumers say that if a significant injury or illness strikes, they do not have the savings to cover their deductible.

Understanding costs. A large number of consumers do not understand even the basics of how their insurance works. In particular, knowledge about out-of-pocket costs and how they are calculated is inadequate and a source of frustration for consumers.   And as out- of-pocket costs continue to go up, people are growing more frustrated with their inability to get information about how much their medical care is going to cost.

Privacy. Anything related to a person’s medical care is highly personal, including their health records and insurance. Patients trust their own doctor above all others involved in the delivery of care. Much lower on the trust continuum is “government” (usually thought of as the federal government) and lastly the insurance company.

Coverage. Although consumers are most concerned about having catastrophic care, they also expect to use the benefits of their health plan for everyday medical expenses. Chief among those uses is preventive care (physical exams, screenings, and tests) and prescriptions. Without coverage for those services, many feel they are not “getting their money’s worth” from the premiums they pay. Not only is preventive care important, but getting some kind of reward for being healthy and practicing healthy behaviors is commonly an expectation.

Access to medical information online. The overall population has embraced the Internet to get information about medical conditions, to track their insurance coverage and sometimes to correspond with their doctor. But there remains a sizable segment of baby boomers (the biggest cohort that will use medical care over the next 30 years) that are not comfortable with the Internet.  And for all consumers, having the availability of a live person for customer service when necessary is essential.

Back to top

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~