About a year ago we made it our goal to understand our users on a deeper level. To get to know who they are and what they need to make lasting changes in their lives. After all, that’s our mission at Kannact. So we hunkered down and kickstarted a project to interview as many people as we could- our health coaches, existing participants, churned participants, and even people who have never heard of Kannact before. Here are some of the key insights we gathered and what we’ve done (or are doing) to improve our member experience.

1. Some participants didn’t understand what Kannact is and what it means to participate.
What we learned: More than 20% of participants who churned before this year didn’t quite understand what Kannact was or the services we offer. Some people expected Kannact to be more of a wellness program that includes prescriptive diet and exercise programs. Others had no idea why they were being called by their heath coach and thought our program was limited to providing free at-home medical devices. This was obviously concerning to hear, as our program centers around building a strong relationship between the participant and their health coach.

What we’ve done: To start, we launched a brand-new marketing campaign to prospective participants that clearly outlines exactly what we do and what it means to participate. We made sure to emphasize that our services are centered around health coaching, and even highlighted the benefits of health coaching. We also changed the way a participant enrolls in Kannact. With the goal of making sure new users have a clear understanding of our program, we are now asking that they speak with a health coach to learn more about Kannact and see if they’re a good fit for the program. The benefits of the solution is twofold: Participants understand what Kannact is before signing up, and they can start building a relationship with their health coach on day 1. And last (but definitely not least) - we’re very excited to announce the launch of our new website! We’ve refined the language in our website to clearly state who we are, what we do, and how to participate (including monthly time commitments). Now, participants have all the information they need to know about us before taking that important step to enroll in Kannact.

2. We weren’t effectively communicating with participants about their appointments or reminding them to engage with their health coach.
What we learned: Some participants found it difficult to manage their coaching calls or schedule new appointments. They had to call the support line or their coach directly, and at times, played phone tag to get something on the books. A few coaches used an online scheduling assistant to streamline this process, but it wasn’t used across the board. We also weren’t fully maximizing the use of text and email to remind participants about their upcoming appointments, or to schedule new ones… All of these made a significant impact on how often and how regularly participants engaged with their health coach.

What we’ve done: We standardized the use of the online scheduling assistant which has made the appointment scheduling process effortless for our coaches and participants. We also launched a new feature that allows participants to view their upcoming appointments, manage existing appointments, and create new appointments directly from their Participant Portal. Now they have complete control over their coaching appointments without needing to contact anyone from our team. To make sure participants are prepared for their coaching sessions, we’re sending them text and email reminders before their appointment. If they don’t have any appointments on the books, we’re sending automated email reminders to schedule their next coaching call. In these emails, they are routed to their coach’s calendar and can pick a time that works best for them! Our goal is to make sure no participant is left behind and has ample opportunity to engage with their health coach.

3. Participants didn’t always find value in their health coaching sessions.
What we learned: Much of the feedback that emerged from our interviews was centered around the importance of coach expertise and compatibility. Some participants expressed a strong connection to their health coach and looked forward to their monthly sessions, while others complained that their health coach didn’t have the medical knowledge they were hoping for or felt like they weren’t as compatible with their coach as they would’ve liked.

What we’ve done: Over the summer we did a huge push to make sure our health coaches have the level of knowledge and expertise that our members expect. Every Kannact health coach completed 3 additional courses to stack on top of their existing certifications, including Mental Health First Aid USA, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and Dr. Sears Health Coach Certification. We also rallied our team of doctors, pharmacists, and nurse practitioners to reinforce the coaching team’s knowledge of the chronic conditions that we support. And it doesn’t end there– to make sure our coaching team is continuously learning and strengthening their skills, the medical team hosts monthly Grand Rounds where they discuss unique or complex participant scenarios with the coaching team. If the participant still doesn’t find value in their health coach, not a problem! Now they can easily request a different coach that better suits their style or coaching preferences.

4. We’re not collaborating with our participants’ healthcare providers
What we learned: Several coaches and participants mentioned how valuable it could be if our coaches collaborated with their participants’ healthcare providers. Not only does it provide our participants with a well-rounded healthcare experience, but it also creates an open channel of collaboration. Because coaching calls happen more frequently than provider visits, health coaches may have more context and understanding of participants’ general health. We’d like to start partnering with their physicians to help keep them accountable for their health habits and allow for a back-and-forth communication channel between us and them. 

What we’re doing: We currently have a feature that generates a downloadable summary of each participant’s medical device readings. It offers a way for participants to share their readings with their physician… and it’s used quite frequently for this purpose! However, the report doesn’t give a full picture of the participant’s overall health, nor does it allow for the physician to provide us with specific recommendations to support the participant in their healthy living efforts. Our goal is to improve this feature and make it more comprehensive and collaborative than ever before. We are in the process of testing a new solution that will allow our coaches to join forces with their participants’ physicians and other healthcare providers: The Health Summary Packet. This packet has two parts: 1) The first section contains updates about the participant, written by the health coach, including a general summary of the participant’s overall health, medical device readings, health goals, nutrition and exercise updates, and medication usage. 2) The second part of this packet offers a way for the physician to highlight specific recommendations that they want the health coach to focus on or anything they think we should know about the participant. Our health coaches will integrate this information into their coaching sessions and make sure their participants are supported in between physician visits.

The ultimate goal? To keep our participants engaged for long enough so they can build a strong relationship with their health coach, who will keep them motivated and on course towards long-lasting health and happiness. And we’re on track! On average, our members have scored their coaching sessions 4.8/5 stars, and our overall customer satisfaction score is 95%.

Although this feedback is definitely something to celebrate, the work doesn’t end here. In fact, we’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg for what we want to (and plan to) accomplish. With new initiatives on the horizon like automated text messaging, new coaching communication channels, and a brand new mobile app– the best is yet to come.