Inside and out: Bestmed is the Best

As a medical aid by members for members, Bestmed Medical Scheme strives to embody its brand promise of being “Personally Yours” in both its capacities as a medical scheme and as an employer of choice.

At the forefront of customer satisfaction
Incremental and sustained improvement in customer satisfaction in an undifferentiated industry
The South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SA-csi), an independent international benchmark of customer satisfaction conducted by Consulta, measured Bestmed alongside five other large medical schemes using a multi-variate model. Weighted indices include perceived quality and value, customer expectations and satisfaction, customer complaint incidence and handling, and customer loyalty. Bestmed’s results for 2020 placed the Scheme at the forefront of customer experience in the South African medical scheme industry.

Participants were sourced via a combination method data collection that included telephonic interviews randomly selected from contact lists provided by subscribing members and utilising Consulta’s survey community (ConsultaPanel). The telephonic (CATI) and online survey (WEB) ratio is kept constant for all brands measures to prevent differences in scores.

Perceived quality and value
The perceived quality index measures a customer’s experience of the Scheme’s quality of service and products, while the perceived value index measures quality relative to the price paid. Bestmed is top of the industry with overall scores of 84.2 for perceived quality (industry average is 83.0) and 78.0 for perceived value (industry average is 72.2).

Customer expectations and satisfaction
The customer expectations index measures a customer’s anticipation of the Scheme’s products and services. Bestmed scored second highest by a mere 0.4 difference in overall score to a larger medical scheme. Bestmed received a score of 85.4, the industry averaging at 85.0.

Customer satisfaction is a weighted average of overall satisfaction with a product or service; the degree to which a product or service has met, fallen short of or exceeded expectations, and how a product or service compares to a customer’s idea of the ideal product or service. Bestmed once again exceeded the industry average (76.1) with an overall score of 77.4, which is also the highest customer satisfaction score in the industry.

Customer complaint incidence and handling
The score given in this section of the survey includes the percentage of customers who placed a complaint in the last six months and a rating of how effectively the Scheme dealt with their complaint. Bestmed received the lowest number of complaints in the industry with a score of 12.4% (industry average is 16%).

Customer loyalty
This index measures a customer’s likelihood to repurchase a product or service in the future, as well as price tolerance. Bestmed’s overall loyalty index is top of the industry, with a 70.6% score (industry average is 68.8%), with 82% of customers likely to repurchase.

According to Ineke Prinsloo, Head of Customer Insights at Consulta, “2020 and COVID-19 brought about a renewed awareness for consumers on the accessibility and affordability of quality healthcare. Medical schemes offer consumers the ability to purchase cover for the healthcare that they expect and demand. Consulta’s COVID-19 tracking studies indicated that, while pressured consumers are looking towards cutting back on discretionary expenses, they are reluctant to do so on their medical scheme premiums. Value for money, what consumers consider as worth it, is the strongest predictor of future consumption, and Bestmed leads the way on value for money in the industry for the second year in a row.”

Prinsloo further states, “Members of medical schemes consider keeping promises, a scheme that listens and responds, and competitive products as the top three customer experience pillars of schemes. Bestmed has done exceptionally well in all three of these measures that underscore the rating as one of the index’s two best schemes.”

The Best employer
Bestmed’s mission is not only to offer “Personally Yours” products and services to its beneficiaries, but to create a “Personally Ours” culture within the Scheme, where all employees can contribute their unique ways to make Bestmed the best employer in the industry. The Scheme endeavours to promote a highly engaged workforce in a performance-enabling environment, where employees (known as Heartbeats) are both valued and rewarded for their commitment.

Lydia Cillie-Schmidt of The Talent Hub International states, “Bestmed’s employment value proposition (EVP) is a true expression of the organisation’s shared values and lived behaviours. The EVP reflects what employees really love and value about the company. Bestmed’s authentic EVP helps the organisation to attract and retain the talent needed for success now and in the future.”

The Scheme’s “Personally Ours” culture rests on the following pillars:
Bestmed for YOU
Bestmed is a stable and successful organisation that allows our Heartbeats to develop continuously, both personally and professionally as the organisation transforms. Heartbeats are proud to be part of Bestmed as a principled business with family values at the heart of every partnership, whether internal or external.

A team culture for YOU
Every Heartbeat at Bestmed plays for the team, supporting one another as they all work together to provide a seamless service to beneficiaries.

Bestmed’s culture is inclusive, diverse, accountable, transparent, friendly, and honest, which unites and inspires Heartbeats daily.

As every Heartbeat is committed to doing the right thing, every Heartbeat is empowered to do their best work.

Growth and development for YOU
Bestmed is committed to the development of every Heartbeat and actively supports its employees to reach their full potential.

Flexibility for YOU
Bestmed provides each Heartbeat with the flexibility to create their own work-life balance. Flexibility drives Bestmed’s benefits and way of work, from work schedules to work environment.

Innovation for YOU and by YOU
Innovation fuels Bestmed’s future. It drives the Scheme to exceed its beneficiaries’ expectations continuously. Heartbeats have the opportunity to introduce new perspectives and methods to create a better experience for all stakeholders.

Bestmed is indeed Best
Bestmed is not only the medical scheme of choice when it comes to customer satisfaction, as well as quality services and products that are value for money, as indicated in the SA-csi survey, but is an employer of choice within the industry because it strives to create a culture wherein all Heartbeats are valued, encouraged to grow and be innovative, and are rewarded for their excellent service to the Scheme’s beneficiaries.

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