SoapBox, the Toronto startup that a social media platform that allows its employees to suggest, discuss and vote on ideas, has added another large client to an already impressive list that includes Indigo, Coca-Cola, Accenture, and GlaxoSmithKline. Now it has added in-home medical care company Saint Elizabeth Health Care, which now has its 7,000 employees using the mobile service.
“The adoption of SoapBox by employees at Saint Elizabeth is remarkable” said SoapBox CEO Brennan McEachran. “It is amazing to see how quickly employees have jumped on to share their thoughts and how well leaders have responded by taking action on the top ideas. This confirms that SoapBox is reinforcing and strengthening an already vibrant culture of innovation at Saint Elizabeth.”
“SoapBox is ideal for us,” said Saint Elizabeth CEO Shirlee Sharkey. “With more and more care being delivered at home every year, it’s important we hear from our front-line employees, because they have the best ideas for making things better for their patients. SoapBox allows them to share their ideas with their colleagues, many of whom they never see because of the nature of their work.”
SoapBox said in a release that it continues Saint Elizabeth’s “long tradition in innovation, and more recent adoption of crowdsourcing to find the best solutions to current challenges.” In a survey last year, more than 80 percent of Saint Elizabeth employees – well above the national average – said they feel comfortable suggesting ways to improve service to their clients. SoapBox said it will expedite that process.
“There’s no shortage of expert reports and commissions on how to reform health care,” added Sharkey. “We thought we’d flip things on their head and ask the people who are actually out there delivering health care about the big – and little – things that would make a difference”
Later this year, Saint Elizabeth plans to give its patients and the public at large access to the service, so they can submit their own ideas.