Houston Stevens – Bringing a Culture of Service Excellence to EVS

Working at the Four Seasons hotel in Washington, D.C., Houston Stevens provided valuable services to some of the world’s most well-known people: Michael Jackson, Prince and Whitney Houston, as well as international diplomats such as former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

After more than 20 years of experience at the Four Seasons, The Mirage and other 5-Star hotels and food companies, Stevens is now instilling a culture of service excellence at Crothall.

Since joining the company in 2015, he now leads a team of 46 people as the Environmental Services Director at Exeter Hospital in Exeter, N.H. It is the sixth hospital where he has worked as the EVS director or assistant director and has helped improve the standard for patient and client care at each stop.

While it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to meet and serve some of the world’s most high-profile celebrities, Stevens explains why he decided to make a mid-life career move into health care:

“When a celebrity or a well-known person gets sick, where do they end up? In a hospital,” says Stevens. “Everyone in a hospital here is a high-profile person to their family and friends. Our work is more meaningful. It’s far more important work and we have a moral obligation to help people who are sick.”

Instilling a Culture of Service

At 6’5” and 230 pounds, Stevens’ presence quickly commands attention. He also dresses impeccably, wearing well-tailored suits every day, some of them custom-made. Raised in Chicago and coming from a close-knit family of 10 children, he was taught at an early age the importance of always presenting himself in a professional manner.

“My Dad always wore nice suits and taught me to look like a gentleman, that a person’s presentation will have an immediate impact on their reputation. Many people immediately respect a well-dressed person. He always looked amazing and it’s a lesson I’ve always followed.”

His parents also taught him about the importance of service to others, so careers in hospitality management and healthcare have been a perfect fit.

Over his career, he’s learned that any job has its ups and downs. At the Four Seasons, Stevens understood how to correct mistakes to provide guests with an unforgettable experience, a trait that has served him well at Crothall.

Once an executive from The Coca-Cola Company mistakenly grabbed the wrong luggage of another guest, who was livid when she could not have her bags on her flight back to New York. After the Coke executive realized his mistake and returned the bags, Stevens raced to the airport and flew to New York, delivering the bags to the woman’s home on West 57th Street in Manhattan not long after she arrived home.

“I arrived at her door with the luggage before 12 noon in my full uniform. She immediately smiled and couldn’t believe her good luck. This act turned an unhappy client into one who will stay loyal and always remember that experience.”

So, how does Stevens duplicate these experiences in the EVS world? He attempts to personalize EVS services to patients, nurses and others as much as possible. Here’s an example.

When making rounds at a previous job at Morton Hospital in Taunton, Mass., he encountered a patient who pulled him aside and asked for help. The patient had soiled his underwear, didn’t want the nurse to know and had no clean underwear.

After informing the hospital president, Stevens drove to the nearby Wal-Mart, grabbed a package of boxers and brought them to the patient. Stevens recalls the patient’s relief and reaction: “Oh, you went to the store for me? He was definitely ‘wowed’.”

Importance of Celebrating Associates

After arriving at Exeter nearly a year ago, he worked to instill to establish a culture of respect, especially among Crothall’s 46 associates. Providing personal service — ‘wowing’ a client — is one of four pillars that Stevens lives by. The pillars are:

• Provide personal service — ‘wow’ your client.
• Respect: Always treat others the way you would like to be treated.
• Never accept what is unacceptable.
• Always maintain a very high standard in everything you do.

To achieve these goals, Stevens places a priority on recognizing the good work of his associates.

There are employee celebrations each to honor those who go “Above and Beyond” their service to others. Birthdays are celebrated, as well as HCAHPS unit winners for the month.

Stevens also sends a monthly email highlighting each member of our team as part of his “State of our EVS Department.” He also provides periodic gift cards, plaques of appreciation and “Thank You” statues for outstanding service.

“Nothing is more important than a workplace where employees are appreciated and respected,” he says. “It’s critical to treat people the way they want to be treated. They need to know they are appreciated. I am constantly sending them notes and gift cards to show them how much I appreciate what they do for patients and staff.”

All of these efforts show up in improved patient satisfaction scores. In July, the HCAHPS report on cleanliness rose to 86.7. Before Stevens joined in November 2023, it was in the mid-60s. Stevens has achieved similar results in his previous EVS positions.

Making a Difference for Patients

In addition to these accomplishments, Stevens is helping promote Exeter in the community. After a local radio host met him at the hospital, she invited Stevens to appear twice on her program and word about his new-found status quickly spread among the hospital staff.

He’s also been singled out by Exeter President Deb Cresta for making major improvements in EVS’ performance, introducing him to important visitors including New Hampshire candidate for governor Kelly Ayotte and US Senator Maggie Hassan to discuss how the hospital has improved patient service. Stevens is humbled by the attention but is proud of his team’s accomplishments.

“Once a culture of respect and integrity is established, people will do their best work,” he says. “And that’s important because people who aren’t well need our total commitment to help them heal. I believe our service can make a difference for every patient.”

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