Any lingering doubt about the wisdom of this move vanished. Despite the fact Mom can’t remember them and alternates in moods that range from pleasant to belligerent, this team of caregivers continues to serve with compassion and care. They come from different parts of the facility to tell me they are so glad our whole family has come home.
Funny. The first day I left her, the security guard at my building hollered out, "Welcome home." I swear I had never heard that.
Welcome home insights for leaders
1.) How do you make employees feel as if they are welcomed home? One surgeon was overheard telling a custodian, "Hey, Frank. Glad to see you this morning. I never worry about the cleanliness of this hospital when I see you here." Don’t you think the employee felt as if he was, "welcomed home"? I do.
2.) Do you notice when employees are absent, whether for illness, travel, or even vacation? And when they come back, do you welcome them home? Sounds trite, but I am beginning to think it is the small things that help us feel valued.
3.) As the economy turns around, you might very well want to bring back employees who have been laid off. How will you welcome them home?
4.) What about your customers or clients? How do you welcome them home? One bank teller not only didn’t welcome a long-time customer "home" but insisted that he could not validate a parking ticket unless the customer made a transaction. The customer was so angry, he made a transaction: closed an account that had several thousand dollars in it.
Welcome home insights for employees
1.) There are some people who bring joy by entering a room and others by leaving. Which one are you? If we had not cared for the staff at Mom’s residence and if she had not been kind, trust me -- they would not have welcomed her home.
2.) Watch out for negativity, mean-spirited comments, and "all-about-me" behavior. Behavior like this, even if one is a solid performer by way of numbers, will not generate a "welcome home" feeling. In one law firm, the top rainmaker was fired because the managing partners determined that his behavior so undermined the office that they were better off without him.
3.) Always leave well. Should you leave for another company, another career or even retirement-make sure you leave speaking only well of your employer. Who knows -- you might want to return someday.
Remember: home is not given but made. What will you do to make your work a place in which people feel welcomed home?
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