Recognizing our Dedicated Employees

We recently held our annual recognition luncheon at Oak Hill Country Club and had the opportunity to recognize those individuals celebrating major length of service tenure, volunteer service and exceptional service awards.

I'm not really sure how many recognition functions I have attended over the past decades, but I do know that I keep trying to come up with new and innovative ways to say thank you for the dedicated service of staff and volunteers.

This year I thought it would be fun to take many of my past remarks and themes and create a super-sized, all-in-one, one size fits all, mega recognition presentation. I called it my "greatest hits" collection of recognition presentations.

Perhaps my most memorable remarks were the years 1990 and 2000 when I did the "What's Hot and What's Not" routine to illustrate how much things have changed within our workplace, even though so many of our staff have been with us all along. I listed the "hot items" of each decade such as:

• voice-mail/e-mail/texting

• fax machines/e-mail/scans


• pagers/cell phones/smart phones


• recycling/energy efficiency/go-green


• DOS/Windows/Office

Yes, over the years a lot has changed, but our staff & volunteers represent the one thing that has not-loyal, dedicated and caring individuals.

One year I compared our staff & volunteers to the everyday things in our life that we come to depend on:

• The alarm clock that wakes you up

• The hot shower that revives you


• The coffee that stimulates you


• The car or bus that gets you to work

I spoke about how miserable our day is when any of these things we depend on lets us down, like:

• Power failure shuts off alarm


• Out of hot water, shower runs cold


• Forgot to turn on the auto coffee maker


• Car won't start or the bus runs late

I marveled at how our staff and volunteers all represent the dependable things in our life. So many depend on them and they have not let us down.

Another year, I shared that there were 4 approaches to deliver my sincere appreciation and thanks for their dedicated service:

1. Emotional (where I get all mushy and huggy and say a heartfelt thanks)
2. Paternalistic (handshake, pat on the back and say thanks for all you do)
   
3. Rational (tell you how much you mean to those you serve and thank you on their behalf)
   
4. Analytical (equate what your years of service means by the numbers)

I wrapped up my remarks by saying that no matter how one chooses to say it, the common denominator is you have given a lot and contributed vastly to our success for which we are greatly appreciative.

Not too long ago, when we held our luncheon at a winery, I noted in my remarks the similarity between fine wine and fine staff. I concluded by saying:

• You represent the cream of the crop

• Like fine wine, you come from good stock


• You have distinguished yourself by not being just one of a bunch


• You have flourished in your environment


• You have matured into fine staff


• You have an aura of excellence compatible with the finest wine and best of class

Then there was the year I said our staff were all 3rd class ticket holders. I shared that in the days of the stagecoach there were 3 classes of tickets:

1. First Class could remain seated during the entire trip no matter what happened.


2. Second Class could also remain seated, until there was a problem at which time you had to exit the stagecoach until the problem was resolved. You could stand off to the side and watch as others worked, but could not re-board until the problem was fixed.


3. Third Class definitely had to get off if there was a problem, because it was your responsibility to help fix the problem.

The moral of my remarks was that what impressed me most is that we have so many 3rd class ticket holders at Seniorsfirst. Some organizations have too many 1st class ticket holders who expect to be catered to, waited on and pampered. Other organizations have a lot of 2nd class ticket holders who will ride along until there is a problem, but then become detached spectators. But the 3rd class ticket holders at Seniorsfirst get out and push when the going gets tough. They accept the call for servant leadership and understand that in our resident's and client's eyes, third class is really first class.

Finally, there was the time in 2003 that after attending a seminar on "The Disney Way", I spoke how the principles that Walt Disney set for his staff were not unlike the values and principles shared by all of our staff:

• Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself

• Focus on the customer


• Create a magical and enjoyable experience for all you touch


• Safety first, courteousness second and efficiency third

Yes, over the years I have found many ways to recognize the dedicated and amazing service that our staff and volunteers represent. But perhaps the most meaningful way to recognize their contributions is to simply reflect on how each uniquely touches and makes a difference in the lives of those they serve.


Congratulations to all our staff. You are all caring and loving individuals and although there are many ways to say it, it is my pleasure to simply say a heartfelt "thank you"!