A friend of mine told me of a conversation she had recently. She asked her friend what it is about her job that makes her love going to work. The friend replied, “My coworkers are happy to see me and greet me with a hearty Good Morning! What a great way to begin my work day! I know who I am, that I’m important to my company and help to make it successful. I handle my responsibilities with ease and have the confidence that I handle them well. My boss praises me sincerely and I’ve formed friendships. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have off-days. It does mean that when I need help it is offered with a smile and a thought that we all have days that go off.”

She continued, “It’s exciting when a new challenge comes up because the company gives us the training we need to learn what to do and how to do it best. I interact with the public and have met delightful people and learned how to enlighten someone who walks under a dark cloud. It’s an effort sometimes, but I always benefit from helping someone else. It’s amazing how that works.”

My friend thought for certain she had attended one of my training sessions because these are the goals of Kind Dining®. The value of training your food servers, encouraging them in teamwork, and learning to love the job they do is vital to their living a happy life and creating happiness everywhere they go. It is most important for food servers because the dining room is the heart of day for residents. It is more than just eating a meal. They look forward to socializing with other residents and when you have cheerful, caring servers, they look forward to seeing them, too. So it is also vital for your residents who will bask in the same glow as your servers. Ask your residents what makes their mealtimes so pleasant and ask your servers if they are happy to come to work in your community.

Our B♥ Kind® Tip: Remember, you are unique, valuable and worthy of respect, but proceed humbly.