The lessons learned in life are often as important as the first ones we learn in school when training for a career. This happened when the state surveyor pulled me into her confidence by telling me how much better I could be in my career by embracing the changes and broadening my expanse of expertise. My value to my community … Continue reading
Some time ago I was explaining the importance of learning new skills for nurses during a training session of Kind Dining. One individual balked at the idea of needing to do anything different than she had always done. She was so adamant that her arms folded across her chest looked like they would block any new information from entering her … Continue reading
In a successful community dining room, every staff member needs to perform their individual part to please residents, just like each musician in an orchestra plays from his sheet music to deliver a unified audience-pleasing performance. Executive Directors tell me, “Resident caregivers grumble about serving food or pouring coffee.“We didn’t school to be wait staff and resent this part of … Continue reading
I recall a teenage kitchen worker in one Kind Dining® class. He was just looking for a job and happened to find one in this community. His focus about just earning money changed after he noticed how the residents became personal to him. “It didn’t take long for me to realize that showing up for work, being there, and being … Continue reading
My friend’s brother Bob, who owned a bistro, told me about the difficulty he had with a chef. The food she prepared was excellent. She even brought some of her own recipes. But she refused to come out of the kitchen to say hello to the steady customers who wanted to meet the chef who cooked their wonderful food. These … Continue reading
When I was in my mid 20s I was working in the wilds of Alaska at an isolated camp where 100 young adults, ages 16-23 from multiple states came together for conservation work. This was bare bones living and working! There were no luxuries or electricity! Gracious, we did have running water. Cold, only! I was in charge of the … Continue reading
A friend of mine, who married very young, told me about leaving an unhappy marriage after fifteen years and entering the workforce for the first time. She started by taking orders from the salesmen for a wine wholesaler. Practicing the pronunciation and spelling of imported wines was vital to her. She didn’t last long. Her employer saw great potential in … Continue reading
The leader in the community that is afire with passion for being the best at working toward a common goal inspires every other employee who becomes aware of that devotion. That dedication is contagious and will spread to your employees who also want to be the best at their particular job. Kind Dining® training gives your servers the opportunity to … Continue reading
One day an instructor called me, very excited, about a community where she had been conducting Kind Dining® training sessions.“The Licensed Nurse Aides (LNAs) have been serving meals in the dining room and came to me to ask permission to buy decorative baskets for the tables. Naturally I happily said, This is your dining room, please do it!” She sees … Continue reading
A Kind Dining® instructor called to tell me of an incident showing a big result from one of her Kind Dining® training sessions. One of the servers donned an apron just to see what reaction she would get. Surprisingly a resident told her she looked like Kind Dining® and that she liked the look of it. Others agreed with her. … Continue reading
