Do you remember a kindness someone did for you?

It may be a small kindness for you to give, but it is a major kindness when received. There are many small things we do throughout the day that we don’t think of as being important. The person on the other end of your thoughtfulness may see it as major helpfulness. Even the simple act of truly listening to someone who needs to tell you the thoughts or ideas running around in their head is a sincere kindness. Taking a few minutes of your time shows that you genuinely care. It’s a selfless act of compassion and understanding. It is the first step in building trust and creating a connection for friendship with a resident or a coworker. A small act of kindness is also contagious. Without realizing it, you are at the beginning of spreading good cheer, setting someone into a happy mood, or implanting a positive attitude that will expand and grow.

You very often will not see the results of a good deed completed. But you will carry with you the light-hearted feeling of having improved someone’s day.  The by-product is how it will affect your own attitude. Knowing you have extended yourself for someone else’s benefit will create a glow within. It overflows and touches everything you do and everyone you meet for the rest of your day. Think of the residents in your assisted living community and imagine the major influence you have by doing a small kindness for them. You have the ability to lift a person’s spirit who has been struggling to get through the day.

Kind Dining♥ offers online training sessions that you can continue to use with part-time employees and newly hired employees. Training teaches ways to add kindness to their skills. It will open doors to culture change and understanding of those they work with and residents, too.  A kinder, happier staff is a healthier one that creates committed employees who stay with the company. The opportunity for growth is here. Inviting the spread of kindness is adding our unique hospitality to healthcare. Encouraging a kindly attitude can blossom, grow, and reap rewards for the givers and the receivers in your community. It begins with your food servers, from all departments, carrying pleasant considerations along with their meals.  We all know those food servers are still the company’s best assets. Investing in them is an investment in your community and your organization’s growth.

B♥ Kind Tip: You can change someone’s day for the better with a small kindness.

About Cindy Heilman

Cindy is the founder and owner of Kind Dining®, which she began in 2006. She’s traveled across the country and Canada working with and training senior living communities that want to create an exceptional dining experience for their residents and staff. In addition, she certifies select professionals in her Kind Dining® philosophy and provides tools, now in an eLearning format, that make learning stick and help people put insights into action. As a result of her work, clients often share their staff has a new sense of purpose, get along better and keep their focus and energy on what matters most. In fact, she wrote a book, Hospitality for Boomers on how to attract residents and keep good team members. In her free time, she enjoys walking Oregon trails and cheering on her favorite soccer teams, the Portland Thorns and Timbers.

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