I spent a good part of my day today with a group of girlfriends I’ve had for over 20 years. There’s something special about these gals; a unique authenticity and vulnerability is present that you can’t force or create on your own. There’s a sense of community that’s formed – regardless of the frequency in which we see one another or in our location relative to one another.
A few more stories:
- We had an employee that was making $15/hr and was offered a position for $24 and he didn’t leave – when we asked why? He said “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s real good pay…but I don’t think I could give up my people over the pay – they treat me so awesome!”
- Someone called and he had interviewed with us previously but we never placed him anywhere and now he is back at his old company…long story long his current company is looking for welders and he referred them to us to help them find people! We asked, “why us?” and he said “because you were very professional, had great follow up and even though you couldn’t find me a position, you were honest and communicated with me in the process!”
- We met Steve in January. He’s the kind of guy that when you look at his resume you’re impressed and also super curious about what his story really is. Then you meet in person and you’re asking really vague questions in hopes that he’ll stumble and you can find the ‘truth’ behind the resume. But instead of stumbling, he fully acknowledges and owns it with a degree of integrity you don’t find often…and then you realize he’s quizzing you as much as you’re quizzing him. And you high five it out because you walk away fully committed to one another’s success. Interviews with the client are next and then back and forth on a job offer and suddenly you’re just as invested as he is and asking all the right and tough questions on his behalf to make things work, and he’s asking everyone in his personal network for advice to make the best decision. Then he accepts, but you see – that’s not where it ends. That’s just where it begins. 6 months into the role we got an email with a high five gif attached (attached to this email), and in the email is a note from a General Manager in a different facility – 3 levels above Steve and in reference to a project he was working: “Every day I have the privilege of working alongside the best and brightest…it’s our amazing people that make [Customer] great, and I’m proud to work alongside you” à when you get emails like that you jump out of your seat and shout it out and ring the cowbell J
Community is a funny thing, it’s everything around us if we look for it. The feeling and sense of community can come in all shapes and sizes and can deeply influence our decisions, our future path, our successes and our failures. We put a diligent focus on our Vision Family & Community both internally and externally through our engagement with candidates and customers and we encourage you to do the same. Join us this week at our annual Appreciation Event – family, friends, employees, customers, neighbors, members of the community; everyone is welcome to join us in celebration! We kick it off tomorrow as an internal team over lunch, and then the big parties begin on Tuesday in Bloomington, Wednesday in Blaine, and Thursday in Rogers. See you there J
Merry Christmas to you and yours,
Heather
