In recent months, we have focused heavily on determining the ultimate reason we do what we do every day. That is, the reason we choose to work in the restoration industry, and the reason we show up to work every day. Although that varies from person to person, we wanted to unify everyone under a main purpose for our company. More than that, we wanted to consider whether or not we are finding purpose in our work lives as well as our personal lives. After all, we spend the majority of our waking hours on the job. If our only purpose is to just get through another day of cleaning up after floods, fires, mold and trauma, then the legacy we could leave in this world is wasted.
After a lot of brainstorming and soul searching, our leadership team determined that our company's purpose is "impacting lives at every opportunity so that we can lift people up."
That means everyone; Our customers, our families, each other, and anyone else who crosses our paths in everyday life.
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We now start every morning meeting with the same two questions: What opportunity did you have yesterday to impact someone in a positive way, and how did you lift them up? The answers are often amazing, and sometimes very surprising.
What we discovered was that when we are intentional about looking for opportunities to lift someone up, incredible things happen. A positive culture emerges and we find a kinder, gentler atmosphere. We find ourselves jumping at the opportunity to do things for others that we used to overlook, or perhaps even thought was a little too "above and beyond."
Positive feedback from our customers has definitely been on the rise lately, and it's because we have team members who are more sympathetic and kinder, and who know they have an opportunity to help someone get through a very frustrating situation. They are motivated by a challenge to change a negative situation into a positive customer experience. They all want to be the one to come into our meeting and share the story that will blow everyone away. Sharing those opportunities with the group has become sort of a badge of honor; a chance to demonstrate that what they do every day, at work and at home, does make a difference and is of value. We couldn't be more proud of them.
Our team also likes to share stories of how their co-workers lift them up. When one team member goes out of his or her way to show kindness to another team member, the others want to make sure that team member gets recognized for it. We didn't even ask them to do that; they just do it because it's right.
In just a couple of months, we've noticed that referring to our co-workers as "team" and our company as the "ServiceMaster by Cornerstone family" stopped sounding clichéd and took on a genuineness that we always hoped for, but never could quite achieve. Things sure have changed!
To sum it up, our family at ServiceMaster by Cornerstone has become a small-scale example of what the whole world could be if everyone would be intentional about looking for ways to encourage and be kind to others.
We might not be changing the world at ServiceMaster by Cornerstone, but we've shown what can happen in our own little part of it when we come together for a common purpose and determine to love others. It's a good feeling!
