Molly Kerr’s only brother was killed in a motorcycle accident just four months after she started her new job at Altercare of Jackson Township in Canton. It was the hardest thing she had ever faced.
When the company president, vice president and everyone from human resources at the corporate office came to the funeral, she couldn’t believe it. “I never worked for a company before that cared like that,” says Kerr, a human resources generalist whose mom works as a nurse at the same center.
The whole experience gave her a deeper connection to the company and heightened her sensitivity toward other co-workers facing illnesses, tragedy or loss.
“2010 was a very difficult year for our organization,” says Diane Geis, executive vice president, human resources. After one particularly tragic incident when a now-former employee lost three children in a house fire, Geis decided to put together a committee to establish best practices for employee support throughout the TSG system.
|
COMPANY: TSG Resources Inc.
LOCATION: North Canton with operations throughout Ohio and Michigan
EMPLOYEES: 3,500
What They Do: Manage 17 Altercare rehabilitation centers, two Avalon
food service and delivery businesses, five Absolute ancillary businesses
and four management companies.
Why It’s a Great Place to Work: Founded in 1973, TSG has grown and diversified while
retaining local ownership that fosters a supportive environment for its
employees and better care for their patients.
|
Committee members met monthly over six months to get the Healing Hearts program off the ground and expand how the company reaches out to employees with a genuine need. They did research and brainstormed ideas that might be helpful to others in crisis.
Committee members play an ongoing support role by notifying all the companies (everyone from the CEO to employees) when a significant loss occurs, then facilitating the outreach efforts.
Kerr was among the first to volunteer for the committee. “I wanted to give back,” she says. “And it’s been a blessing.”
Seeing even minimum-wage employees exercise generosity on behalf of their fellow workers has been inspiring and humbling, she says, citing a spaghetti dinner her center held to help one family with burial costs and a children’s clothing donation for another family whose pipes froze last winter.
“Sometimes, it’s the little things that make them know we care,” she says. “Having someone take their paycheck to their house so they don’t have to come into work to get it when they’re off can mean a lot to someone living from paycheck to paycheck.”
Sister Joyce Joecken, director of spiritual care services, has been an integral part of Healing Hearts from its inception. She says the program continues to grow and evolve as different needs present themselves.
When a department leader at one nursing home died suddenly in a traffic accident, several managers from the corporate office spent a few hours at the facility comforting distraught employees, Joecken says.
The next day, Joecken led a time of prayer and memory sharing during the daily morning report session. While there, she discovered that many members of the housekeeping staff were grieving over other recent losses. She prayed with them individually and in groups and attended calling hours for the employee who died.
The company brought in a hospice team for grief counseling with staff and residents. A month later, they followed up with a memorial service in honor of the employee.
“This whole experience was a wonderful coming together of our family, residents, the local community and our company,” Joecken says.
Best practices shared throughout the company included establishing a time-share program that allows employees to donate paid time-off hours to others; creating a list of referrals for services such as chaplains, support groups or hospice; and developing a specially designed group sympathy card and magnet for employees who lose a family member.
Each facility posts Team Huddle updates regarding recent deaths near the time clock for all to see. Near the chapel, they post obituaries and create memorial displays with a picture and red rose. They coordinate meal delivery to the family and plan legacies such as a memory book or a tree planted in honor of the deceased. They invite family members to the workplace memorial service and attend the wake or the funeral. They sponsor fundraisers and find local restaurants that might help with special events.
“It’s wonderful to work for caring, local bosses and great when it actually matters to come together as a team to help,” Kerr says.