By Stephen Tweed 
Eric Chester is a friend and professional speaking colleague from Denver, Colorado. Eric has spent two decades speaking to and about young people. He started speaking in high schools. As those students graduated, he began working with employers who hire those students and wrote a great book called Employing Generation WHY.
Today, Eric speaks for large companies who hire large numbers of Generation Y and Millennials. His book, Reviving Work Ethic discusses in detail the challenges of hiring and leading younger workers. He made a terrific statement:
“What do you expect from each and every employee?”
That struck me as a very precise question for leaders in home care who are hiring caregivers.
Eric’s answer is …
“Employers are searching for positive, enthusiastic people who show up for work on time, who are dressed and prepared properly, who go out of their way to add value and do more than what’s required of them, who are honest, who will play by the rules, and who will give cheerful, friendly service regardless of the situation.”
Does that describe your ideal home care worker? Of course.
Eric says there are seven elements in that sentence that sum up what you want from your people: 
- Upbeat, optimistic, energetic, and positive
- Dependable, no matter what
- Neatly groomed, appropriately dressed, and well mannered
- Ambitions and dedicated (not satisfied with merely good enough)
- Trustworthy
- Coach-able
- Determined to do anything necessary to delight every customer
Right now you are probably thinking of one or two of your very best caregivers who fit that description. These are the folks we want to attract with our Culture of Attraction and Accomplishment.
Reviving Work Ethic with Sandbox Values
Eric goes on to talk about “Sandbox Values”. When small children are old enough to understand and comprehend basic commands, parents and teachers begin to program their value systems. Children all around the world are taught:
- Smile and play nice
- Be prompt
- Look your best
- Do your best
- Obey the rules
- Tell the truth
- Say please and thank you
These Sandbox Values line up perfectly with the seven things employers want. Eric says, “Instilling these seven attributes into the hearts and minds of the emerging workforce is the key to keeping our companies, and our country, stable and prosperous.”
“Work ethic is knowing what to do and doing it. It is marked by an individual’s positive attitude, reliability, professionalism, initiative, respect, integrity, and gratitude.”
What IF?
What if you and your leadership team were to invest some time, talent, and treasure defining three or four core values and creating a culture of attraction and accomplishment that brings to you caregivers who demonstrate …
- Positive attitude
- Reliability
- Professionalism
- Initiative
- Respect
- Integrity
- Gratitude
Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Join Eric in a future Caregiver Quality Mastermind Group
We’ve invited Eric to join us for a future meeting of our Caregiver Quality Mastermind Groups. He’ll join us for a short discussion of his research and insights into employing younger workers, and he’ll talk about how these insights can be used to revive the work ethic in your more experienced caregivers as well.
If you would really like to revive the work ethic in your company, you’ll want to become a member of a Caregiver Quality Mastermind Group.
