What else can we do though?
One thing: yesterday I made a $5,000 donation – without asking anyone, by the way (sorry folks) – to the non-profit development organization English for New Bostonians to begin a new partnership which will also relaunch our efforts to teach Boloco team members English. Its a critical cause that’s been part of our culture since 1998. It’s not everything for sure, but speaking English in the US most definitely helps our people provide more value to both Boloco and their future employers.
So, again, what else, besides money (which again, is real! As Seth says below… those are just the facts!) will Boloco be able to do to make the decision to stay at Boloco easier for people we love and value (the feelings).
Ideas from past meetings and retreats:
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daily huddles with honest communication and bold, innovative idea sharing on how to make Boloco a great place to work
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managers connecting personally 1:1 with each team member for at least a few minutes – learning more about hopes and dreams, how Boloco supports (or doesn’t support!) their life outside of work. Taking ideas and feedback seriously… without defensiveness.
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anonymous team surveys on a regular basis so people can voice their opinions and complaints and compliments
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better health and dental care available for less $$ (??)
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helping people build professional resumes and Linked In profiles (perhaps go back to our long-time partners at JVS Boston to help relaunch this pre-covid effort)
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celebrating birthdays and anniversaries – so many of you do a great job at this!
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welcome celebrations for new team members, gratitude and goodbye parties for departing team members
What else can we do? Yes, it’s about money, but yes, its also about a lot more than money!!
Any ideas feel free to add them here or privately however you wish to whomever you wish!
Thanks for listening.
Sent with my own feeling of deep gratitude,
Co-Founder & Chief Worker Advocate
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Narrative and feelings
from Seth’s Blog
Which comes first? The feelings, the facts, or the story we tell ourselves that leads to the feelings?
It’s surprising that I ended up at the college I went to.
Back in 1978, there were two ways to visit campus if you were taking a subway from the airport. One route went through Harvard Square, with its magical campus, and then via bus down youth-friendly Mass. Ave., pass Steve’s famous ice cream parlor and on to the small school. The other route, the route the admissions office suggested when I called them, went through gritty Lechmere, then by bus past wood-frame houses built in the 1950s, then some more grittiness and then on to the back of the campus.
It would have been easy to use the feelings that the second route created in me, a solo traveler barely 17 years old, to invent a narrative about what was missing from this choice of school.
We like to think we make complicated decisions based on rational analysis, but most of the time, we actually make an emotional decision and then invent a rational analysis to justify it.