The Corporate Caregiver

"Caregiving is one way for humans to learn about humanity. It is not only about simply doing for others. It is also about self acceptance and honest intentions." Daniel Warner
Does your organization have a Corporate Caregiver? That is likely because you have never heard of one!
A Corporate Caregiver is a manager whose sole job function is to make certain that the employees of the company are cared for. This is done in a number of ways which collectively nurture, support and give value to each employee both personally and professionally.
Caregiving is a progressive new mindset for today's fast-paced business. Including a management position of this nature in your company will prevent low employee morale and help stave off job burn-out as the Corporate Caregiver spends time teaching employees on how to have a healthy work/home balance and outlook on life.
The role of Corporate Caregiver as it relates to on-boarding new employees should include:
Taking them to lunch on their first day to introduce them to the company, its philosophies and to strike a personal connection; following up each day their first week to make sure they know their way around, have integrated into their department's workflow and generally be their first "friend" in the company; following up weekly throughout their 90 day evaluation period to encourage feedback and suggestions; and, assisting in coordinating additional training should they become overwhelmed or have a feeling that they do not adequately understand their new responsibilities.
The feedback I have had from employees who have received the Corporate Caregiving experience has been phenomenal. The majority of them feel that the special emphasis that was placed on their importance as a new employee went the extra mile in not only assuring them that they made a great choice in joining the company, but in them wanting to perform at their peak every day in order to "give back."
Employers today need to realize that employees have a lot of choices and they are no longer settling to just earn a paycheck. They want a quality experience and they want their employer to be genuinely interested in them. That is where your Corporate Caregiver can set your company apart from competitors competing for talent.
Once the employee has completed their 90 day evaluation period and both the employee and the company agree that they are a great match and commit to each other, the Corporate Caregiver's role changes to that of an advocate - somewhat of a guidance counselor that you would confer with when you are feeling out of sorts or just needing some perspective - someone to listen without judgment and someone who has the ears of management when it becomes obvious that change needs to occur within the organization.
In addition to advocacy, the Corporate Caregiver should evaluate and implement programs that enhance customer service skills and provide personal development training. Two that I have used with great success is The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn and Today Matters by John Maxwell.
The Corporate Caregiver does not have to have a degree in psychology. They only have to be kind, considerate, compassionate and understand the organization from both the employer and employee perspectives so they can bring the two together and have them work on the same team.
You may think that it is waste of money that could be spent toward the operation of the business, but I can assure you that allocating dollars to a Corporate Caregiving initiative will save you countless dollars by avoiding attrition. It is also important to understand that happy and well-balanced employees also yield dollars in the door from happy customers who are treated well by these individuals.
And of course the reverse is true. Bad morale is just bad for business!