Imagine for a moment that your spouse died last year and you are raising two children, of which one is disabled. You are working full-time and one day you find yourself ill. Your situation is such that the top physicians in the world can’t figure out how to treat you. Now imagine what your employer would say if you were unable to do the work that you were hired to do on a consistent basis.
I think we all know how this story would end in most businesses. But the business I’m about to tell you about isn’t any ordinary company. This is a small business where the owner takes a personal interest in the welfare of his people. He is genuinely troubled that he cannot by himself solve this dilemma for his employee. But he knows he has the power to make a difference. First he knew enough to seek the advice of an expert (that would be me) since he knew he was dealing with a situation that was out of his area of expertise. I think if you asked him he would tell you that having a trusted resource to talk through tough situations like this, enabled him to swiftly make a decision regarding this employee and return to the business of generating profits so he could do the following for this employee:
1. Paid leave effective immediately
2. Nutritional coaching scheduled every 2 weeks (he found her a specialist)
3. Getting her a 2nd and 3rd opinion. She has only seen one specialist regarding her condition
4. Encourage her to ask her parents to take care of her kids during her leave in an effort to focus solely on her recovery
5. Communicated with his team to “pick up the slack” during her absence.
Neither I nor the CEO of the company knows how this will end. But one thing is certain. This is how you build an exceptional workplace that leads to extraordinary results.
And here is the lucky news for a few special people. This CEO is hiring.
