He met daily with at least two members of the food-service
team, one during breakfast and the other over lunch, getting to
know more about each, and generally covering the three areas he
had outlined for them in his introductory meeting.
In addition to his daily meetings, Neil worked half-days for
one week in each of the college’s food-service facilities. He did
everything from waiting tables and cooking to cleaning up,
planning menus and operating cash registers.
In a little over four weeks, Neil called another early morning
team meeting. He opened that meeting by welcoming the “Food
Brood.” He confessed that he was a few days late regarding his
promise to report on questions and remarks collected from the
introductory meeting. At that point, he turned over the meeting to
the Food Service Administrative Committee. The committee
passed out folders titled, “Where We Are and Where We’re Going
... Together!”They gave a one-hour presentation covering:- The new committee-created mission statement.
- Ten new employee policies and benefits based on
employee remarks in the introductory meeting. - A new “profit-sharing” bonus plan tied to each facility
team’s ability to create and implement new cost-saving,
revenue-generating measures.
Employees were encouraged to complete and return an
“Impressions and Evaluations” form included in each folder to
their team leaders in one week.
Then the meeting was opened for questions. Committee
members were able to answer the surprisingly few questions that
were asked without input from Neil. When it was apparent that
there were no more questions, Neil stood to conclude
the meeting.
He began by requesting a round of applause for the eight-
member administrative committee. It was their efforts, he assured
the group, that made the many positive new steps a reality. Then
he expressed his gratitude to the president, who had reviewed the
entire plan just presented and had approved it wholeheartedly. He
then thanked the entire group for the fun of working alongside
them, for allowing him to get to know them, and for the loyalty
and commitment he saw in each person.
Coaching, Mentoring and Managing3 C A S E S T U D Y