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O ka pono ke hana 'ia a iho mai na lani |
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January 25, 2010
"Continue to do good until the heavens come down to you," goes the Hawaiian proverb. "Blessings come to those who persist in doing good."
One of the things I enjoy the most about working here is looking over our Satisfaction Surveys. These surveys, distributed anonymously around the end of the counseling process, tell some important stories about the work that my staff does. We compile these statistics annually, and the latest figures are in for the 2009 year. The results are so high that if I hadn't seen them myself, and they weren't consistent with last year's numbers, I wouldn't believe them.
Between 97% and 100% of those who responded indicated they were satisfied with our services last year. Wow! The highest numbers (99.44% satisfied) were for the quality of services received, how well the staff communicated with them, and how they were treated by staff. The overall satisfaction rating was that 98.32% of those surveyed were satisfied with the services they received.
[Download the 2009 Satisfation Survey]
This is one of the reasons that most of our businesses keep choosing us despite challenging times -- they know that we provide excellent services and go above and beyond to make sure the employees we see and the companies we work with are satisfied. And it's one of the factors that brought me here and keeps me here -- working with such great people and being a part of an organization that truly cares is truly a blessing!
Dave Mitchell, Director |
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'Aha'i la i ka pupuhi |
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January 13, 2010
"Away like a gust [of wind]," is how Mary Kawena Pukui described this Hawaiian saying. I just returned from a stay-cation in beautiful Maui and am back to work again, reflecting on the New Year ahead. Since returning from watching the whales frolic on the Valley Isle, I was reflecting that over just a couple weeks I have had the privilege of spending time on each of the four major Hawaiian islands. I went to Kauai to help roll out our services to the County of Kauai -- a good opportunity of teaching managers and supervisors about how they can use EAP well while I briefly enjoyed the Garden Isle. I was on the Big Island twice -- once training a company on the same topic (how to use EAP in their management toolkit) and once to help a company recover from a tragedy (less fun but definitely more important!). I gained a new appreciation for the Hilo area both trips.
And now I'm back home again on Oahu, traveling from one end to the other. Have had the opportunity of showing off Oahu to various friends and family traveling from the Mainland, watching them arrive, enjoy their unique island experience, and then seeing them off again, "away like a gust of wind."
Happy New Year! Though last year seemed to fly by as well, we are looking forward to serving you this year, and I'm looking forward to enjoying my travels this year. Look out, Molokai and Lanai, you're next!
Dave Mitchell, Director, WorkLife Hawaii |
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Hala no ia la o ka pololi |
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November 24, 2009
"A hungry day passes." Thankfulness that there was food for another day is a relevant Hawaiian tradition, especially in today's economy. We have much to be thankful for, as well as the balancing realization that hunger is still a reality for many.
At WorkLife Hawaii, we send you all our best wishes this Thanksgiving. May your hunger pass. May you remember what you're thankful for. Helping others who are hungry for answers or solutions is what we do every day, and we are thankful for the ability to do this. Most will be taking the day off Thursday, but we're here for you every day. We're thankful for you, and thankful for the opportunity of serving your company, your co-workers, your family, and you!
Dave Mitchell, Director |
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Ho'omau ia aku (To be continued...) |
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November 20, 2009
The Hawaiian saying "Ho'omau ia aku, wahi a ka nūpepa" meant "to be continued, according to the newspaper." It was said of anything continued, or put off to be finished later. With 21st century blogs, we'll now be able to continue stories on a much more frequent basis than what used to be in weekly papers. Our goal for this blog is to stay in touch, to share our experiences as your EAP, and help Hawaii employees, managers, and companies with the variety of issues on what we call "the human side of business."
I've had the opportunity of attending several benefit/wellness fairs for a number of our customers across Hawaii. At the last one I saw a continued pattern I wanted to share. The first year we work with a business, when we go to a benefit fair I see about 75% of employees steer a wide berth around our booth. (I've learned not to take it personally!) When I ask the 25% who stop by if they've heard about us, about half have and half have not. The second year, around 50% steer clear, finding something extremely interesting on the other side of the aisle. When I ask the other half if they've heard about us, about half have. Some have referred a coworker, some even say they've used our services. After year three or four, only about 10% steer away. The rest stop by and start talking story, asking questions, saying how they used it or haven't needed to use it but know about us. They joke about our flyers and aren't as afraid. They know we're here for them and are glad we're here.
The relationships that I've built in just over two years here (has time flown....) have been just like that. I've had the opportunity to talk story now with many, many people from across Hawaii, and am enjoying the relationships that come with time and trust. We are truly in this together with over 70 businesses across Hawaii and we take this role as your EAP seriously. If we can ever help, call us. I look forward to the continued journey!!
Dave Mitchell, Director |
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