Civility in the Workplace
This week we are taking an extended break from our current series on Snohomish County government. The series will resume in three weeks. May 9th, our guest speaker was Linda Savage, CPC, who is an Associate and certified instructor with Final Touch Finishing School, Inc. which is one of the premier finishing schools in the United States. Linda has been associated with Final Touch Finishing School since 2003. As an associate of Final Touch Finishing School, Linda shares the passion and vision of the school's purpose to equip children, teens and adults with the tools to feel confident and competent in whatever circumstances they may find themselves by developing comtemporary social skills and image management.
Final Touch Finishing School, Inc. was founded by Debrorah King in Seattle in 1989. There programs are presented across the United States and internationally with a fucus on teaching individuals how to evaluate each social and business circumstance, as well as how to respond with appropriate poise and manners based on a variety of cultural considerations. A perfect blend for Rotary's Four Way Test and new Branding standards. Although the school was started in Seattle, it is now headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The immediate goal and objective of Final Tourch Finishing School is to increase respect in the classrooms and a topic that Linda has authored. Teasing and belittling fellow students is at an all time high in the United States and the rest of the world. Becoming less civil in the world is their major objective. Bullying, teasing and belittling fellow students and adults in the school or in the workplace or even in public is out of hand. Likewise, respect to RSVP restaurant reservations, wedding invitations etc., is a major problem in the United States. One small restaurant business with a seating capacity of 48, began posing no-shows on their webisite recently. Is this fair? Well is it fair to skip RSVPing or calling to cancel a reservation? Since this was a relatively small restaurant trying to seat 48 people only to have no shows, causes workers to loose tips, management being unable to fill those no-show seating. Its happening at all levels of social interchange and unwillingness to do "what's right."
Linda distributed a Workplace Civility Awareness quiz which was followed by a discussion of some of the questions. Polling information shows that 80% in the workplace feel they do not get recognized for outstanding work. Likewise, stress in the workplace cost over $300 billion annually. This was an valuable presentation and an eye-opening experience. We hear about this all the time in the media but do we see it all around us. Another great program.
Linda and her husband Dan, moved to Lake Stevens last summer. They raised three children successfully to adulthood. Linda's father, her husband, Dan, his two brothers and their youngest son are all Eagle Scouts.