HR Conference Attendees – don’t forget the “heart of the house”.

Last week at this time I was doing microphone duty in one of the final live feed sessions at the ERE conference which was down here in Hollywood, Florida at the Westin Diplomat. I won’t go into what I thought about the sessions (they were awesome) and to quote an HR friend of mine who had never attended ERE before “wow the content here is very different”! There are lots of great posts written about the event, such as this post from #hirefriday Margo Rose, so allow me to move on and address something entirely different.

As I was leaving the venue parking garage, I saw 4 ladies in their uniforms – ladies who were probably a part of the hard working folks who work behind the scenes in the hotel’s housekeeping and laundry division. They were smiling and laughing (perhaps trading tales about the crazy things they saw in one of our rooms that day) hmmm? And all 4 of them were proudly sporting ERE bags. Not holding them in their hands mind you, they were wearing them on their shoulders. I wanted to take a picture to document the event, but I wasn’t fast enough and I was being honked at by the guy behind me.

Everyone wants to feel appreciated.

Most of us would cringe at the thought of cleaning a stranger’s room, yet every time you stay in a hotel, someone has done just that. Did you know that it’s customary to tip the housekeeper? I have a friend who never knew that until she shared a room with me. Now she tips even better than I do – glad I could help the cause.

In addition to a tip (providing they have done their job of course), on the last day I leave a handwritten note that simply says “thank-you”! If I picked up a stuffed animal or something useful from the exhibit hall that I think they might appreciate, I leave that too. Maybe one of their grandchildren would like that BountyJobs.com pony right?

Another thing I try to do is say “Hello” as I am passing the employees in the hallway. There’s nothing better than a shy smile and soft “Hello” back from someone who is used to being ignored.

So the next HR conference that YOU attend, think about how you can make someone’s day just a little brighter. They might even bring you extra lotion or two.

Tagged as: appreciation, bounty jobs, ERE, gratitude, hire friday, HR, HR conference, tip the maid, voluteering