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You Have a People Problem

Jancoa

Story

How do you turn a short-term job into a life-enhancing opportunity?  

JANCOA is a janitorial service company that had a people problem: 400% turnover.  But when Tony and Mary Miller started really listening to their employees and learning about their lives, their hearts were broken such that they had to change the way they managed their people.  Knowing what really matters to workers and working with them to enable their dreams changes everything.

Feedback on the film? Feel free to reach out below.

Guided Reflections

Reflecting on the Story

  • Of the specific things that Jancoa is doing, which stood out to you as being particularly effective or innovative in “helping people attain their hopes and dreams”?
  •  Mary says, “Once your heart is broken, you can’t continue to do business the way you’ve always done business.”  What does she mean? Do you agree with her?

Connecting to your Work

  • What aspects of your job provide you with a sense of meaning?  Why?
  • What people-management lessons might you/your company learn from Jancoa’s story?
  • How would you/your company treat employees differently if they were understood to be whole people?  What would you start doing?  Stop doing?
  • If it was designed for whole people, how would your company’s compensation system need to change?

Personal Application

  • Why is it so hard to really listen to what employees want/need?  What does it take to do this?
  • What practical things can you do to develop the skill of listening to others’ hopes and dreams?

Read: David Brooks’ “What makes us all radically equal” from New York Times.

Read: “From a lifestyle of Isolationism to Personal Engagement” in the Theology of Work

Read: Bas Kohnke’s “What companies should be doing to retain talent in 2019” from Fast Company magazine.  Ideas includes many relevant tips to increase “people enablement”.

Lord, help to see my co-workers as more than their job.  Motivate me to really pay attention to what’s going on in their lives.  Teach me to listen with an open heart.  Thank you for the opportunity to “do life” with work-neighbors.  Please give me wisdom to know how to effectively address the multi-faceted needs of whole people. Amen