My boss was fired on Tuesday. I was basically offered her job, but I am still deciding what if I want to take it.
I had a store meeting with the crew yesterday to let them know that there would be changes in our store and to let them know what my expectations were and to let them know what they could expect from me. Our area manager was there, as was another employee from another store. This employee was some one I had hired when I was asked to go to that store to fix their operations after their manager was fired.
I could tell from the minute I interviewed her that she would be awesome. She had a great attitude and I could tell she was very capable of getting it done. She was great, she caught on fast and worked all the hours she could. One day she did not show up for work. Two days later I found out she had been arrested for possession of drugs. My heart was broke. She was going to be my shining star. I had hoped to use her as a trainer for that store. Her dad came in and talked to me. I know it was very hard for him to talk to me as openly as he did. I appreciated his honesty with me, he asked me if when she was released from jail if she still had a job. I told him yes, that she would. Two days later she came in and talked to me. We went back into the office and she told me that she had a problem and she had to deal with it. She was crying and very upset. She has two young children, and she knew that she had to give them up while she was in jail. I hugged her and I told her that it would be ok, and that things would work out. I told her I believed in her and I knew that she could overcome all that she had to. She served some time and was released to a halfway house. By the time she was able to come back to that store, a new manager was found and I was back to working in my own store. Before I left I had to term her out of the system, I called her to tell her that, and I also told her to give me a call when she was ready to come back. One day, the new manager called me and asked me for a reference on her. I told him to hire her back, I filled him in on some of the details of her situation and told him that she will work hard and he could always count on her. He hired her back, she has been an asset to him and has helped him run his store. She has stepped up and taken on the responsibility that I knew she would. She is the expert trainer for that store.
He offered her to me to help fix things in our store. To retrain people, to hire people and make sure they are trained right. I asked her to come to our meeting so everyone could meet her. I let them know that she would be there to help them and to coach them. After our meeting, I asked her to come back into the office there so I could put her in to the computer so I could pay her for attending our meeting. While I was typing in the information she told me wanted to thank me. I stopped typing and looked at her. She had started to cry. She said that I was the only person who ever told her that they believed in her. She said that was what got her through things. That is what gets her through everyday. She is trying to get her kids back ( she signed over her parental rights while she was in jail, they live with their paternal grandmother ) and she is working all the hours she can so she can afford to give her kids all that they need. I know that she will go far with this company if they give her the chance too. By this time I was crying with her. I had never thought that saying “ I believe in you” could mean so much to someone. When I got home from work last night , I had time to reflect on what she had said to me. I realized something very important. I changed someone’s life, just by listening to them and offering my support, and it felt good.
No, it felt wonderful. I made a difference.