Around this time of year, there’s naturally more of a tendency to give back to the community than other periods throughout the year. My gig-work staffing company GravyWork is very active within our local community, offering a brighter future to those who can use a helping hand. One act of charitable giving that I’m particularly proud of was for the DC Central Kitchen, which trains unemployed residents of the Washington, D.C. area for culinary careers and hires dozens of its own graduates to prepare 3 million meals each year for homeless shelters, schools and nonprofits.
We often partner with nonprofit organizations to provide access to transformational learning involving ways to listen and interact with others, as well as raise self-awareness and confidence. Recently we hosted free certification training sessions and also gave away gifts, cell phones and cash to people who needed it. Those efforts included upskilling people for the restaurant industry. We taught them banquet serving and fine dining, how to stay organized as they juggle multiple shifts and even jobs, and techniques to work better with managers.
Whether it’s technical or soft skills, we find that investing this time into our workforce really pays off in terms of both career development and improving the quality of service they offer. We’re committed to helping people realize their full potential in a variety of fields that include the culinary arts and hospitality management, which are in high demand right now. But the biggest takeaway is that organizations bake into their DNA the core values of caring, kindness, compassion, giving and gratitude every day of the calendar – not just during the winter holidays. It will help them become more well-rounded as they seek to attract and retain talent.