Speaker 1 (00:02):
Great. Well good afternoon. This is Rhonda Veder and Brianna Martinez and we are here to say hello from Illuminated Pathways Family Therapy and we’re going to talk to you a little bit about what the title of our podcast today is called, connections Matter, how we Treat Each Other and the Role of The Front Desk. And so we just thought we would go ahead and kind of talk about that knowing that we are really a forward facing with our clients and knowing how we want to treat them. And so I felt like this was a good one because of the role Ms. Brianna has here with Illuminated Pathways. Everyone loves her and you’re going to learn the reasons why. So welcome everyone to today’s podcast. Today we’re talking about a little something that matters deeply in every workplace, but especially in ours, staff connections and how we treat one another and the important role of the front desk in creating the culture people experience every single day.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
When people think about great Workplace, they often think about benefits, schedules or opportunities for growth, but the truth is what people remember most is when they were treated. Did people support you or support them? Did the coworkers step in when things got busy and did they feel respected and valuable?
Speaker 1 (01:29):
And at the center of every strong organization it is connection and connection doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through intention. We truly believe the best counseling practice to work for Texas has to offer is illuminated pathways family therapy.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
That phrase isn’t just what we say, it’s something we built together one interaction at a time.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
So let’s talk about staff connections. And when we talk about staff connections, we’re going to try to address every workplace has moments where things move fast, stress rises and demands increase during those moments. Relationships matter. We know how each of we know each other better when we know them. So it’s not something that just haphazardly happens, it’s how we learn them day to day. We want to trust each other and genuinely care about one another. Work feels different when that happens.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
When we think about a coworker who notice you’re overwhelmed and offer help when you ask, think about our teammate that helps us checks in and even celebrates our win, which is a thing that we all do here. We all have a meeting in the morning that we can all celebrate wins that we’ve had for the day before or something that happened during the week that just, it’s nice to have everybody celebrate that win that we have.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Yes, that is something we do. Absolutely. There’s several things that I’ll ask every morning in our huddle at eight 15, and that is one of the questions, does anybody have a win that they want to share? So thank you for Brianna for bringing that up. Those moments do matter. Strong staff connections create stronger outcomes, not only for us, but for every person who walks through our doors. And if we want to truly be the best counseling practice to work for, Texas has to offer, we have to remember that excellence starts internally, culture starts with us. What’s one thing a coworker has done that made you feel supported? Brianna?
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I feel like a moment where I’m having a rough day and they notice and they bring me up. I say, it’s okay. Don’t stress like everything will be fine or You’re doing a good job or things like that. That actually helps me know that they’re actually paying attention to the surroundings of our workplace and about the staff and everything. So it does feel nice whenever they notice that or whenever they notice that I feel overwhelmed sometimes they know that lift up that spirit, so I’m glad for that.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Very good. So how we treat each other, that’s kind of pretty important. And she kind of discussed that just now. So when you’re not having the best of days, how we treat each other really matters. So now let’s talk a little bit more about that and how we treat one another.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Kindness sounds simple, but it’s powerful. Respect isn’t only shown in big moments, but it’s shown up in everyday interactions saying good morning, listening without interrupting, offering patients with during stressful moments that everybody could have, assuming positive interactions and also giving grace When somebody has a difficult day,
Speaker 1 (05:03):
That is something that we do with everyone. Whether you are a client walking through the door or you are our family member of the staff, we become one big family. So that really does matter. And when we have those extra locations too,
(05:19):
Not everyone comes here that works for us. And so that idea of being a family oriented place really matters. And so having the patience and creating that grace when maybe there’s a disconnect somehow that we need to pull that together so everyone can feel pretty part of something bigger than where they are in the moment. We all have had hard moments. None of us are perfect, but what matters is how we show up for one another. Sometimes professionalism gets confused with being distant, but professionalism and compassion can absolutely exist together. We can be accountable and supportive. We can be direct and respectful. We can challenge each other while still protecting relationships. That’s creating the best part of the best counseling practice to work for Texas has to offer. A healthy culture isn’t created because problems never happen. It’s created because people handle challenges with maturity, empathy and teamwork. Brianna, how do you want people to describe the way they feel after interacting with you?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I want ’em to feel happy. I want ’em to just feel comfortable and feel safe coming or feeling comfortable, feeling comfortable being with us and talking to me. Even over the phone, I always try to make everybody feel okay. If I have some need to tell them, I always try to make sure I comfort them. I always try to, even when I have even making a payment, collecting a card, I always try to have my positive mindset, my positive voice to make sure that they know that we got them and that we have everything in control for them, for them to also feel happy. If you get a very interaction with somebody that it could be rude or anything, the person that’s on the phone can feel the sense of you being rude or even having that mindset that you don’t even want to talk to them. And for us, we always try to have that mindset that we like to talk to them, that we have a positive mindset we’ll talk it to.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Yes. So that brings us to the front desk, which is where her role is, and those first impressions really are the heartbeat of our business. And I always talk about what is it, the white glove effect. We’re going to give them the cream of the crop of who we are so that they want to continue to keep coming back. A lot of things that are not in our control, whether we are turning, someone decides not to stay with our company or they decide to go on to some other path after they graduate, that affects a lot of what happens with our clientele and then our staff also because we miss them and we want them to stay. But not always does that happen. So we still have to create this culture where the heartbeat of that first impression still can matter no matter how we feel.
(08:18):
We want to deliver that over to the other side. Now that now let’s shine a light on one of the most important roles of my organization, which is the front desk, which is the first response, the first phone call. This is where they check in. This is them greeting them at the door. This is getting whatever they need, coffee or water, all those different things. The front desk is the very first interaction somebody has with us for clients, families, visitors, and even new staff. The front desk creates the first impression. In fact, that just happened because we hired a new staff member for the front desk and we just did her paperwork. So she came where to the front desk. But it did, it’s what happened, right? So take it from there.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Yes, that role takes patience. It takes emotional awareness and it takes organization and sometimes it takes incredible resistance. A warm breathing matters, a warm, a calm voice matters. A smile matters. The front desk team often carries energy into the entire building when they feel supported, appreciated, connected, everybody benefits. And that is very much true. I have gotten some Google reviews that makes me feel so happy. I had one that a client told one of our therapists, she just made it feel so easy for me when I signed up and she made me feel so comfortable that I decided to move forward with y’all because you could tell that it was my first couple of weeks and she was like, I could tell that she was new, but she was also trying her best to get me to feel comfortable, especially for my first time interacting with y’all.
(10:10):
So that made me feel nice. And my other Google review that I had was somebody that was just starting with us, didn’t know where we were located and wanted some information. So I told her, oh, don’t worry. I’ll step out on the floor to the outside and whenever you see me that’s here in the right place. And she just felt really appreciated that I did that because I got out of my seat to actually go and even greet her from the front door. What I always do, I like greeting people. I like meeting them halfway, which is a very important thing just so they won’t have to walk all the way to the front desk. So I appreciate that. I do do that because it just shows a lot that we do care about their services and
Speaker 1 (10:50):
That’s wonderful because that is some of the things that I really wanted our front desk to do and I really didn’t have to tell Brianna to do that. Brianna just automatically did that and sometimes I have to teach that. And so getting up from your seat really does matter. I’ve actually had to do that too, where I’ve gone outside because they’re maybe down the street a little bit further or whatever, and sometimes it does take incredible resilience. So with that idea, knowing that this is how it’s going to help, this is where we’re wanting to do all the very special things that help make our people feel connected. If we want to be the best counseling practice to work for Texas has to offer, we have to recognize that the front desk isn’t just an administrative role, it’s a relationship role that people at the front desk help people feel welcome, safe, and seen.
(11:45):
So that was an incredible section. It’s probably one of my favorites honestly, because it really does teach us the things that we really want to provide for our people that come through the door, whether that is people who work for us or anyone else. So one of the other things too that interfaces before we move on to this next section, I think it’ll be a good segue into it, is our remote person that’s up in Oklahoma City, so supporting one another across teams. So in this idea we have Jacob Veder who works for us from Edmond, Oklahoma. And so this is one of the best signs of a strong workplace because people help each other even when it’s not technically their job, but yet they really try to step in and kind of help those things out. I know that he’s been super instrumental at helping and providing services and application. And so I just thought I would mention that because I thought, how cool is that, that here we are in a South Houston Harris County area off of not too far from the Gulf of America. And so we live very close to the bay and knowing that eight and a half hours away ish is where our other teammate lives. And so I don’t know, what do you think about that?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, and he’s very helpful, especially with me insurance and dealing with all insurance stuff. Sometimes I have my difficult moments where insurance can be difficult for me. So for him, I just give him a call or even give him a little text and he always responds to me and helps me out. Or if I ask him to help me with a little favor that I’m not sure how to do yet, he helps me out a lot and I really appreciate that he helps me out on all of that. Sometimes it’s just it’s nice to have that little help
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Between, right?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
And I think that that’s really helpful because those moments build trust and then that’s when the departments, the two different types of departments work together where he takes care of the bookkeeping and billing and she takes care of the front desk and the interfacing with the people, whether on phone or in person. And so that’s when the departments communicate and support one another and then we all win across the board.
(14:11):
And that’s how organizations grow into the best counseling practice to work for Texas has to offer, not because one person carries everything, but because everyone contributes to the main prize or to that point of where we’re headed. And so it’s like there could be all the little different lines and they’re all coming in to meet at one point and then we deliver that method out, however that is. And everyone plays a role in each person that we take care of that walks through our door for services. And before closing a little bit here, I just wanted to talk a little bit before we wrap up, what are some things that you believe before we move into this next section, what are some things that you believe have been super exciting for you now that you’ve been here almost two months, another week it’ll be two months that she’s been here. So what’s that been like for you?
Speaker 2 (15:18):
It’s been good. I feel like everybody’s so friendly. Everybody’s so nice, they so welcoming. I do like that we do have our huddles and our staff meetings, so our staff meeting, we have little moments where we all get together to do games or for everybody to just feel more connected with each other and it feels nice. We all have some great laughs. We all have our little moments, so it feels nice to have all those, that staff meeting, so everybody could just be all together, some on the video, but we are still all communicating with each other. We all thought, we all see each other somehow. We all see each other. Yes. So it’s nice. I also like people I work with, even answering the phone, being with scheduling or even booking appointments or even reaching out for payments or even getting to know people even from different locations, even different clients that I call or they call me.
(16:15):
They all recognize my name already. They all know who I am. So it’s just nice that I know that they like talking to me and they know that I have a really good personality. Even through the phone, they can hear it. And a size. I even get the compliments from our location therapist giving me compliments that are clients over there say they like your personality, even through the phone, even though they never met you, they can know that you have a personality that’s very delightful. So I’m really glad that I get those compliments. It makes me happy. Even with the staffs sometimes in the staff meetings or the huddles, I get compliments and it makes me feel nice because even though I just started about two months ago, I like that everybody’s paying attention to how I’m doing and I’m liking that everybody likes that I’m working here. So it means a lot,
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Right? Well actually that’s about culture. And so that net culture is built in moments where
Speaker 2 (17:16):
We build
Speaker 1 (17:17):
To greet each other one another and the way we respond during hard days,
Speaker 2 (17:25):
The way that we support the front desk. So how I support the front desk by helping the clients and how the clinicians help us as well to support it. And it just altogether on one, support each other and
Speaker 1 (17:36):
The way we speak to coworkers, the
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Way we choose kindness and also teamwork one another,
Speaker 1 (17:42):
And that accountability to one another also matters. Every single interaction matters. Together. We are building the best counseling practice to work for Texas, has to offer
Speaker 2 (17:56):
The way we build it every day, not through perfectional, but also consisting care and connection that we have with one another, right?
Speaker 1 (18:03):
So thank you for everything you do for the support you give each other, and for helping make this workplace one of where people feel valued. And that really does matter because you do that across the board, even in a staff meeting when you bring up ideas and just being so new, people are responding to that. I like it. Yes,
Speaker 2 (18:26):
And I remember every interaction is opportunity to strengthen the culture that we’re building altogether.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Because at the end of the day, we all play a role in creating the best counseling practice to work for Texas has to offer. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you next time.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Bye
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Bye-Bye.