Real Chance for Success
Labyrinth Made Goods is more than a candle in so many ways. We strive to offer Real Chances. But what does that really look like? Take a moment to think about past employment you have held or how your current employer interacts with you; if you're a business owner, think about how you assist your own employees. In what ways are you offering or being offered a Real Chance for Success?
Through my employment with Labyrinth Made Goods, I have learned how to receive as well as give these opportunities. It starts by understanding someone's personal needs. Too often in our workplaces we stick to a one-size-fits-all process; everyone usually takes the same training when they begin a new position. All staff tend to be given the same amount of time to learn a new task. But what if that wasn't enough for an individual, what if they just needed a little more support or space to learn?
Offering a Real Chance for Success in our spaces looks like one-on-one training and job shadowing. We not only show how a process is done, we also provide space to make mistakes. When I started as the Assistant Director of Labyrinth Made Goods, I was nervous because I knew there were new tasks that I would need to master for me and for the business to continue to be successful. I was allowed to make mistakes or forget a step that I was taught. Instead of being reprimanded, punished, written up or even fired, I was encouraged to try again. This chance at redemption didn't come with just a “go back and redo it” approach. My colleagues who were training me, instead asked me critical thinking questions so I could figure out what I was missing or what was incorrect.
I am able to commit more new information to memory because I’ve learned this process, thinking critically to find the answer on my own. When we train someone in a new role, we ask them to take steps and processes from a similar process and apply it to something new they’re working on. We encourage one another to find new answers through internet and that can lead to new and better processes that we can share with one another. This method not only allows me a real opportunity to succeed at my tasks, but it also gives me the confidence to do it again and empowers me to want to do more!
I work daily to instill the same confidence that Kate Brunk, Director of Labyrinth, has in me to the rest of our team and any new apprentices who join Labyrinth Made Goods. As a woman who has experienced incarceration, I have not been given many real chances to succeed in the past. I lost years while I was incarcerated and wasn’t able to gain the work experience required for higher paying positions. This did not mean I was not capable of doing the job. Someone just needed to take the chance and allow me to try.
When you look back at your work environment are there similar opportunities? If not, providing them can really help retain employees and improve the work ethic in your own team. Take the time to think of ways you can provide A Real Chance for Success or how you can voice what chances for success you need! At Labyrinth Made Goods, we are more than a candle in so many ways. This is just one.
