A Day in the Life of Tonya Jordan

Following our stand-up meeting, I take the long way around greeting all team members that I encounter, touching base and checking in. I then go to work on our daily inspiration for the day. I send out a daily excerpt (today is Thursday Thoughts, tomorrow will be Friday’s Focus) from a book as it relates to our daily grind. Today’s Thoughts were pulled from The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability.

Now it is time to focus on my daily duties, first up is reminding all Team Members that it is Open Enrollment week and reviewing where we are in the process and who I need to follow up with to ensure that they do not miss this important event. I run a few reports and begin emailing, texting, and calling those that are remaining as incomplete and alerting their managers to remind them as well! Next up I am preparing for a new manager hire early next week by setting up their onboarding information, Workday access, email account, Hotel Effectiveness account/training, Doubletree Training account, assigning the required training courses, preparing their interdepartmental orientation, and training plan.

Next on my list is to audit our training for all Team Members for both Doubletree and Davidson Academy and send out a list of those needed items but before I can get to that, I have a visit from one of our team members requesting my assistance. This team member was impacted by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and would like information about our We Care Program and assistance in completing the We Care Grant Application. I spend the time needed to listen, review, and assist and then submit the application for review with the We Care Committee in hopes of approval for some much-needed assistance. These are the moments that truly make a difference! I love working for a company that cares about their team members and has put programs like this in place to help them when they need it so desperately!

Now I am back to auditing our training and getting this information out to the managers so they can begin scheduling their Team Members to complete the needed training. Now it is time to review our daily time clock entries and remind managers to clear their unmatched punches to ensure that we have a smooth payroll on Monday.

Next up is preparing for our Safety Meeting by choosing our focus for the month and reviewing/compiling the previous month’s safety data. Once complete, I am preparing to head to lunch but have a visit from a team member requesting assistance in filing a Leave of Absence request due to a personal medical situation. I listen to her needs and then review the information around the next steps to begin the process. We also review the Short-Term Disability information and what she can expect while she is on the Leave of Absence. She is incredibly grateful for the time spent and is ready to tackle her situation!

Next, I have a visit from a manager alerting me to a performance issue with a team member. The manager is seeking advice on how to address the issue while still having positive interaction with the team member. I listen and then make some suggestions on how they could approach the situation, and we have further discussion on how we must adjust our approach to get the most out of every interaction to reach the desired result. The manager seems pleased with our discussion and is ready to tackle the conversation.

I have reserved the last part of my day for auditing our New Hire and Termination files to ensure that we are in full compliance with our SOPs. Once the audit is complete, it is around 5:30pm and I will begin to close out my day. I review and answer all last-minute emails, then review my calendar for today to ensure that I have completed all tasks and take care of any last remaining items. I then review my calendar for tomorrow so I have a mental note of what my day will look like so I can be ready for the day! Just as I am about to leave, I have a team member that needs my assistance with their Workday app. This takes just a couple of minutes, and they are all set. As I am leaving, I pass through the back of the house and then the lobby and encounter a few team members with questions about open enrollment. I take a moment to assist, and they are ready to complete their enrollments! As I exit the building, I reflect on my day, I remember how truly blessed that I am, and I remind myself that every day creates the opportunity for us to give someone a smile and hopefully make their day a little brighter!