Case Two.

Nonprofit Regional Food Bank

An urban food bank was struggling with providing equable service to the clientele they served, from corporate donors to the homeless and hungry. In the division of work among the staff, many employees had become hyper focused on their particular functions and were exasperated with other staff members, customers, or beneficiaries when taken off task.

Challenge:

The director wanted the staff to acknowledge their diversity and to foster independence within the constraints of a tight budget and widespread literacy level of the staff.

Recommendation:

Offer an intensely active afternoon of role-play and cooperative games that enhanced each member's sense of the purpose of the organization as a whole. Staff also came away with a much stronger sense of the value they bring to the workplace and the value of cooperative effort among the various work functions at the food bank. In a light and playful atmosphere, the staff was able to put a voice to their struggles and more importantly, create action plans to improve their interpersonal performance.