Welcome is a powerful word.
It is a salutation, a greeting, or an acknowledgment of arrival when a guest or customer enters a place of business. The act of greeting someone with a welcome; "welcome back Mr. Smith, welcome to the hotel" extending a warm welcome, is appropriate hospitality. Stop and think about a moment when you were welcomed. Were you on vacation? Or at your favorite restaurant or coffee shop? Or maybe you were welcomed home or into your community? How did it feel to be welcomed?
"For me, welcome sparks warmth, hospitality, a friendly greeting, and a new opportunity to connect. It sets a positive tone when you enter a hotel, restaurant, or place of service. I tend to let down my guard when greeted with a welcome; immediately I am available and ready for a great hospitality experience."
Working in the hotel industry, I have had the pleasure of creating many welcoming moments. When I transitioned from hotels to NY Planning Manager for JPMorgan & Chase Co., I needed to adjust from greeting guests to greeting employees and clients.
I often share my first day of work at JPMorgan Chase & Co., as I nervously walked on the elevator, depressed the floor number, looked up, and almost welcomed everyone in the elevator. Ha! Can you imagine! Thankfully I caught myself from the embarrassment- I reflect on that day often."
Now, what would it feel like to be welcomed at work?
Imagine your employees, guests, or tenants were provided with a warm welcome as they walk through the lobby. Would they start the day feeling safe, productive, and comfortable? Perhaps they stop in at the café to grab breakfast or attend a meeting on the conference floor and the amenity space is well-designed, energizing, and welcoming. How do you think they would feel?
"We may not be ready for elevator greetings but, I believe we are craving amenities that make us feel welcomed."
I am here to help build scalable, welcoming moments. I can optimize your welcome protocol in the conference and meeting space and throughout all your workplace amenities. Together, we can operationalize your amenities, build your workplace programming, welcome back engagement in your meeting and events, and help impact collaboration and employee satisfaction. It all starts with a warm welcome.
Jennifer Durning is available to offer support on a consulting basis for individual projects and as an ongoing expert. Her skills include contract and vendor negotiations, budget forecast and oversight, optimizing conferencing and amenity spaces, conference and event operation training, and designing and executing events.
Jennifer and the entire team at 4xi are here to help you drive positive change and impact. To learn more about Jennifer download her BIO or you can contact her directly at jenniferdurning@4xiconsulting.com.
4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side creating an impact in the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure.
We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy, whether client, employee or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success.
We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators:
Strategic Advisory
Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design
Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations
Human Experience: Customer (CX) & Employee (EX)
Training & Development
TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth
Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation
Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation
Market Research Reports & Benchmarking
4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy.
San Francisco | New York | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo