Every pay period, Diana Myers, one of Bethesda’s payroll administrators, reviews all the payroll data submitted by the managers. With 25 or so managers entering payroll data for over 400 staff, and some who are new in their role, things can go wrong. There are three shifts to coordinate, changes in the roster, overtime rates – it can get complicated. In many workplaces, you might expect a terse or concise, to the point, message from admin about the problem and how to fix it. At Bethesda, we practice grace, or at least, we aspire to.
Each bi-weekly pay period, Diana sends off a communication to the managers who submit payroll data. And each time, she sees this as an opportunity to bless the managers with an uplifting story or reflection from her life that she believes will offer encouragement as she gently provides instructions.
After her story ends, the instructional part might start off like this…
“Its that time again – Thursday payroll review day. I appreciate that you are all so busy, many of you are working on the floor, filling in the gaps where you can, and in the middle of all that, doing payroll as well. I want to encourage you that you are all doing so well. We love that you ask questions and ask for clarification, because we know that you want to do this right and we thank you for your diligence and attention. There is one piece that is needing a bit more attention, because it’s causing a lot of extra work.”
And then she invites the managers to grab a coffee, tea or smoothie, red pen and ruler, and explains how to complete the payroll review, step by step. In her unique way, she exemplifies our call to lift each other up: to transform the world into a place of love and belonging. And to help each other grow.
Her instructions are especially helpful for managers new in the role, and her grace and patience, give confidence. Robin says, “Diana sends us inspiring stories and reflections which are something I look forward too every two weeks. As a new manager, it has been a blessing to receive these messages and motivating. She gives hints about how to get things done for payroll, which I find are very helpful.”
Paula agrees: “It encourages me to get into a good headspace prior to settling into the task of completing payroll. Her stories are not only peppered with advice and suggestions, but they are also a welcomed reminder that we are not alone in the payroll journey; she understands the various situations and challenges we face and… she’s got our backs.”
Grace, who’s been a manager much longer, draws encouragement from Diana’s stories in the introductions “I am so thankful for each of her amazing payroll morning devotions. You can tell she is listening to God’s voice and being faithful in following it up with action.”
The core of what we do at Bethesda is being supportive and helping each other thrive. We see this demonstrated everyday, not just in our service to the people we support, but also with each other as staff. And it makes Bethesda a great place to work.
Diana Myers has worked as an administrative assistant at Bethesda for 13 years. In addition to ensuring all staff are paid correctly, she is the person who assists employees with benefits and manages employee absences and disability leaves. Diana is a natural storyteller and entertains her co-workers with stories of growing up in small-town Alberta. She is also a devoted grandmother of three rapidly growing up grandchildren.
