It's nearly midnight, and your best front desk agent is running on fumes. She's trained, she's talented, and she's one difficult guest interaction away from updating her résumé. She doesn't need another script. She needs to remember that she matters.
In the wake of COVID, service industries didn't just face staffing shortages-they experienced a deeper loss of connection, energy, and engagement. Hospitality turnover continues to hover between 70 and 80% annually, and many organizations are still responding the same way: with more training manuals, tighter standards, and increased pressure to perform.
But something isn't working.
Worth at Work: An Inside-Out Approach to Confident Teams and Exceptional Service takes a fundamentally different approach. Drawing on decades of experience in transformation, counseling, and leadership development, Randy Haveson and Kat Nisson make the case that sustainable service excellence starts with one thing most organizations overlook entirely: the internal experience of the people who deliver the service.
While rooted in hospitality, the message extends to any service-oriented role-transportation, healthcare, retail, customer experience-anywhere people are expected to show up, stay present, and serve others in high-demand environments. Because today, service is no longer just about what you do. It's about how you show up while providing service.
This book gives frontline professionals and their leaders a practical, step-by-step framework for building authentic confidence from the inside out, starting with the internal voice that shapes every interaction and the personal energy that makes or breaks a shift. It shows organizations how to create the conditions where that confidence flourishes: psychological safety, empowering leadership, and a culture that develops people rather than depleting them.
Worth at Work is for every service professional who has ever felt like a robot, every leader who knows their team is capable of more, and every organization tired of watching its best people walk out the door. The result is a book that's equal parts practical guide, leadership playbook, and wake-up call for any industry that depends on people serving people-and needs a better way forward.
