Qualities That Make For Great Funeral Directors
Many people think that what makes a great funeral director is charisma, empathy and in some cases, great sales skills. This is because these are, as it were, the conventional traits of great funeral directors. However, the nature of this profession is changing radically, and a lot more is expected of them.
There are some qualities that funeral directors may overlook. Although these qualities may seem strange, they draw a line between the good and the great funeral directors.
Inquisitiveness
A great funeral director should be inquisitive, not stuck in the old ways of doing things and believing he/she knows everything it takes to get the job done. He should think of how to make things better for families. This will help to think outside the box. He should ask you big picture questions so that the funeral of your deceased shall be better than the other funerals in the past. If the funeral director does not demonstrate curiosity, it means that he won’t really
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He should not give the impression that he is just there doing his job. He should demonstrate that he is listening to you so that he can offer services matching your specific situation.
Good listening is among those easily forgotten qualities that make for outstanding funeral directors. To prove that he is listening, he needs to have some questions that will get you talking about the deceased and your preferences. This way, you will feel free to share with him so that he can help create great services.
The Ability to Encourage
Funeral directors are expected to be empathetic and provide emotional support. While it is true that many can provide emotional support, it is only few that can actually give inspiration and hope for a better
Each person has their own reason why the work in the funeral industry. Some people find it a “calling”. Others see it as a job only they can do. I do it because I enjoy helping people during a dark time and I don’t feel squeamish or sick when I handle remains. This is an occupation that is needed. People do not like to be reminded of their mortality, and when they experience death, it is shocking. We are here so that we can help them move past that shock and understand and accept their loss. We’re here to care for the deceased with the respect and dignity that everyone deserves in death.
A freelance attorney in Brooklyn, Deirdre Sullivan, who wrote the essay “Always Go to the Funeral” talked about a valuable lesson that she learned from her father. Her father told her even simple gestures of kindness when it is inconvenient for you may have a outstanding or massive effect on someone else.In her essay, Sullivan says that, ‘Always Go to the Funeral’ means that she should always do the right thing even when she doesn’t want to, “I‟m talking about those things that represent only inconveniences to me, but the world to the other guy”(Sullivan 236 2006). When she was sixteen she says she was almost “forced” into going to her old fifth-grade math teacher's funeral. She was only only kid there, and when she went to the condolence line she was unchaperoned. After giving her condolences, is when she
Laurie Sexton – Laurie is a very established and experienced administrative professional. For the past 18 years, she has worked for Randall & Roberts Funeral Homes. When she first began with the organization she focused more on providing customer service and working directly with the families. AS the company grew in size and added additional locations, the need for someone to focus full time on the administrative and organization needs became apparent. Laurie moved into this role. While she still does have some direct family contact and fills in when needed during various services her predominant responsibility is to handle the office needs of the company. A large piece of this is working with the owner and seven directors to manage the
Though there are many good qualities in a leader, Catherine Meliniotis sums it all up in her article written for Advance Healthcare Network. For example, she discusses how it is always imperative to begin with good communication, continue to request feedback from staff, patients and families, encourage staff to provide their own ideas and suggestions, and ask your staff if you are focusing on the right concerns. Meliniotis also encourages emphasis on interpersonal skills, being adaptable, and showing empathy. In particular, it is essential
Griffith has a point, however. "Death," in this poem, may represent the funeral director, because in...
Those characteristics include, a desire to help others, attention to detail, and emotional and mental strengths. A desire to help others is one of the most important characteristics. If a person does not have the desire or want to help others, they would not succeed in this field. Additionally, if the desire to help others is not present, not only with the counselor suffer, but so would the people seeking and needing assistance. It is imperative to possess this quality so that the people in need receive the quality care that they need and deserve. If the counselor does not have this characteristic, then they will be lacking in all other areas. Since counselors and all mental health professionals interact will all types of people, it is necessary that he or she be alert and pay close attention to detail that the client may not divulge. For example, it is hard for an abused child or an abused woman to share all of the details about their abuser. In many cases it is because of fear. Whatever the case may be, it is important that all counselors pay close attention to detail in any situation. It is also very important for the counselors to take care of themselves. Dedicated counselors can get so involved in their work that they can become burnt out. If the mental health professional becomes worn out, it could affect the way in which they interact
Death is a tragic thing that affects everyone around the deceased, including the deceased themselves. While there are many ways to deal with such matters, one thing is for certain, it’ll be a hard time no matter what you do.
The sudden or unexplained death of a person has a huge impact on families and friends of the deceased, and it places a huge role of responsibility on the medical examiner to answer questions which may provide closure. Interaction with the loved ones of the deceased is a delicate matter that must be dealt with calmly and professionally. Generally, medical examiners are overachievers, objective, analytical, and optimistic. “I can’t do anything for the deceased, they’re gone. But if I can do anything for the family, I will.” (www.voxmagazine.com)
The point of a funeral is to everyone to come to mourn your death and they speak about all the good times you had and all the good things you have done and just recognize the beauty you had on the inside. They say so many beautiful things at these funerals but the person who passed never gets to hear what they say. Yes, they will always be with us but wont to hear all the good things friends and family members have to say about one. Then this thing Morrie came up was a living
This is crazy. Why am I afraid? I’m acting as if this is my first funeral. Funerals have become a given, especially with a life like mine, the deaths of my father, my uncle and not my biological mother, you would think I could be somewhat used to them by now. Now I know what you’re thinking, death is all a part of life. But the amount of death that I’ve experienced in my life would make anyone cower away from the thought. This funeral is nothing compared to those unhappy events.
During a time of distress and duress, many family members make decisions which are often hasty. The funeral industry takes advantage of those who are grieving by telling family members that embalming is necessary. The undertaker uses the argument that the corpse needs to be preserved in order for it to be presentable. The funeral director often decides to embalm the corpse without permission from the person who passed away or any of his family members (Mitford, 2005). After everything has finished, the total bill for the funeral service is often more then what was told initially and the family is left with an enormous bill. People want to have the body to be presentable at the funeral; therefore, they are coerced into paying extra to promote the growth of the undertaking industry (Mitford, 1998).
One of these qualities is being self-aware, which means being able to assess personal performance and work towards improving it, as well as being open to and accepting both criticism and praise. Being able to set boundaries also can play a role in this. By knowing your role and any personal limitations it can be beneficial in understanding how much can get done in a certain amount of time. Another quality includes being an active listening and reflecting on what the client is saying, as well as being able to understand and read both verbal and non-verbal language. In social work, it is also important to show compassion for what you are doing and to be empathetic towards a client’s situation and
Funeral directors are full time employees. They sometimes are on call and have to work some weekends and holidays (collegegrad.com). “The median annual wage for undertakers was $46, 840 in May 2012” (ibid). Most plans for a funeral service are made within twenty-four to twenty-seven hours after the time of death (ibid). This means that funeral directors typically handle more than one funeral at a time (ibid). There are three types of funerals that the family of the deceased may choose from: a “traditional” full service funeral, immediate burial, or direct cremation (Wikipedia.com). If one desires an open casket funeral, the deceased would need to be embalmed. Embalming is the process of removing blood from the deceased’s body and replacing it with embalming fluid in order to preserve the body (collegegrad.com). When embalming, a funeral director must follow five steps: one-checking paperwork and identifying the body to make sure no mix up between funeral homes has been made, and two-disinfecting the body and setting the features (cracked.com). “Setting the features is where we pose and manipulate the person’s face to give them that ‘just sleeping’ appearance” (ibid). Restoration might also be necessary depending on the condition of the body. Restoration is the process of using materials and cosmetics to return the body back to the way it used to look or at least close to it (ibid). Besides preparing the
Death is something that no one wants to go through or have to deal with, especially concerning the loss of loved ones. Unfortunately, it is not possible to go through life without experiencing this loss. Throughout the past several decades, the way that we view death and the funeral industry has changed significantly. Recently, it has seemed much more apparent that funeral industries are using death as a means of getting rich. But why?
The most important quality that differentiates a leader from other people is the ability to think strategically. Vision is the most important aspect that drives a leader’s strategy. It is all about where you want to be. Other qualities include Decision making, problem solving, time management, self-motivation, emotional intelligence and many more. Once we know the type of leadership, it is easy to find what leadership skills we have and which we need to develop which is explained in the book “Leadership: Theory, application, skill development (5th ed.) by Lussier and Achua.” Also, Keirsey Style Sorter personality type helps to knowing our temperament type, and work on our weakness and to emerge out as a good leader.