Why Your Leadership Style is Driving Away Young Talent

Why Your Leadership Style is Driving Away Young Talent

Introduction

Carolina: Hello, dear listeners. Welcome to CareSmartz360 On Air. I am Carolina Gonzaga, Account Executive at CaresSmartz360. Joining me today is a true game changer in the world of workforce management. We’ve got Cara Silletto. As the president of Magnet Culture, she’s helped over 75,000 leaders tackle the turnover crisis.

Now, we’ve all heard that young people and young talent are hard to retain, or that they’re difficult, or that they don’t want to work, but what if the problem isn’t them? What if it is the way that we manage our workforce within our agencies.

So, Cara is here to open your eyes to how leadership styles might be one of the very reasons why your best employees are walking out the door. So, get ready to shift your mindset and build a culture where everybody wants to stay, regardless of their generation. Welcome to the podcast, Cara.

Session Starts Here:

00:00:11.840 –> 00:00:13.820
Cara Silletto: Awesome, so glad to be here!

00:00:14.430 –> 00:00:28.980
Carolina: Well, I don’t know how many times in my conversations day-to-day that retention comes up, with all the tips and the tricks, and also just the struggle, especially in healthcare, and in particular for CareSmartz’s home care.

00:00:28.980 –> 00:00:36.379
Carolina: So, before we kind of launch into picking your brain about your expertise on retention, what can be done.

00:00:36.380 –> 00:00:47.110
Carolina: And where to go from here, I’d love to know more about you, and, you know, how Magnet Culture began, and kind of the mission that you’re driving from day to day.

00:00:47.800 –> 00:01:12.449
Cara Silletto: Sure! So, we just hit 13 years in business at Magnet Culture, and I actually started my career at a long-term care state association, where I learned the complex regulatory and reimbursement environment in which senior care and
senior living operate. And then, I started, once I left that organization, I started the company as more of a generational expert.

00:01:12.450 –> 00:01:16.490
Cara Silletto: I happen to be one of the oldest millennials. I was born in 1981.

00:01:16.490 –> 00:01:40.330
Cara Silletto: And so, when I started the company at age 31, 13 years ago, I was talking about the new workforce, and how do we understand the way they were raised that was differently, and then we realized the reason we were bridging generational gaps was to reduce employee turnover. So, since 2015, we have been focused on why people stay, why people go, how do we keep people longer.

00:01:40.490 –> 00:01:50.879
Cara Silletto: And then we’ve also expanded our work beyond senior care, to the whole continuum of healthcare, still mostly around seniors, as far as including home care, home health.

00:01:50.880 –> 00:02:15.519
Cara Silletto: senior living, SNF, you know, the skilled nursing, and things like that. So we do most of our work there, and then we purposefully do about 25-30% of our work outside of healthcare, because we all know that our frontline workers in particular, they industry hop, and so our competition is not just the healthcare organization down the street, but also some organizations that hire.

00:02:15.520 –> 00:02:39.149
Cara Silletto: non-degreed, lower-wage hourly workers, such as hospitality and casinos, or distribution, warehousing, and different industries like that. So, we also like to figure out what they’re doing to get and keep people, so that we can bring some of those best practices back to the healthcare arena. And now we do keynote speeches at a lot of the conferences around the country. We are coast to coast.

00:02:39.290 –> 00:02:57.840
Cara Silletto: And then we also go into the provider organizations and do a lot of leadership training to help especially the baby boomer and Gen X leaders understand the millennial and Gen Z mindset and what is going on behind the scenes of these generational dynamics.

00:02:58.000 –> 00:03:01.899
Carolina: Absolutely, and I love that you’re 81. I’m 83. Shout out.

00:03:01.900 –> 00:03:02.550
Cara Silletto: Yeah!

00:03:02.550 –> 00:03:25.749
Carolina: all of those that are us at the very… and you’re right, elder millennial is the exact term. Okay, so it sounds like very meaningful work. It sounds like you’re not only, you know, there to lead the discussions and the thoughts, doing keynotes, but as well being called upon, kind of, by leaders. Is there usually… do you find a catalyst to

00:03:25.750 –> 00:03:31.369
Carolina: that call being made to your company, asking, hey, I’d love to talk to you, and I’d love to bring you in.

00:03:32.440 –> 00:03:44.279
Cara Silletto: Yeah, so when we speak at the conferences, people immediately recognize that we do everything for leadership development with a generational lens.

00:03:44.280 –> 00:03:53.559
Cara Silletto: So, whether we’re talking about conflict resolution or emotional intelligence, everything is, do you understand this new workforce?

00:03:53.560 –> 00:04:11.070
Cara Silletto: And so, I was just speaking at a conference in Missouri two days ago, and an executive walked up to me right afterwards and said, our leaders need to hear this perspective, because we do leadership development, but it’s kind of the same leadership development that would have been taught in the late 1900s.

00:04:11.150 –> 00:04:23.030
Cara Silletto: That they haven’t necessarily changed their communication class, and their feedback class, or how to reduce conflict, and things like that. And to be a great leader today, those skills

00:04:23.030 –> 00:04:45.189
Cara Silletto: have to evolve with the workforce, particularly because today’s new workforce is bringing their whole self to work. And a lot of managers say, I’m not a therapist, I don’t know how to help this caregiver with their toxic mom. Like, I was taught to leave my personal drama at the door, and I don’t know how to deal with that, and it’s not my job.

00:04:45.190 –> 00:05:01.619
Cara Silletto: And so, when people hear us speak about this new workforce and have different strategies for how to communicate with them and lead them and attract them into the company, then they say, we need your help. Please come and get this message to all levels of our leaders.

00:05:01.850 –> 00:05:21.769
Carolina: What a perfect segue to my first question. I do want to say that what you’ve just shared has given me a lot of perspective in this moment, even about my own perspective as, you know, an employee, because I’ve always been somebody that shows up as my whole self. In fact, working in healthcare.

00:05:21.770 –> 00:05:44.249
Carolina: you know, senior living to home care technology, but I’m also a stand-up comedian. And I struggled with that, because I feel like I’ve been ahead of the curve a little bit with the showing up as a full self, but really giving me that
perspective, even just the way you described it, and why it wasn’t so easy to show up as I would like to, and now it’s

00:05:44.250 –> 00:06:01.869
Carolina: for the most part, celebrated, or should I say, I pick employers who do see that whole self and see the value in that vulnerability and strength. And so, what is the best way for, let’s say, veteran staff to lead this new generation of workers

00:06:02.370 –> 00:06:11.070
Carolina: Different types of motivators, experience, knowing that they are coming to work as their whole self, rather than kind of the siloed way of the past.

00:06:12.160 –> 00:06:37.119
Cara Silletto: Yeah, so I’d love to think bigger picture here for a moment. Yeah. It used to be that you could treat all of your employees the same way, because that was fair, and you communicated the same way, and you praised people the same way, and you educated and onboarded the same way, and I gotta tell you, that’s out the window. That is not going to get and keep today’s new workforce, as frustrating as it is.

00:06:37.120 –> 00:06:49.269
Cara Silletto: I’m just going to be the bearer of bad news and tell you managing people is harder today than it has ever been before, because they expect individualized treatment.

00:06:49.510 –> 00:07:02.280
Cara Silletto: And they want to be cared for the way they want to be cared for. So, we actually, for years, have been referring to the workforce… now, stay with me here, we refer to the workforce today as houseplants.

00:07:02.590 –> 00:07:21.750
Cara Silletto: And if you think about the spectrum of houseplants, you have everything from a high-maintenance, very delicate orchid that needs daily attention, care, make sure you got the right lighting, the right watering, nutrients, all the things at one end, to the other end of the spectrum, which would be like a cactus.

00:07:21.890 –> 00:07:46.709
Cara Silletto: And so with our staff, you have some staff who need daily attention and affirmation and check-in and more mentoring and hand-holding, and then you’ve got folks at the other end that say, leave me alone, boss, I got this, I’m good, don’t bother me, get out of my way, you know? And there’s no right or wrong on that, but a great leader is going to be what we consider the great gardener of your houseplants, and really

00:07:46.710 –> 00:08:09.329
Cara Silletto: understand that each and every employee needs an individualized care plan from their manager. It’s not much different than how we see those that we serve with caregiving, right? Each person, each client has an individualized care
plan on the customer side. We just need to flip that mindset internally and say, our staff need that as well.

00:08:09.330 –> 00:08:18.369
Cara Silletto: So, the best way to train the veteran staff and leaders about the new generation is to say, one size no longer fits all.

00:08:18.480 –> 00:08:27.939
Cara Silletto: And we have to get to know each and every person, which takes more time and trouble and attention, but once we know them.

00:08:28.020 –> 00:08:38.279
Cara Silletto: we can then treat them the way that they want to be treated. So, we’re seeing today a tremendous need of more self-awareness and team awareness.

00:08:38.280 –> 00:08:54.249
Cara Silletto: on leadership teams, because if you have not done things like DISC assessments and emotional intelligence, you know, assessments and training and tools, then you’ve probably put people into leadership positions that may not be equipped

00:08:54.250 –> 00:09:17.409
Cara Silletto: to not only listen and understand their people, but also be able to flex and say, okay, well, I’m going to have to praise this person this way because they’re more of an introvert. I need to praise this person this way because they’re more of an extrovert, and really, have time, and again, I love this word, intention. You have to be intentional about your leadership style with your different folks, but only if you want to keep them.

00:09:17.410 –> 00:09:26.749
Cara Silletto: If you don’t care if they leave, you can do whatever you want. But if you want to keep people, you gotta be more intentional and be prepared for that flexibility.

00:09:27.120 –> 00:09:50.830
Carolina: as I look at literally 4 of my husband’s houseplants, I love the analogy that you gave, and I also just want to let you know that he is indeed a cactus, and I am the most needy plant in our relationship. It’s interesting, again, this
conversation is so meaningful to me, because it’s also the job of managing people, if you’re trying to build a culture of staying.

00:09:50.830 –> 00:09:52.140
Carolina: has changed.

00:09:52.160 –> 00:09:53.220
Carolina: And

00:09:53.220 –> 00:10:16.779
Carolina: Forever and always, not everybody wants to be a manager or should be a manager, but now that profile of the ideal manager that can meet these differences is very different. So, proceed with caution, you know, if this is the role that you
want to take on, because it’s not easy, and the word of, oh, I’m not a therapist, is just a showing of a lack of understanding of where we are today.

00:10:16.790 –> 00:10:18.560
Carolina: So…

00:10:19.020 –> 00:10:38.730
Carolina: It’s funny that I mentioned earlier that I, like, as an example, like to show up as myself, but I also like to be left alone in a way. So, you know, one size does not fit all. Seeing one part of one of your employees may not mean that, oh, they fit into this profile, and this is what they need. We’re complex as individuals, so…

00:10:38.730 –> 00:10:41.959
Carolina: What are some of those common misconceptions?

00:10:41.960 –> 00:10:46.850
Carolina: About younger, you know, folks in our industry, caregivers.

00:10:46.880 –> 00:10:51.430
Carolina: And, how can agencies kind of discover what their real values are?

00:10:52.160 –> 00:11:05.129
Cara Silletto: Yeah, so, some common misconceptions are these myths that I like to bust when I speak and train, and my favorite one to bust is no one wants to work.

00:11:05.280 –> 00:11:07.309
Cara Silletto: We hear that one all the time.

00:11:07.310 –> 00:11:08.179
Carolina: All the time.

00:11:08.180 –> 00:11:30.990
Cara Silletto: We do, we do, and it’s simply not true. It is absolutely based on perception, and it is kind of taking a tiny pool of the workforce who really does… I’m gonna get in so much trouble for saying this, but I’m just gonna be honest.
There is a very small portion of the pool

00:11:30.990 –> 00:11:32.330
Cara Silletto: That just sucks.

00:11:32.330 –> 00:11:35.070
Cara Silletto: Okay? There are some people…

00:11:35.230 –> 00:11:53.600
Cara Silletto: There are some people who don’t want to work, and they really do, you know, want to get everything for nothing, or they want to be taken care of, or not have to work hard, and there is a portion of the workforce that’s like that, but it’s a much smaller pool than what a lot of managers really mean, because they say nobody wants to work.

00:11:53.600 –> 00:11:58.199
Cara Silletto: And what I have found is That when we look at

00:11:58.280 –> 00:12:12.359
Cara Silletto: How is the company onboarding people? How is the company training their leaders to understand the workforce? You know, when I ask a leader who comes to me because they have a turnover problem, well, what’s your leadership development plan look like?

00:12:12.360 –> 00:12:32.799
Cara Silletto: And how up-to-date is it? And what does your on-ramp look like? Instead of onboarding, we call it an on-ramp, which is the new hire experience. How do you really acclimate people in? Are you throwing them out by themselves too quickly, and not giving them a comfortable runway and an on-ramp to get acclimated in?

00:12:32.800 –> 00:12:54.779
Cara Silletto: things like that. When I start asking these questions about the culture, the leadership, the onboarding, I often find that the company says, well, you know, we’re short-staffed, we just need to get them out on the floor, we need to get them out here, out in the field, and different things like that. And then they say, well, our leaders, you know, we don’t have time to do training, and whatnot. And then I…

00:12:54.780 –> 00:13:00.260
Cara Silletto: I get to say, well, guess what? No one wants to work, dot dot dot, Here!

00:13:00.260 –> 00:13:25.240
Cara Silletto: Because you’re not… you’re not properly onboarding people, you’re not putting leaders in place that really understand them and support them and care about them, where other companies do. And so, whenever somebody thinks nobody wants to work, I love to dig deeper into why is it that our particular culture is not attractive enough to get and keep people. And sometimes it even comes down to compensation.

00:13:25.390 –> 00:13:45.010
Cara Silletto: You know, that conversation is an important one as well, because if we can’t pay more, then we have to worry even more about our culture and be even better leaders and communicators and things, but we also need to be able to keep up and compete on the compensation and benefits side as well, you know, as best we can.

00:13:45.140 –> 00:14:09.549
Cara Silletto: Because that can also be a driver of why some people leave. Although, it’s not just that they’ll go anywhere for a buck more an hour. The studies all show that people will stay for less money if they have a great leader who understands them, who values them, who appreciates them, those types of things as well. So, it’s got to be a balance of the compensation and culture has to be

00:14:09.550 –> 00:14:11.859
Cara Silletto: In a reasonable threshold.

00:14:12.100 –> 00:14:18.989
Carolina: Yeah, for sure. Do you find that, well, within home care, like, what… the way that you described it.

00:14:19.260 –> 00:14:25.120
Carolina: you know, you have a retention problem, you know, you reach out to Magnet Culture for help.

00:14:25.300 –> 00:14:33.229
Carolina: then, what is the onboarding like? What is the training like? Well, we don’t have time for that. And so a lot of the times, you know, you are…

00:14:33.390 –> 00:14:39.010
Carolina: Trying to solve the turnover problem one way, but you’re actually kind of reinforcing it.

00:14:41.270 –> 00:14:52.249
Carolina: I also think about the term that, that the younger millennials taught me, which is the Sunday scaries, right? Like, how do you feel on your Sunday, the day before you go back to work after a week?

00:14:52.250 –> 00:14:53.050
Cara Silletto: Yes!

00:14:53.390 –> 00:15:07.919
Carolina: And that is such a, … you know, not every workplace… well, no workplace is perfect, but what I am finding is that the less the Sunday scaries are, in terms of, like, that dread, the more likely I am to stay, and that has nothing to do with

00:15:07.920 –> 00:15:18.600
Carolina: things like the dollar an hour. Those things matter. But I do think that the way that our nervous system reacts to where we’ve got to go, isn’t that such an indicator whether we’re more likely to stay?

00:15:19.010 –> 00:15:43.889
Cara Silletto: Absolutely, yes. And we need to think more holistically about retention, because some companies just say, oh, well, we revamped our onboarding, or we redid our comp, and we put in a leadership development program, and we found that some of those were either negating one another, or they just weren’t in tandem. They weren’t working together. So this past year, we actually released a new

00:15:43.890 –> 00:15:48.629
Cara Silletto: model a retention framework called the Employee Retention Ecosystem.

00:15:48.680 –> 00:15:54.239
Carolina: And it’s where everybody has to work together and take ownership of their roles.

00:15:54.240 –> 00:16:08.879
Cara Silletto: So the staff have to take root in their positions, and then grow within the company. The leaders, those gardeners of the houseplants, they have to acclimate new hires, and then cultivate their entire team ongoing.

00:16:08.920 –> 00:16:24.100
Cara Silletto: And the executives have their roles, which is to establish an attractive and protective environment, and equip the leaders with the gardening tools that they need to be successful. Because if a leader is given a watering can with a big
hole in the bottom.

00:16:24.200 –> 00:16:30.740
Cara Silletto: Then they’re not going to be very successful at getting their houseplants all the tools that they need.

00:16:31.030 –> 00:16:54.230
Cara Silletto: So, depending on who we’re working with and talking to, whether it’s a, you know, leader level, the office administrators, directors of nursing, and others, or is it the executive team that we’re working with, and we’re recalibrating and restructuring? I just worked with a home health group in Tennessee, and after working with us, both with our two-day retreat and then our executive summit, they decided

00:16:54.230 –> 00:16:57.310
Cara Silletto: To change their staffing model.

00:16:57.360 –> 00:17:15.460
Cara Silletto: of how quickly do they bring on assistant directors of nursing, because they were waiting too long. They were saying that their client load had to reach, you know, 65 clients at that branch before they would bring on an assistant DON, and they had so much DON turnover because

00:17:15.460 –> 00:17:40.430
Cara Silletto: once they got to 45 or 50 clients at that location, the DON was completely overloaded, and completely overwhelmed. Then that person kept turning over, which meant the caregivers kept turning over. It was, you know, kind of a cycle that they had experienced, and so they realized they needed to bring an assistant DON much sooner onto the org chart. So they… they changed some of their titles of their positions.

00:17:40.430 –> 00:17:49.930
Cara Silletto: They changed some of the job descriptions, they changed the financial staffing model of what they pay when for different positions.

00:17:49.930 –> 00:18:10.830
Cara Silletto: And I’m excited to see where they’re headed now, because they finally figured out the root cause of some of the problems was… really, the org chart was just off, and they couldn’t get leaders to be great leaders because they were underwater all the time, and it ended up being a workload crisis that they were experiencing.

00:18:11.050 –> 00:18:27.620
Carolina: When you think about that assistant DON role, or even, like, in the senior living, and just because I spent so much time in that industry, the, how some companies were so, early on began to introduce this, like, assistant GM or executive director role.

00:18:27.690 –> 00:18:45.960
Carolina: and some weren’t. I remember trying to break into that role, and just feeling like, I’m so eager, I’m so dedicated, it’s not there. So there’s so much that that… introducing that role achieves, right? It’s like another milestone, another goal, and then… and then maybe mentorship. I’d love to talk about, you know, talking about, …

00:18:45.960 –> 00:18:52.090
Carolina: what you just said about retention, how in the home care space can a leader

00:18:52.090 –> 00:18:55.919
Carolina: Try to make such a rule less of…

00:18:56.020 –> 00:19:13.690
Carolina: scheduling matrix, and more of a retention champion, what are some of the ways that… is it a mindset? Is it just, a state of mind? Like, how do you change… shift it to… to be more of a retention champion, rather than just tasks- driven?

00:19:14.240 –> 00:19:22.160
Cara Silletto: Yeah. So… A big piece that we find that’s missing is ownership of retention.

00:19:22.180 –> 00:19:34.779
Cara Silletto: So, another kind of myth that we bust is that it’s somebody else’s responsibility. You know, at almost all of our workshops, we start with, who owns retention at your organization? Who owns it?

00:19:34.780 –> 00:19:50.869
Cara Silletto: And they’ll say, oh, well, it’s HR’s job at the home office, or the office administrator is the, you know, buck-stops-here kind of person that’s ultimately responsible. Or, some people say, everybody owns retention, and then, of course, that means it’s really nobody’s.

00:19:51.080 –> 00:20:08.839
Cara Silletto: nobody’s responsibility, or they don’t feel that it’s theirs, they can do a lot of finger-pointing. So, the first piece is making sure that every person in a leadership role owns retention for their team, and has that sense of ownership that, okay, these new hires coming in.

00:20:08.840 –> 00:20:24.010
Cara Silletto: I need to make sure, personally, that they feel acclimated into the role, into the company, into the team, and unfortunately, we have normalized being understaffed for so long now.

00:20:24.010 –> 00:20:32.840
Cara Silletto: that we think it’s okay to just push them out there by themselves quickly, because I just need somebody out there. And that ends up working against us.

00:20:32.990 –> 00:20:39.239
Cara Silletto: Because we… we cut that on-ramp short. And then we wonder why they don’t come back for week 3.

00:20:39.240 –> 00:20:57.240
Cara Silletto: You know, so… so we really have to take ownership as a leader and say, I need to be a part of the on-ramp and make sure that I extend that on-ramp. In fact, the example that I give is, have you ever… have you ever been in a city, you’re driving, and you’re unfamiliar with this city?

00:20:57.240 –> 00:21:02.800
Cara Silletto: And then you’re getting on the highway, and you come around an on- ramp, you know, that big curve.

00:21:02.800 –> 00:21:10.599
Cara Silletto: And when you get around the curve, you realize, oh, this on-ramp is way shorter than I was expecting it to be. And then you’re…

00:21:10.600 –> 00:21:16.499
Cara Silletto: Pushed into full-blown traffic, speeding past you, honking their horn, you know, and…

00:21:16.500 –> 00:21:39.080
Cara Silletto: you’re terrified. I mean, it’s scary, I don’t care how old you are, it’s terrifying to have that experience when you were shoved out there before you were ready. And so that’s where this on-ramp concept came from, is we need to extend the on-ramp for folks, and make sure, particularly because today’s youngest workforce does not have as much grit

00:21:39.080 –> 00:21:52.300
Cara Silletto: as previous generations, they don’t have the… within themselves, like, I can make it through a tough day, I can do it. They have a different mentality because of the times and the age in which they were raised.

00:21:52.480 –> 00:22:02.930
Cara Silletto: And so, if we don’t increase their comfort and make sure that they feel prepared, they feel competent, they feel confident in the role, then we’re gonna push them away.

00:22:02.930 –> 00:22:13.820
Cara Silletto: Because they’re gonna… if they’re on that… that highway, they’re gonna take the first exit off, because they’re scared to death, and this is miserable to be blown past and… and be terrified on this highway.

00:22:13.950 –> 00:22:32.329
Cara Silletto: So, we really need to make sure that we are providing this on… this proper on-ramp, and that’s one of the best ways that any leaders can take more ownership and say, I’m gonna make sure that it’s a better experience for folks. And… and don’t get me wrong, that costs money.

00:22:32.330 –> 00:22:51.309
Cara Silletto: And time, right? Because if you’re not putting them out there independently, it’s more money. And also, what I talked about earlier with the assistant, assistant managers, assistant director of nursing, things like that, those cost money, and oftentimes the executives say, well, where’s that money going to come from? And then we talk about the cost of their current turnover.

00:22:51.650 –> 00:22:53.059
Cara Silletto: You know? What’s the problem?

00:22:53.060 –> 00:22:58.390
Carolina: onboarding people over and over again. It’s unbelievable! Yeah.

00:22:58.550 –> 00:23:13.819
Cara Silletto: Yes, and so we have a cost of turnover worksheet that is line item by line item of what real costs are, you know, spent if you have to replace an independent worker, that you need somebody else up and trained.

00:23:13.820 –> 00:23:38.800
Cara Silletto: So once you start looking at the real numbers of turnover cost, then it makes sense to lengthen that on-ramp and onboarding process, and to possibly put an assistant manager in place, because it will, if you get it right, it will reduce that turnover on the back end as well, and just make it a better place to work for everyone. We don’t want to continue normalizing

00:23:38.800 –> 00:23:46.440
Cara Silletto: this understaffedness. Yeah. Because it burns everybody out, and then nobody’s happy, and nobody’s sleeping.

00:23:46.520 –> 00:23:47.500
Cara Silletto: Yeah.

00:23:47.500 –> 00:24:02.150
Carolina: When you show… when you go through the onboarding worksheet, or you are having a conversation with leaders, and you can see, you know, that their eyes are starting to understand, you know, what… what you’re saying, and really…

00:24:02.310 –> 00:24:12.349
Carolina: seeing the value of maybe breaking the cycle. Are you finding that more leadership performance is being measured by…

00:24:12.390 –> 00:24:31.469
Carolina: how onboarding changes? Like, is this something that… is the tide changing in terms of, like, no, this is actually a performance indicator that we can… that we need to address? Because, like you said, there… post-pandemic specifically, it’s also like, well, turnover is inevitable, what are we supposed to do about it?

00:24:31.820 –> 00:24:32.450
Cara Silletto: Yeah.

00:24:32.680 –> 00:24:50.489
Cara Silletto: Yeah, so, I hope I’m answering your question here properly, but I’ll talk kind of generally about metrics, and what matters and what doesn’t. So, we have to be really careful when you’re measuring retention and you’re measuring turnover. That’s actually two different metrics.

00:24:50.490 –> 00:25:04.910
Cara Silletto: And, in fact, one of our clients just told me the other day that their retention number and their turnover number both went up last quarter, which he didn’t think was possible, but it was because they have so many people there who are deep-rooted.

00:25:04.910 –> 00:25:13.620
Cara Silletto: In the organization, they’ve been there for so long that it looks like they have really great retention, because they have people who’ve been there 35 years.

00:25:13.620 –> 00:25:37.940
Cara Silletto: Well, that skews the numbers of… if you have, you know, I was actually just talking to an executive this morning who said at each of their locations, it’s not home health, but a similar model, that they have 10 staff in each location, and he said, we have about 6 that are stable all the time, deep-rooted, they don’t change, but the other 4 people in that same location just keep churning.

00:25:38.120 –> 00:25:41.140
Carolina: Gosh, and sometimes it can be related, no? I mean….

00:25:41.140 –> 00:25:41.970
Cara Silletto: It’s every year.

00:25:41.970 –> 00:25:43.440
Carolina: You know what I’m saying?

00:25:43.440 –> 00:25:58.179
Cara Silletto: Yeah, so he actually said this morning they have 125% turnover, meaning, you know, more than 10 positions a year have to be filled, but it’s just these 4 seats that keep turning over, turning over, turning over.

00:25:58.180 –> 00:26:06.880
Cara Silletto: And so, you have to kind of… in my mind, we encourage companies to take the deep-rooted folks, the longer-tenure folks.

00:26:06.880 –> 00:26:08.480
Cara Silletto: Out of the equation.

00:26:08.480 –> 00:26:31.570
Cara Silletto: look at your new hire turnover and new hire retention. Who makes it to that magical 100 days, right? I actually saw that you had Stephen Tweed on your podcast a while back, and he is brilliant. He’s a very dear friend of mine and a mentor as well, and he wrote a book about how to keep caregivers, and he… his study showed that if they hit 100 days.

00:26:31.790 –> 00:26:42.439
Cara Silletto: That is, like, the magic number that they are more likely to stay much longer. But anything less than the 100 days is where we get that constant churn. So…

00:26:42.470 –> 00:26:54.789
Cara Silletto: we really have to think about the metrics of, are we measuring all of our turnover, or just a little bit? And unfortunately, some companies are bonusing managers in the wrong way!

00:26:54.790 –> 00:27:05.590
Cara Silletto: They’re bonusing based on, you know, an overall retention rate, and that’s not really fair to one of the offices maybe that’s deeper-rooted and longer tenure.

00:27:05.590 –> 00:27:30.160
Cara Silletto: that they’ve been around a lot longer, and they have a handful of those longevity people, versus a newer location that doesn’t have any deep-rooted people, and they actually are keeping each new individual longer than the other office, but because they have more new people, it looks like it’s worse turnover. Does that make sense? There’s two different ways to measure that, so I think we have to be

00:27:30.240 –> 00:27:51.740
Cara Silletto: really careful. I do like putting retention and turnover metrics onto management bonuses, because it brings that ownership, but you have to be real careful which metrics it is, because, as you know, people will only make decisions based on how that bonus is delivered out, and not holistically or long-term if it’s a short-term bonus.

00:27:51.740 –> 00:28:03.850
Carolina: No, that’s great. That’s really eye-opening. And, you know, coming into… going back to the generational gap and what you just shared and clarified.

00:28:04.390 –> 00:28:24.039
Carolina: I also see, like, one thing that comes up, working, you know, I started as a caregiver in senior living, like, 25 years ago or something, and some of those folks are still caregivers at the same, same facility, and I’m still friends with a lot of them. But that’s also kind of something that’s not always the case, but in general.

00:28:24.040 –> 00:28:31.669
Carolina: maybe in past generations, people were more likely to stay, and then the staying is just the choice, whereas now…

00:28:31.740 –> 00:28:41.100
Carolina: we know that we have choices, there’s LinkedIn, recruiters are constantly coming in, people are changing industries, and creating new industries, so….

00:28:41.410 –> 00:28:50.649
Cara Silletto: just even in that difference of, you know, 20 years from now versus today, that is a very different workforce, you know? And so.

00:28:50.650 –> 00:29:06.429
Carolina: How can an agency that is overwhelmed by the idea of this generational gap begin, to approach this? What is some, you know, a tip, maybe even just one actionable change or item that they could use to kind of start addressing that gap, that difference between the generations?

00:29:07.190 –> 00:29:18.479
Cara Silletto: Yeah, so as far as the widening generational gap that we see, I love for leaders to understand that professionalism is subjective.

00:29:18.750 –> 00:29:31.229
Cara Silletto: It is your opinion whether you think purple hair and tattoos are professional or unprofessional, and I give those two examples because I used to have purple hair, and I have a whole sleeve of tattoos.

00:29:31.230 –> 00:29:34.959
Carolina: I shaved off my head, and I was.

00:29:34.960 –> 00:29:38.350
Cara Silletto: Yes, exactly, exactly, right? Because we were bringing our whole self into.

00:29:38.350 –> 00:29:38.780
Carolina: Yay!

00:29:38.780 –> 00:29:55.830
Cara Silletto: into work, right? So… so we have to understand that professionalism is subjective, it’s your opinion, and it tends to evolve over time. And the new hires coming in, honestly, I don’t care if she’s 25 or 45 that you’re bringing in.

00:29:55.860 –> 00:30:07.000
Cara Silletto: they cannot read your mind as a leader. They do not know how that organization has always done it. And they may have never even had, let’s be honest.

00:30:07.230 –> 00:30:09.970
Cara Silletto: professional role models.

00:30:10.070 –> 00:30:33.520
Cara Silletto: I have several people in my life that are in their 20s, and their parents, who are in their 40s or 50s, never could keep a job, and didn’t have the grit and the stamina and the obligation to stay, and things like that. So, the 20-
something has never seen that person get up, you know, their parents or whomever, get up every morning with an alarm clock, and care about being on time, and

00:30:33.520 –> 00:30:37.020
Cara Silletto: Looking nice for work, you know, some folks

00:30:37.020 –> 00:30:56.830
Cara Silletto: They’re just looking for a mentor and a great company that will pour into them and will help them to hit the mark. They’re not missing the mark on purpose, most of them, they just don’t know what they don’t know. So, in fact, at my first job at that association, nobody told me that I needed to keep my shoes on

00:30:56.850 –> 00:30:58.389
Cara Silletto: Full day!

00:30:58.390 –> 00:31:21.520
Cara Silletto: At the office. So, I would kick off my shoes under my desk at 3 o’clock and walk to the copier barefoot. I didn’t think that was a big deal until, finally, somebody said, people are talking about your bare feet, Cara, so you might want to bring in some flats and keep your shoes on if you want to get the respect of these older workers, you know, who had been there far longer.

00:31:21.520 –> 00:31:24.440
Carolina: Put them back on before you walk out from under your desk.

00:31:24.440 –> 00:31:30.479
Cara Silletto: Yes, exactly, exactly. So, luckily, I had a nice older peer come and tell me that, because

00:31:30.500 –> 00:31:41.239
Cara Silletto: People were so judgy, and we are all judgy, let’s own that. But people were so judgy, and they were telling everybody at the office, except me!

00:31:41.240 –> 00:32:00.279
Cara Silletto: how ridiculous they thought I was. They were talking about me
behind my back and didn’t tell me, and wearing your shoes all day was not in the handbook, okay? Because I was in an office setting, and they didn’t think they needed to explicitly tell me that. So then everybody is real judgy, like, well, she should know better. I shouldn’t have to tell her that.

00:32:00.280 –> 00:32:01.509
Cara Silletto: Who doesn’t know that?

00:32:01.580 –> 00:32:09.049
Cara Silletto: And my favorite phrase of judgment, that’s just common sense. And so, a lot of us were raised….

00:32:09.050 –> 00:32:09.730
Carolina: Yeah.

00:32:09.730 –> 00:32:28.250
Cara Silletto: you know, how to show up, and how to speak to your elders, and your bosses, and be respectful, and things like that, and that parenting style has changed. So, back to answer your question, what is one simple, actionable change that leaders can take is communicate the expectations.

00:32:28.250 –> 00:32:47.920
Cara Silletto: When people are missing the mark, even things like giving a two-week notice, some people do not know that that is expected, that that is a standard. Some people don’t realize how important it is to be on time, and we have to
educate not only that we want you to be on time, but here’s why we want you to be on time.

00:32:47.920 –> 00:33:02.249
Cara Silletto: Whether it’s in the office or with a client and on a meeting, things like that. So, we have to, as silly as it might sound, we have to acknowledge the obvious, that you think, everybody should know that. That’s common sense.

00:33:02.620 –> 00:33:03.599
Cara Silletto: I’m missing the mark.

00:33:03.600 –> 00:33:06.650
Carolina: Yeah, to understand. Exactly! Yeah.

00:33:06.650 –> 00:33:12.189
Cara Silletto: Exactly, and do it in a very loving way, because we can’t just yell at them and be like.

00:33:12.190 –> 00:33:28.229
Cara Silletto: don’t you know to do this, or you’re being ridiculous. And instead, I like to take more of, like, a big cis approach, a big brother approach, you know, and say, hey, let me let you in on a little secret about some of the unwritten
expectations that our clients have.

00:33:28.230 –> 00:33:29.410
Carolina: I was back, yeah.

00:33:29.410 –> 00:33:51.929
Cara Silletto: Leaders have, yeah. So you’re helping them, you’re not bossing them of saying, you need to do this and do it a different way, but say, let me let you in on a little inside scoop here of what people are looking for in order for you to get more respect and be eligible for future pay increases and promotions and things
like that as well. If you can throw in the what’s in it for them.

00:33:52.030 –> 00:33:55.960
Cara Silletto: Yeah. That helps change behavior, too. Yeah.

00:33:55.960 –> 00:34:07.469
Carolina: I think, too, of, like, the common sense or what’s obvious, but I wonder how many employees, caregivers, don’t realize that they can say if…

00:34:08.060 –> 00:34:11.580
Carolina: Something isn’t making sense, or if they’re not.

00:34:11.580 –> 00:34:12.239
Cara Silletto: Come on.

00:34:12.380 –> 00:34:21.379
Carolina: feeling happy or safe, but, you know, like, these things can be talked about. So, the unsaid is not helping anyone, you know?

00:34:21.389 –> 00:34:22.069
Cara Silletto: Yes.

00:34:22.070 –> 00:34:30.709
Carolina: approach that said with kindness, then you’ll probably get better results from all areas. So, a good mantra overall. So, I think about…

00:34:30.840 –> 00:34:54.829
Carolina: every time I talk about this topic, home care specifically, you know, I always say the one thing, like, about working in a community in senior living is, oh, you walk in, this is kind of home away from home, it’s somebody else’s home, but caregivers, nurses out in the field, it’s very centralized. So, remote before the pandemic, they’ve been on their own, getting to where they need to go.

00:34:54.830 –> 00:35:10.740
Carolina: And, caregiving is not easy. And so, they may feel extremely isolated and, you know, not as connected to those on their team. So, how can an agency provide consistent support?

00:35:10.740 –> 00:35:17.509
Carolina: Positive feedback, guidance, even if it is a very decentralized environment.

00:35:18.140 –> 00:35:30.959
Cara Silletto: Yeah, so that’s definitely a big difference between senior living and home health, for sure. And working with other, you know, I’ve got other industries and other clients who are in that space as well, with remote folks.

00:35:30.960 –> 00:35:41.360
Cara Silletto: And so you just have to be much more intentional about your communication, your check-ins with people. You may have to schedule those.

00:35:41.360 –> 00:35:52.910
Cara Silletto: Or tell your team, you know, if they’re going to be on the road at certain times between clients, for example, tell them to call you when they hit the road, and, you know, that type of thing. But you have

00:35:52.910 –> 00:36:17.609
Cara Silletto: to be in contact almost daily as a leader. Just checking in, hope you have a great day, hope you had a great day. Let me know if you need anything. I’m free from this time to this time if you want to call me when you’re on the road today, you know, if you can’t schedule in advance, but really being very intentional about that, because think about, back in the day, the water cooler talk.

00:36:17.610 –> 00:36:27.919
Cara Silletto: Where you would just pass by in the hallways of an office, you know, if you ever worked in that space, or even in a hospital or other healthcare setting that… where everyone was in the same building.

00:36:28.040 –> 00:36:33.160
Cara Silletto: It’s very different. Your caregivers are missing the water cooler time.

00:36:33.250 –> 00:36:53.559
Cara Silletto: And my team has been remote for 13 years across various states, and so we intentionally schedule check-ins with one another, you know, some team check-ins and some individual check-ins that are regularly weekly or monthly, and then we also have some team happy hour type time that is scheduled for non-work chat.

00:36:53.560 –> 00:37:04.220
Cara Silletto: And at the beginning of every team meeting, even if it’s, like, a sales team meeting, or whatever that team meeting is, we start with 5 minutes of

00:37:04.220 –> 00:37:14.890
Cara Silletto: How’s everybody doing? Anybody want to chat about their weekend? We call it the GBU, the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you want to share what’s going on in your life, and sometimes stuff.

00:37:14.890 –> 00:37:16.369
Carolina: My in-laws are in town.

00:37:16.370 –> 00:37:35.369
Cara Silletto: Yes! Yes, exactly. Sometimes they’re struggling, like, please pray for me this weekend, and sometimes they say, guess what? You know, this happened, and I’m so excited, or it was my son’s birthday, or, you know, and we want to
celebrate together, and we want to learn more about one another, so you have to, with a more remote team.

00:37:35.370 –> 00:37:49.520
Cara Silletto: intentionally build in the team-building time, the trust building, and the check-ins, the communication. That is… is important. And then also, as a leader, make sure to appreciate your folks.

00:37:49.520 –> 00:37:57.320
Cara Silletto: Now, most of the… most of the folks in the healthcare space that I work with, unfortunately, we cannot pay our caregivers

00:37:57.320 –> 00:38:21.160
Cara Silletto: the absolute top pay, you know, that other industries can pay, and so that means that we’re going to have to attract and retain even B and C players. Now, would we love to have all A players? Sure. But let’s be honest, we can’t afford all A players, okay? So we got a lot of B and C players that we depend on, and we love them.

00:38:21.160 –> 00:38:38.739
Cara Silletto: dig way down deep, we really do appreciate that they showed up to do the job. They did a good job today. And so, some of the managers in our training, I have to recalibrate their thank you meter, because they were taught, you only praise someone when they go above and beyond.

00:38:38.740 –> 00:38:48.640
Cara Silletto: Or they go the extra mile. When they pick up extra shifts, then I’ll thank them. But we actually teach that every leader should appreciate any job well done.

00:38:48.940 –> 00:39:09.089
Cara Silletto: And so, even sending those text messages of, great job today, and, you know, good work this week, thanks for being on time all week, or thanks for showing up all week if you have an attendance problem, we have to recalibrate and say, I’m going to recognize the people who are hitting the mark, and make sure they feel appreciated for doing so.

00:39:09.420 –> 00:39:16.230
Carolina: Yeah, and I also think, like, A… I know you didn’t mean A-type, but I also think it takes all kinds to make a good unit.

00:39:16.600 –> 00:39:17.869
Cara Silletto: Yes, oh, absolutely.

00:39:17.870 –> 00:39:29.139
Carolina: people, not everybody, you don’t want every single person to be a, pick me, I’m ready, you know? You do want those, and I hear the phrase in my mind, like, slow and steady wins the race, too.

00:39:29.140 –> 00:39:29.700
Cara Silletto: Right.

00:39:30.140 –> 00:39:34.350
Cara Silletto: Introverts and extroverts are all great caregivers, you know.

00:39:34.350 –> 00:39:34.720
Carolina: Please.

00:39:34.720 –> 00:39:35.610
Cara Silletto: So, yeah.

00:39:35.610 –> 00:39:37.280
Carolina: Yeah, for sure. Well…

00:39:37.310 –> 00:40:02.279
Carolina: I really appreciate your time today. I know that this is a topic that means, that is on the minds of many home care agency owners and leaders, and I think that looking at it from a generational perspective is new to me, and I really, I really think that that is the highlight for me, and so I hope everybody, really starts to go and think about the different generations that they’re working within. And after all, we

00:40:02.280 –> 00:40:07.579
Carolina: People are often caring for people from other generations and spend all sorts of time understanding that difference.

00:40:07.580 –> 00:40:08.090
Carolina: And so…

00:40:08.090 –> 00:40:19.530
Carolina: Yeah, so it is important. I do see a book behind you with your name on it. I’d love to end by you just telling us about the book and telling us what readers might find, most valuable about it.

00:40:19.840 –> 00:40:40.630
Cara Silletto: Yeah, sure. So, I’m the author of Staying Power, Why Your Employees Leave and How to Keep Them Longer, and it does walk through the generational evolution of the workforce from the 80s and 90s, particularly my story as a millennial growing up, and how that changed my view of the employer-employee relationship.

00:40:40.630 –> 00:40:43.960
Carolina: And then it has some retention strategies in it.

00:40:43.960 –> 00:41:08.859
Cara Silletto: And we also have some mini-books about generational dynamics and our new employee retention ecosystem. Those digital versions of those books are available at Magnetvault.com. That’s our hidden treasure trove of all kinds of downloadable tools, including the cost of turnover worksheet that I mentioned, and some other tips and tricks for HR professionals and leaders at every level.

00:41:09.030 –> 00:41:15.810
Cara Silletto: So, yeah, would love to have you dive a little deeper to hopefully broaden your lens of understanding this new generation.

00:41:16.130 –> 00:41:23.029
Carolina: Well, this is awesome. You’re doing important work, you and your team, 13 years and counting, and I thank you so much for your time today, Cara.

00:41:23.290 –> 00:41:25.669
Cara Silletto: Thank you! Have a great day!