Promoting from Within

By Marisa Geitner

It bears repeating that staff who feel valued have more motivation to stay with their organization.

One such way we can demonstrate commitment to staff members is by offering ample opportunities for them to seek promotions within the agency. In today’s working world, many people are seeking advancement by job hopping, or moving between companies with the intent of achieving higher pay or a more prestigious job title. That is rarely necessary when you work for a company the size and scope of Heritage Christian Services.

In our industry, employee retention is key. Our direct support staff are the foundation of our compassionate support. We worked diligently to raise our base wage again last summer not only to reflect the complex work our staff perform, but to promote retention and financial self- sufficiency. Retention ensures our program sites and homes are properly staffed at all hours, and that the people who choose our services can form deeper and more meaningful relationships with those who work alongside them.

Increasing wage is a start, but staff also need to know they have ways of moving up.  Last year alone, we promoted a total of 120 employees.

We take several things into account when deciding how to best fill a role. An equitable experience for each applicant needs to be priority one.  Honestly, we are always improving in this area but have work to do in welcoming more candidates into advancement opportunities.

It is also important that we have a diverse pool of qualified candidates.  Candidates need to have the skills and experience necessary to fulfill the needs of that next role. That is why we put such emphasis on professional development opportunities and competency building across our full organization.  Our recent partnership with the NADSP E-Badge Academy will provide staff with another vehicle to learn the skills they need to earn new positions.

Heritage Christian Services is committed to the career development, and will continue to offer resources and avenues for all to pursue advancement within our agency.