In this episode of The Roots Podcast by 12 Oaks, host Melissa Labor, Chief People Officer, speaks with Marlene Garcia, Human Resources Manager on the 12 Oaks approach to strategies for recruiting and hiring in senior living communities. Discover how this conversation highlights the importance of high touch models in recruiting, building meaningful recruiters to community relationships, new employee experience and prioritizing a meaningful culture for 12 Oaks residents.
Intro 00:00
You’re listening to The Roots Podcast by 12 Oaks, where we’ll be joined by industry leaders to discuss and highlight the character, competency and care that is required to successfully manage senior living portfolios.
Melissa 00:15
Welcome to The Roots Podcast by 12 Oaks Senior Living. Today I’m joined by Marlene Garcia. She is our Human Resource Manager and has been with the organization for a while and had many different roles. So we’ve got a lot to talk about today, and I’ve been looking forward to this conversation.
Marlene 00:32
Likewise. It’s exciting to be here.
Melissa 00:36
It’s good for others to hear about what’s going on with staffing and recruiting in our organization. And so we’re going to focus on those areas today. But what I wanted to start with first though, is since you have been here a while and you’ve had a great journey with your organization. Let’s start with you and some of the different, varied roles that you had and then what your current role is.
Marlene 00:59
Yes! So I actually started at a community. I was there briefly for approximately a month before I got recruited over to Operations here at the Home Office. I had the opportunity to work with one of our RVPs at that time which was very exciting. I learned so much. Shortly thereafter, there was an opportunity that became available in the HR department. And it was a completely new role to the organization, and I applied and I interviewed with the team, and I was given the opportunity to take on the new role of Talent Acquisition Coordinator at that time, which was a new, again, new role to the organization. So as time went on, I was given the opportunity to lead the Talent Acquisition team. And over the years, I became the Talent Acquisition Manager of that aspect of the department. Recently I took on the opportunity of an HR Generalist position, and not too long ago, I was given the opportunity to take on the HR Manager role. And so, with the high focus of overseeing the talent acquisition function of the department. And so here we are today
Melissa 02:28
Right. What a great testament to you, because you have obviously demonstrated that you know what you’re doing and that you represent the organization well. And so you have had a really great progression, which does show something about our organization too, that we promote from within. And when we recognize great talent, we make sure that there are opportunities for that too. And I love that you started in the community and even a short time there, you were recognized as, okay, this is someone that we need at the corporate office, too.
Marlene 03:02
It’s a funny story that the way the opportunity presented itself was as I was having a conversation with some of our residents at the community and the Executive Director at that time overheard the conversation. And from there, the opportunity of coming to the Home Office presented itself. And so it’s very, very neat to know that it was just all from a conversation that I was having with our residents.
Melissa 03:30
I love that! That is something that you never know the conversation or the piece of information somebody at a different place hears and then where that might lead you to your career. So we are very fortunate to have you on the HR team, and I have been a part of seeing some of the growth over the couple of years that I’ve been here too, and to have you in the HR Manager role is wonderful for our human resource recruiting specialist team, and as well as helping us with some human resource. You are the best at helping us with collecting data analytics and you help with employee relations issues. And it’s just a really varied role that you have right now. And it’s wonderful to see you excel and all of those.
Marlene 04:17
Thank you.
Melissa 04:18
You mentioned that one of the roles that you took on here at the Corporate Office and with the human resource team was the Talent Acquisition Coordinator. And we now have a centralized recruiting function that you actually were the original person that was in that role and then got to develop it. So I think it’s a really great evolution of the organization that you were very much a part of and integral to the growth of that. So I’d love for you to share how that came to be and what the process was.
Marlene 04:53
So as I mentioned at that time, it was something completely new to the organization. And so there was so much unknown of how to implement and what the process would look like. And so in so much brainstorming and thought that was put into the process, we wanted to make sure that we highlighted the High Touch Model, you know, that we practice here in the organization. And so when we started the process with several communities, we did not want to implement across the organization. We wanted to do a couple communities and then gather feedback and see where we needed to modify and tweak the process to be able to better support the communities. We wanted to make sure that the relationship was there between myself as a Talent Acquisition Coordinator and the department heads at the communities wanted to make sure that we were building those relationships to essentially relieve them from having to sit at a computer and review resumes, posting, reviewing resumes, screening, scheduling interviews. We wanted to give them that time back so that they could focus on our residents and essentially help them thrive in community, because that’s why they’re on site with our residents. And so that was our main goal. That was what we had top of mind when we were putting this process together. And so as we incorporated the process into five, six communities at that time, we started getting very positive feedback and the benefits of the centralized recruiting process. And so from that, it helped expand our talent acquisition team at that time into a two person team. And then we started implementing it across all communities at that time. And from there, it just kind of grew to what it is today. It’s a continuous modifying and tweaking and revising the process because there’s always going to be changes and we just pivot with those changes and we better our processes as we go, right? And so today it’s exciting to see that we have a team of four HR Recruiting Specialists, as you mentioned.
We did change the title not too long ago to better reflect everything that they capture and support our communities in because it’s primarily recruiting, but they also supported other aspects of HR areas. And so our team is now HR Recruiting Specialists, and we have a very solid team of four recruiters.
Melissa 07:42
We definitely do, which you’ve had a hand in ensuring that we get the right people in the right fit, which is definitely a part of what their role is in the communities, too. So you had mentioned previously that relationships were so important when you had the role as a Talent Acquisition Coordinator. And when we brought on our four HR, our S’s, as we’re calling them, they each had to build relationships, too. So can you share what the structure was and how they went about building those relationships?
Marlene 08:13
Yes. So our structure for our recruiters is a reflection similar to our Operations team and how they are structured for their RVPs and their regions that they oversee. And so we thought it would be beneficial to kind of match that. And so our recruiters are partnered with 1 or 2 RVPs, and they support the communities that these RVPs oversee. And so that allows them to be able to build those relationships not only with RVP, but primarily with the department heads at the communities, right. And so being that they consistently work with these department heads on a daily basis, they’re able to build and foster that partnership. And essentially leading to better connection and better results of the recruiting aspect, right. I think it’s worked out great. So far we’ve seen success in that. And our recruiters love having that consistency as well. But I do appreciate that our team is always willing to be flexible based on the needs and the regions and the assignments change. There’s never hesitation. They’re always willing to take on and work with a different region, different communities, and they’re always open to that. And they enjoy being able to have an opportunity and work with different regions that they haven’t worked with previously. And so I just love that about our team.
Melissa 09:46
They’re a very cohesive team that has come together and they do support each other whenever they need it. If one area needs more people, they’ll help each other out. If someone’s out on PTO, they just jump right in. So you’ve built a really great team that you should be proud of.
As you reflect back on building this team, what would be something that you’re most proud of?
Marlene 10:08
So many things. But within our team here, it’s like you mentioned that we’re like a family here. And I constantly hear the team sharing ideas and saying, hey, this worked for me. This didn’t. How can I better support my community? And there’s always ideas being shared. Strategies. They each have their unique strengths and they are not shy about sharing with each other. And so with that they’re able to support our communities and the impact that we have on our communities and the impact that is there then with our residents, right. Ultimately, our residents are our priority. And so just the impact that it has both on our department heads and residents is, I believe, what gets me more excited and and I’m very proud of that positive impact that we’re making with them.
Melissa 11:10
That’s so great. The connection between hiring the right people in the right roles to the residents is very big for us as an organization, and it really does show up in the interactions that they have with our residents. We hear that a lot that you hire people that care a great deal about the residents, and then that word of mouth gets out there.
Let’s talk about some of the plans for 2025 and what maybe some of the technology and things that we’re looking forward to. And, maybe implementing things that we have currently or maybe we’re looking forward to actually putting into place later.
Marlene 11:56
in 2024, we focused on our thematic goal of best in class as trusted partners. And that was in fostering those relationships with our communities. And as we continue to have a focus on that for 2025, we do have a high focus also on a new aspect of the applicant and new hire or new and new employee experience, right. And so we’re very excited. We are actually looking to start a new position of Onboarding Employee Experience Specialist. And it’s such a long title, but we wanted to emphasize the employee experience part of that because that is a big piece of the experience, right, of the onboarding, the recruiting, which will ultimately lead to more retention, better retention rates, which is our goal. And this position will primarily focus again on the experience part of the process. And so in that, we are looking to host a virtual orientation sessions with our new hires in which we will welcome them to the organization and talk a little bit about our culture. You know, who is 12 Oaks? Making them feel welcome not just to the community, but to the organization as a whole. And right now we feel that, you know, well, we do have a great orientation process at the community level, we think this is going to be very beneficial for our retention and just the overall experience that our new hires will get to experience.
Melissa 13:40
That is something we are so excited about. And then there are also check-ins that this person will be doing with them too, right?
Marlene 13:47
Absolutely, yes. Thank you for reminding me that they are going to be doing periodic check-ins with our new hires. And so it’s not just going to be a welcome to the organization. It’s going to be a I will be your point of contact. So they will be a liaison between the Home Office and the new hire to where they will check in every so often with them to see how they’re doing, if there’s any feedback that they’d like to provide. And with those surveys and feedback that we will gather, it’ll help us understand where we need to make modifications, how we need to improve our process, right. As mentioned earlier, our processes are continuously changing, and it’s always for the better. And so we are very excited that once we gather more feedback, it’ll better help us.
Melissa 14:37
Yeah. I agree with that. And it will help us. Yeah. It’ll help with the processes. It will help us understand what some of the challenges that employees are having in those communities, so that then we can really build on those relationships that the recruiters have had with the hiring managers and going back and saying, okay, this is something that they’re experiencing. How can we help support them through that? And then on the technology side, there are things that we’ve done and implemented and been things that we are looking forward to.
Marlene 15:07
Yes. So, some things we’ve changed is we’ve, for the most part, gone almost 100% electronic with everything. And so just being aware of how we’re using the platforms that we have in place at this time and, as you mentioned, technology is constantly changing as well. So our platforms that we have in place continuously get updates. And so being mindful and aware of what updates are coming, you know, coming up and how can we put them in place or how can we use that to better our our processes to be more efficient and ultimately help our recruiters with their process, the workload that they have to be able to support the communities more efficiently and effectively.
Melissa 15:50
Right. And have those relationships with candidates too, at the same time.
What do you see as you’re looking forward to this year? What maybe some of the challenges in staffing or in general overall with maybe the industry?
Marlene 16:06
You know, I think with senior living industry, the care positions are primarily the highest turnover and that’s just across the board in the industry, right. And so I think what we’re doing to be able to decrease those numbers and increase retention is this Onboarding Employee Experience Specialist position will be a key factor in that. And as we gather the feedback and all that, we’ll be able to again implement it, right, and use it, in bettering the process and seeing where it is that we’re needing to improve, right. As you mentioned we are constantly trying to work on our analytics and metrics and creating dashboards. I know that’s one of our high focuses this year, 2025. And as we gather, all that data will be able to create metrics, we’ll be able to review and understand in a high level overview of what is it that needs to be changed or worked on, right? And help us with those care positions and understand how we can lower those turnover rates.
Melissa 17:18
They have such a high touch role with our residents. And it’s really key.
So you mentioned earlier that we use the high touch model that relates to our Regional Vice Presidents role. Also within our recruiting roles. And so it really does have the same impact. And it might be interesting for others to know how that actually is seen from a candidate perspective.
Marlene 17:46
So our recruiters are the primary contact for our organization with our applicants. As we receive resumes, our recruiters are usually the first ones to reach out to them and start building that connection with them. And from there, then they work with the communities in and forwarding the applicants that match the needs based on the role. And currently where our recruiters are working on pre screening, conducting pre screens for our key positions at the communities. And that includes all department head level. And so they have created custom prescreening questions that will help them identify candidates that are a culture fit to the organization. As you know, culture is something very big here with us with 12 Oaks. And I love that our recruiters are aware of that. And that’s what they look for in the candidates. It’s not just a standard cut of questions that they go through. They want to feel that connection. They want to be able to connect with the candidate and be able to understand and identify if they are a good cultural fit for the community. And being that we have that high touch model, they have a better understanding as they work more and more with each community to understand the culture that’s at each community, and that helps them align candidates to the roles and to the communities that they’re looking to fill. You know, vacancy. And with that, it’s exciting to see that the recruiting team will reach out to our partners here at the Home Office, to have a better understanding for specific positions. And the first example that comes to mind is we have our VP of Sales here, and he’s an expert in what it is that we need to look for when recruiting for a Director of Sales role or any sales role, really. And so we scheduled a meeting, we reached out to him, scheduled a meeting, and asked if he would be willing to share his expertise with us and help us understand what it is that we really need to be looking for and seeking and as we go through our screening of applicants for the sales positions. And so we had a very productive meeting with him. He gave us so many tips and really good strategies of how to apply and what questions to ask to be able to help us identify the right fit for these different roles. That’s just another example of our high touch model with our recruiters and the candidates and ultimately the communities as well.
Melissa 20:42
So you’ve mentioned relationships are so important in partnerships and how the culture fit relates to that. When you think about what’s special about that from a perspective of maybe other senior living organizations, what does that look like?
Marlene 21:03
So I think here at 12 Oaks, we not only promote it, we do practice and we live a culture that we probably promote. It’s something that we do practice on a daily basis, and in the recruiting aspect, it’s seen because as our recruiters work with these communities and the partners at the communities on a daily basis I see that the trust the communities have in their recruiters and I see emails and I see communication where they’re complimenting and giving shout outs to the recruiters because they’re comfortable and they have fostered that relationship in partnership with them. And so anytime they have to collaborate on any type of recruiting need, it’s not a difficult process because the trust is there, right? The culture that we again promote, it’s practiced daily here. And so that helps us be successful. And it’s encouraging to see because it’s who we are, right.
Melissa 22:11
Yes. That is such a great way to describe what it’s like working here. We truly do work to build trust. We work to make sure that our people are known and that they feel like they matter. And you can see it like you mentioned in the responses, people giving shout outs and saying, gosh, thank you so much for helping me fill this hard to fill position and being a part of the whole process.
Marlene 22:39
And it’s interesting that as we mentioned earlier, as business needs change and we have to realign our structure. It’s encouraging to see that sometimes some RVPs are a little hesitant on letting go of their recruiter because they’ve built that trust and they don’t want to let them go, or they don’t want to let them work with another RVP, you know? But it’s all in a good way, right. It’s because they’re that comfortable with them and that partnership is there. But again everybody is always willing to work and take on new communities or a new assignment depending on the needs of the organization.
Melissa 23:22
Yes, definitely because we are growing. And so that does continue to evolve, which is exciting for us and exciting for our recruiters, too.
Marlene, thank you so much for sharing your journey and insights and the high touch model that we have with the recruiting team and just sharing about the culture as well. I think that lots of people want to know what makes 12 Oaks special. And you’ve definitely touched on many of that. So I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and I hope you have too.
Marlene 23:55
Absolutely. Thank you, Melissa, for having me and allowing me to share a little bit about our recruiting functions here at 12 Oaks.
Melissa 24:03
Absolutely. It’s so key to who we are as an organization. And you lead that effort, which is wonderful.
Outro
We hope you enjoyed this episode of The Roots podcast by 12 Oaks. Get connected with us on social media and at 12oaks.com.