The Onboarding System That Turns New Hires Into Culture Carriers with Haley Addis

What does it actually look like to build a company culture so strong that your team shows up energized, aligned, and genuinely proud to be there every day?

In this episode of The Willpower Podcast, host Will Humphreys sits down live at Growth Code Miami with Haley Addis, founder and CEO of More to Say, a pediatric speech-language pathology clinic with 55+ team members. Haley shares the intentional systems, onboarding strategies, and leadership principles behind what Will calls a top 1% company culture.

This conversation is packed with practical ideas for healthcare owners, therapy clinics, and service-based entrepreneurs who want to reduce burnout, improve retention, and build a team people genuinely want to be part of.

In This Episode You'll Discover:

• Why onboarding starts before the offer letter
• How to embed core values into hiring and daily operations
• The “Happy Chat” recognition system, core value coins, accountability jars & Accelerator Bonus
• The First Year Journey: a 12-month onboarding framework based on the S-Curve of Learning
• Why burnout usually comes from unclear expectations, not workload
• The feedback systems that ensure every employee voice gets heard
• Why culture drives profitability more than most leaders realize
• How to build a team culture so strong people want to join just from being around your energy

If this episode gave you one valuable idea, share it with another business owner who needs to hear it.

And as always: lead with love, and never give up.

Connect with Haley Addis:

• Website: moretosayct.com
• Email: haleyaddis@moretosayct.com

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Transcript

Live From Growth Code

SPEAKER_02 0:00

This is the Willpower Podcast live at the Growth Code Conference. No scripts, no fluff, just real conversations with rehamp owners in the room, sharing what's working right now. Today I'm joined by Haley Abbas, founder of More to Say, diving into how your onboarding process is either building or breaking your culture and the practical system she uses to turn new hires into deeply aligned, purpose-driven team members from day one. Here we go.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Is that Dai represent that well?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Okay, so let's get right into

Values In The Interview Room

SPEAKER_02 0:52

it. You're very successful. I did the introduction already before you sat down. Let's talk about this process. How do you onboard people?

SPEAKER_03 0:58

So our whole onboarding journey, right, starts it starts even before they start. So we want team members to know what to expect before we even finish an interview and give them an offer. We want them to fully be aligned with what we value. So we go through our core values, right, in the interview process. We make sure that they understand.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

How do you do that? Let's let's kind of dissect these things a little bit because people might hear these things and think, oh, I know what that looks like. How do you talk about your values in the interview process?

SPEAKER_03 1:26

Yes. So in our second interview, which is in our in-person interview where they get to come in and see the clinic and they get to observe sessions and see the kids and all those fun things. Um we really deep dive into the questions that would align with what our core values are. So we're getting some information from the candidates on, you know, what does this look like for you? Right. Um so we talk about right our our support and collaboration. We ask them to give examples of how how they can connect with those pieces. So we're getting information from them about what our core values look like, and then they're getting the information from us, and we say, okay, yeah, this is how we do it here. These are our definitions. So we talk about it, we have them observe so that they can see actually the core values in action.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Okay, how do they observe a core value in action?

SPEAKER_03 2:08

So they're going into the sessions, right? And like, for example, they'll see how uh collaborative our team is. So they'll see the OTs and SLPs working together in a session, helping each other. Um, they get to see all of that unfold and see if it's in alignment with what they would want to do.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

And then you point that out. It sounds like our value is collaboration or however you phrase it. And then they observe it and you go, can you see how that worked? What did you think about it? Does that align? That kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 2:32

Yes. And they're doing that. So that's part of that interview process that's with our, you know, any any team member, not specifically an interviewer. So our whole team knows how to talk about and represent the company to these candidates without even really they're not, they're they're a part of the interview process because they're the ones that are pointing this out. So it's not, it's not essentially a leader going in and saying, you know, this is our core value of it's our whole team as it participates in it.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

So what's cool about that is that that's another way you're reinforcing your culture because you're having them represent and hold standard for the values. Yeah. And I think that's, you know, a lot of people who are like, if you're brand new to this, this is probably blowing their minds. But most people I think have some concept of like, yeah, I know I'm supposed to use my values, but are they actually doing it? My thing is this is that if people knew the statistics around companies that leverage onboarding the right way and how they retain better and what that means in terms of income, the stat I shared yesterday was a 218% greater income for companies that retain twice the average of the average person. And you're saying the key, and this is by the way, you're backed by science too. The key to successful onboarding is through your values, through your culture. And so that's one way that you do that, starting you start it sounds like you start onboarding them during the the second interview.

SPEAKER_03 3:48

Essentially.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_03 3:50

Yeah, so they're getting prepared right there, right? And and then that rolls over into right, if this is a great fit for them for us, because we want it to be a good fit for them too. We don't want to just say like this is our top candidate, we want you to work here. We want you to want to work here, we want you to be like, this is the place for me. So we really make sure that that's mutual and and uh everyone's on the same page. And then we just it just fully embedded, our core values are embedded into everything, so it's part of our onboarding, it's part of our training. Obviously, they deep dive into um all of these studies with their supervisor or trainer or whoever it is. Um they really deep dive into it, but then they see it in action every single day. Yeah. Um we have we call it the more to say happy chat.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

So it's uh More to Say is your company, yes. Yes, more to say is my company, yes. You know, those little things that we say. So more to say is your company, it's in your group chat.

SPEAKER_03 4:35

Yes. So we have this fun little group chat, it's called Happy Chat, and um we every single day, team members are shouting out each other um for representing our core values. So they'll be like, you know, shout out to Stacy for support. She helped me transition this kiddo out, or you know, shout out to um Michaela for growth because she just got her C's. And it's it's it's technical things, it's fun things, it's silly things, and we do it every single day. There's never a day where Happy Chat is quiet. Never a day.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

And I think what happens for people who've never worked in a company that is really clearly communicating their values as effectively as you guys are, is that it's polarizing. People who I am imagining who've never worked in that space who believe what you believe are feeling like refreshed and aligned and encharged, and others are uh will tackle it, probably but uh put it down or whatever. Because I could see an it's so important emotionally to people that I could see someone that they wouldn't feel like they could say, why are we talking about this? Because they would look stupid if they challenge something that the group feels is important to them.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

So you talk about the onboarding process. Let's say say someone's accepted their job position. What happens?

After The Offer Letter

SPEAKER_02 5:47

Let's talk about like let's talk about the big things and dive in. So, what are the key elements of the onboarding process that you see it from the time that someone's accepted their job offer?

SPEAKER_03 5:55

So, obviously, once they accept, they kind of get our standard like introduction, our welcome. Um, the welcome outlines um what they're gonna be having access to in terms of their benefits and all that, they have an offer letter that's signed, everything's accepted. Um, and then also in there, they get a quick brief introduction to all of our employee programs. So a lot of our benefits are really um culture-based benefits in the sense of they get access to our wellness program, our financial wellness program, um, our mentorship program. We have all of these different things. So we outline that really briefly.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

This is the letter that they're getting at the beginning.

SPEAKER_03 6:29

Yes, this is like a really brief outline of all of those things, which they've already discussed in the interview process so that they know what's there for them. So then they get all that information, they get their training schedule their first day. Um, they come in and we have uh actually before they even come in, obviously the the leader who is in charge of their schedule will time block out every single piece of training that they have to do. So I'm just gonna use clinicians as an example here for clinicians. I think it's just it's just easy to kind of keep one um training schedule and all one onboarding process. So um they they really do very minimal treatment that first week. They see usually about five kids with their supervisor to just show them right what those sessions are gonna be like. But really, the first week is uh 30 to 40 hours of of just training. Um and then that whole schedule is blocked out, and we um time block out the schedule for eight weeks of what their training blocks look like. So we don't expect them to really ramp up and see full schedules until quite a bit of time into their training process. So that that's already time blocked before they even come in. And they can see all this, they'll see it in their in their ring tree schedule, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:38

That's amazing. So you have this kind of built out. So you're ramping people up. What's the philosophy

Ramp Up Without Burning Out

SPEAKER_02 7:42

on that? How do you ramp people up successfully?

SPEAKER_03 7:44

Yeah, so we I've learned some things the hard way, right? So when I first started, and I was like, you know, when I started my first job, I just was treating a full caseload the first week. So right when I started my company, I'm like, other people could do that, right? And then I realized that that didn't work very well. People were like, wow, I'm overwhelmed. This is really stressful. I don't know what to do. And we would even see, right, before we really got a good grasp on our our numbers and and stats and all those things, like knowing the back ends of the company, I didn't know really what my team's performance was. And this I'm I'm talking years ago, right? Sure. Um, and there then I realized that they had really low productivity, but they were saying they were burnt out, and I was like, I wonder what's happening here.

SPEAKER_02 8:23

Yeah, I saw that by the way. I was in Alaska doing some coaching years ago, and I was talking to the team. They see one patient in physical therapy per hour. That is death. In terms of boredom for me. And I was talking to them, they were seeing 35 visits a week, and they're like, We're burning out. Yes. So what is it?

SPEAKER_03 8:38

So what it is is they don't know what their expectations are. They they're burnt out because they're always trying to figure out what they're supposed to be doing. Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:44

So they were like So they're not busy enough.

SPEAKER_03 8:46

They're not busy enough because it but then it feels like they don't know what to do, right? So if they were seeing they're seeing 20 kids a week and they were like, I'm burnt out, I'm so overwhelmed by my paperwork, by this, my that, I'm like, they don't have the training, right? They they don't know what to do, how to do it, and what the purpose of it is. And if nobody knows whose job it is, they're like, then it's nobody's job, right? Right. If nobody knows whose job it is, I'm not gonna stop that because I don't even know what to do. Exactly. So I found I was like, you know, because you know, we would have some leaders and other team members, they're like, Why are they complaining? And I'm like, they're complaining because they truly are burnt out, they're stressed, they do not know what to do. We have to teach them, we have to train them, mold them, help them, shape them, otherwise they're not gonna know. And we have found that the team, as we've grown, the more expectations we put into place, the better the culture is.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Well, and the reason why you said this thing about like understanding why it's important, like these things and how they connect. And so knowing how to do it, but knowing why it's important is a big part of preventing burnout. I'm learning something in real time right now, Haley, which is that um burnout occurs because of so many things to do that you don't know how to keep up. Burnout can also occur from having so many, so few things to do that you don't know how or or why you can get busier or why it's important. And so you're sitting there, you may not be doing a lot, but it's still stressful. It's the stress that causes the burnout. So I've heard a phrase I love called production is the basis of morale. So people, when they're productive and they're purpose-driven, they're the happiest.

SPEAKER_03 10:18

Yes, we teach our team this. We we use that phrase. Do you really? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Oh, yes. We came from the same coaching background. I forgot that we had overlap there because you know where that got that from.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 10:30

And um, yeah, we have found the more productive our team members are, and and we're talking productive in all different ways too. I'm not just talking about like hitting your key staff and hitting numbers. Doing the core values just as much as we value them hitting what their, you know, what their targets are for how many kids they're gonna help. So we value those equally. They get bonus on both things.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

Okay, now this is interesting.

Rewarding Core Values On Purpose

SPEAKER_02 10:55

This is interesting. Um, what is that? Not in detail, but like how do you bonus someone on values?

SPEAKER_03 11:00

So we have a couple of different ways. We have both like a kind of a gamified version of it and um an actual monetary bonus. So gamified, we do, we have core value coins and they get their shout-outs every week in our staff meeting. So we do wins and shout-outs for a few minutes at the beginning. Yeah. Different people get selected out, you know, out of a hat essentially, um, if they're gonna share their win and shout-out that week. And um they shout out each other, and then we also do executive shout-outs, so our leadership team shouts out all the core values, right? So if somebody advanced on our clinical ladder, you know, shout out for growth, et cetera. And they get the coins, and then we have a core value coin exchange store where they get to trade the coins in for, you know, whatever they want. There's they can go out for dinners with certain team members, they can um, you know, get a sweatshirt, they can get a gift card, a spa day, all these different things. So they do that. So that's more of like a.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

So do you have a system? How do you use a company to help you organize that, or is that something you just do internally?

SPEAKER_03 11:51

We just do that internally.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

There are software companies that are merging that can organize that, but it's nice that you just do it.

SPEAKER_03 11:56

Yes. It's and we're it's at the scale that we're at, um, right. We're like 55 employees, so we're able to do that ourselves right now, but obviously always looking to, you know, adjust things as we grow if we need to. Um but then also they do have a bonus where they um have a monthly bonus, it's called their accelerator bonus, and every time they do um something that qualifies under our core value uh program, they get a certain number of points, and then whatever their total points are for the end of the month, it aligns with a certain monetary amount. So they get a full actual monetary bonus for if they volunteer at one of our community events. Oh my god. They get points for that. Um if they participate in our social media posts, so they don't have to do the actual, they don't make the post or do the post, but if if our you know marketing team's like, we're gonna come film your session today, and they're like, Yeah, of course you can come do that, they get points for that because they have to be willing to do those things. And how they show up matters.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

And how if they're like feeling forced, it's gonna show up in the video. And it's interesting, um, you know, video games are hysterical nowadays because I was playing, I haven't used to play kids, I used to play like Mario and stuff growing up, and then um have four boys. So I was playing some video games recently with them and I was laughing because I logged on, I created a profile just to start my game, and I got an award. I got this like bing, you created a profile, you get a point. And I'm like, it's so true because uh we will ins we should incentivize any behavior that we want to see more of. And that's what I'm hearing from you is that like you're seeing culture as a behavior, and so you incentivize it and you do it in every opportunity. You're looking for anything you can. I love the the coin idea. There's something tangible.

SPEAKER_03 13:31

Yes, they're little wooden coins, they have our logo on them, they're so cute. They have jars, so they get to everyone can see the jars too, right? So you get to see the team members that are like filling their jar up, right? And they're like, What I want to fill my jar up, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:43

Why yeah, you have one coin in your jar, it's like then it becomes group accountability, like we talked about in our talk yesterday here at Growth Code, by the way, here in Miami. And so that group accountability is way more powerful than a leader holding someone accountable. Group accountability is almost like social pressure where they have that. So I could I would never want to be the guy with a jar with one coin, and everyone else has got like halfway or three-fourths filled, and then you look at the person who's got like one that's brimming, you're like, they're awesome, they're rock stars. And I love that the coin as well because not only is it tangible, but they get recognized, which everyone loves. I don't care what they say, they love that public recognition, and they associate that feeling with that logo, and that starts to have them feel like that's mean. Yes. I it's that's what that's the difference between working somewhere versus being a part of something that's bigger than you.

SPEAKER_03 14:30

And that's why we do all these different things too, right? So I'm like, we have the games, we have the monetary bonus, different people, right? Like they they like the different types of rewards, different styles, and any like you said, any opportunity we can bring our core values in, or or if we can incentivize people to do the things that we value, we're gonna do that. And that's why I was saying, too, we have all those employee programs, we have different clubs. Like we do a book challenge for the past couple years where the challenge is to read 100 books for the year. Wow. And it's a hard, it's a hard challenge, right? That's that's a lot of buckets. But I like it, I like that it's big. But we do give prize, you get a prize for participating. So just read one book, you get to participate, you get a prize. Interesting. 25 set um 25 books, 50 books, 75 books, 100. And we've had a lot of team members say, you know, I used to love to read. And it fell off because I was so busy. This book challenge has made me a reader again.

SPEAKER_02 15:18

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 15:18

And right that that people reading books does not essentially do anything for the company in the short term. Right, but it does it for the person. And that's what I care about. I care about the company as a whole, but I care about every single individual person. So I want there to be a program, a game, a challenge, something for everyone, right? Not everything we do is for every single person, not everyone's gonna like exactly the same thing. But there's something for everyone. That's the most important thing.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

Can they read any book?

SPEAKER_03 15:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

Okay, so that's that's why it's more about the person, because I think if you had certain books in there that might be different, but it's um powerful that that again, a challenge that is really inspiring, a hundred books is like who would do that? But then when you have one person on the team do it, and then you have a handful hit 75 or 50 or 25, all of a sudden it becomes like this doable thing, and like it becomes status. Yes, status sells more than anything else. And someone has status in our company with their own people, they're belonging.

SPEAKER_03 16:13

Yes, amazing. Yeah, and it's just fun. My nine-year-old daughter's doing the book. The book challenge. She wanted, she said, Can I be on the book challenge list? And she's winning.

SPEAKER_02 16:20

I remember, I remember being in the first grade, and um my Miss Frederico, the the teacher, had like this book challenge, and I will never forget like it was how many books you and it was like it was like a color thing. So, like, I forgot, I think it was gold was like the uh the highest color, and it had a a name to it, like the tiger level. And I will remember to this day, I'm you know 50 years old, I remember being in the first grade knowing what color I was and how the the per the one person who was as ferocious leader hit it like in no time flat and then was so angry at her. Like there's there's something about these challenges, and they're all about like giving them an opportunity to invest in themselves, and they feel like the company cares.

unknown 16:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

And because we do, right? We and we do actually care. That's the thing. I think that's the difference sometimes because sometimes you know, a company will say, like, I'm gonna do what this other company does, like it's like you know, that's really cool that they do that. But if they don't actually care about it deep down, it's not gonna, it's not gonna reflect the same way. And that's why whenever I do like have a conversation or talk with other owners, I try to say, This works for me because I really care about this, but it might look a little bit different for how you're gonna implement something in your company.

SPEAKER_02 17:26

Right, and that's the thing about like I want a better culture. Then they go, people will research things like that and say, I'm gonna do that. And sometimes it doesn't work and they wonder why it falls flat. I asked you before we hit record, how did you develop such an ag such an amazing culture? Your team here at Growth Code stands out. They're like Bob's team from uh Peds for Kids. Um, just unbelievable, um, like cultures where people are unified in in all they're they're saying and doing, and but you're so young. So I asked you how you got there because it's not like you've had coaching, but it's not like you had a culture coach. Share with the audience what you told me about why, how you were able to figure that out.

Surveys That Actually Change Things

SPEAKER_03 18:04

So when I like I had said, when I first started, you know, I was I had tried to figure out little things on my own, and I was like, when problems were happening, things weren't working, I I realized I had to take a step back, look, and see what was going on, and realize that it all came back to me. So I had to change what I was doing because if if the team didn't know what they had to do or they didn't know where they had to go or they didn't know the purpose behind it, they weren't gonna be able to do it. So I reflected on what are the problems and w where did I have a roadblock, right? Because the roadblocks were with me. So I either didn't train correctly, I didn't share correctly, I didn't learn the right thing, I maybe needed to learn more information. And what I really started doing was listening to my team and right, surveying, getting feedback and how do you listen to your team? Yeah, when I first ever did a survey, it was really hard because we were in a place where I I wasn't didn't have a strong culture yet. So feedback that I got, I was like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

What did you ask in the survey?

SPEAKER_03 19:02

Um basically just like right, like what like what motive like what is rewarding for you at work, what makes you show up, what what things would you change, and how would you and and these questions have changed over the time. So when I first asked the questions, I asked a lot about what could just about what could be improved, and they told me.

SPEAKER_02 19:18

Yeah, they're like, oh, it's interesting you should say that.

SPEAKER_03 19:21

Yeah, and it was really hard. And then over time, as we shifted and shaped our culture and and built into these team members, I've I do this survey every year, an annual feedback survey. Every team member fills it out. We have a one-on-one meeting personally with myself, um, and we go over what they said, and every single meeting that I have, they're like, We love that we have this feedback opportunity. And they don't have to wait, I tell them, you don't wait a whole year to give feedback, right? You don't wait until the annual survey. But it's it gives them a time like a forced time to think about what they want and need and what it looks like. So we really ask now about, like I said, like what is rewarding for them, um, what could improve their how they're doing their job? Um, what and we ask them for solutions, right? We ask them to propose solutions. We don't you don't get to just say, I don't like this. You have to say, here's my challenge. That's a big difference. Some ideas about how I want to handle it. Because if you just let people complain, that's a totally different thing than getting feedback. Feedback and complaining is different.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

Absolutely. And I think there's people and personality types that just want to complain. And you can tell, and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. So when someone is a complainer, they're not gonna fill out the survey because they just want to complain, which means they're gonna go talk to other people about it. And that's where you've got to cut them out. But like for those people who are like maybe just really like high standards and they seem complainy, but really they've got like this vision of quality. They're gonna go, thanks for asking. Yes. Here's the problem, but here's all the 30 things I would do. And then you put them in charge.

SPEAKER_03 20:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

And they they feel empowered and seen and heard. That's pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

Yes, and I use this every year as a tool. So I I meet with them individually, but I also take all the results kind of right like an aggregate and be like, okay, where are our what what are the buzzwords popping up? Like, what are the problems that we need to address? And we do an annual leadership retreat. So at the beginning of the year, basically I take all the information from the surveys, um, not anonymously, obviously, I just put it like in a group, and I meet with my leadership team. We do a couple day nights away together, and I train them up on some different areas that I find to be inspiring, and we also sit down and talk about these are the things that are the problems from last year. What are we gonna do now? And I have some ideas, but I also want my whole leadership team to come up with ideas because they're so great at it, and it's like really fulfilling for me too to be like, wow, like that is so amazing. We are so aligned with what we want to do. So we do that, and I say to the the when I do the one-on-one meetings with the individuals, um, I'm like, You're on the right, you're on the front line of this. Like you're the one doing this treatment, or you're the one at the front desk. I am not. So your idea for a solution a lot of times is gonna be better than mine, and we value those.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

That's gotta do something for people when they hear that the owner is saying your idea can be better than mine. It creates equality, it helps them feel important. It's so great that you have them do that. And again, what people help create, they buy into.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

One of the greatest things I learned in my journey, it took me forever, was that when I had the right people, that if I gave if I asked them what the problems were and asked them for the solutions and asked them to solve them that they did. Yes. And it was easier for me and the outcomes were ten times better.

SPEAKER_03 22:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

So you do this annually?

SPEAKER_03 22:17

We do that annually, but also so our And one-on-one. Yeah. Our whole team has a one-on-one with their direct um supervisor every week. So we do weekly one-on-one meetings and they have an opportunity for feedback and they go obviously through all these things. Um but we are actually we even want to improve it even more. So we're we actually have just finished working on a project to do a full feedback loop because something that was happening sometimes with feedback coming up throughout the year, not necessarily on the annual surveys, but just throughout, right? People are so busy. So a team member might say, You know, I have an idea for this, and their supervisor might be like, That sounds amazing. Yeah, we want to do that. And then they got busy, they forgot, they didn't get it to the right person, it fell through. And then that team member is probably like, Oh, they really liked my idea, but maybe they didn't, they were just saying that, or whatever happened to that, I don't want to ask about it again, that's embarrassing. Right. So we don't want that to happen. So I said the most important thing we need to do with feedback is close the loop. They need an update no matter what the decision is, and no matter what's gonna happen. So we created this whole system, and it's a very like thorough tracking system where it's like, this is the step, so you get the feedback, this is what you have to do, and the supervisor then decides what do I think is gonna be the right thing? Is it just a clarifying conversation? Do I have to explain to this person why that's a great idea, but it won't work right now, or maybe we can table it for later? Or do we need a policy or procedure or a workflow? Or do we want them to um come up with their own project or plan here? Like what are we what are gonna be the next steps? Their supervisor tries to figure out that. Then it goes to the next person, to the next person, and then the last step always is they have to mark off that they closed that loop. So that team member is gonna get an update no matter what the outcome is.

SPEAKER_02 23:55

Why is that important?

SPEAKER_03 23:56

Because otherwise they're just they're they're sitting back watering, yeah. But none of the benefit is is realized by the way. They're like, you know, they're they're not feeling valued, right? They're they're not having their feedback feel valued, and that's that to me is the worst feeling that they could possibly have because I say I I want to practice what I preach. I don't want to say your feedback is important to me and then not take their feedback, right? You see that you get like a feedback survey from somewhere and you put your feedback and then nothing, you know, you never hear again or nothing ever changes, and then you're like, why would you why do I spend my time doing that? Right? Like, that's kind of annoying. You know, I don't know what the set stats would be.

SPEAKER_02 24:29

I'd be curious to see what the research would show if they analyzed it. But I think my guess would be that like the worst thing to do is not anything. The second thing that would the first thing to do would be good, which is ask people what they want to change and how they could change it. The third thing would be to close the loop, of course, because there's nothing better than having that, like, well, I said something and I affected change. I matter. Because there's visual proof that that occurred. So the survey thing is so massive. Uh, just for the audience rock stars, one thing that we did was a s it was called a start, stop, keep survey. And you can do it lots of different ways where you just ask your your every employee every year, what should we start doing, stop doing, and keep doing? Because that way you can get trends and we're not pivoting to every individual person, which I know you don't do either. I think the biggest lesson that I'm learning from you, Haley, is that you don't have to have coaching to learn how to develop great culture. You just have to want to create an individualized experience for your client, your clients, your employees, the way that you would for your clients. You go in there, you want them to have a feeling, and you ask them, how's it going? Like how how are you receiving this? What's great, what's not. I think my favorite thing I ever did was ask my company on a regular basis, what's the worst thing about my company? Our company. Yeah. Like what's the what's the you know, and it was like one time it was you give us generous time off, but no system to do it, so we don't actually use it, so it feels like a slap in our face. I'm like, ouch. But then we fixed it.

SPEAKER_03 25:48

And because you wouldn't have realized that that was a problem, right? Because you're like, I have this great time off.

SPEAKER_02 25:51

I'm if if we if we if we make our plans based on squealing, yeah, like if that's the only time we change is when people are upset, we are already lost.

SPEAKER_00 25:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 26:00

Because they we could be proactive, is what I'm seeing from you. Culture for you is a proactive intentional activity that helps get things going. So going back to

The First Year Journey S Curve

SPEAKER_02 26:08

onboarding, yeah. So I love that you do this as a follow-up loop. So early on, they get this letter, it breaks down all these elements, they have these systems. What about training? What is it about training that helps you feel like it connects them to their culture?

SPEAKER_03 26:20

So the training is so detailed and so in-depth, and uh like we've talked about before, their onboarding journey is it's called the first year journey. And when we're saying the first year, it's a more to say first year journey, it is a full year, and and so it's it's it's almost silly to call it onboarding because it's it's forever, essentially, right? It's just long term. Yes. Um, but we you know it's it is but it is the onboarding. And in in our training, in this onboarding journey, it's separated into three phases, and we base the development of it on the S curve S-curve of learning. I read the book by um Whitney, I can't think of her last name, Whitney Johnson, I think. Um, but I've developed it based on this book when I was like, this makes sense. This is how we learn any skill. It's very slow to start, right? So it's on an S-curve in the sense of it's very slow to start. Things are really hard. You're like, I have no idea what I'm doing when I'm learning something. Any skill, tennis, right? You're gonna be like, I don't, what do I do? I know what the equipment is, that's the bare minimum information I have.

SPEAKER_02 27:19

Now I want to learn where to even go to practice, like how do I find a facility?

SPEAKER_03 27:23

I just don't know what to do. So, right, that's the beginning thing. Then once you start picking up traction and learning and you start doing a little more, you're like, okay, things are getting a little bit easier. And then growth is fast. You're like, oh, I'm gonna take off. I know what I'm doing. This is the sweet spot. That's the phase two. And then once you really get good, you're learning and the and the growth kind of slows down again, right? So at the top of the S, you're you know what you're doing, you've mastered it, and the risk there is you can get bored.

SPEAKER_02 27:50

So where burnout occurs again, like they're bored because they're not productive.

SPEAKER_03 27:59

Now what? And we don't want that to happen. So we base our first year journey on this thought process that phase one, they're coming in and they know nothing. Right. Right? They know nothing, they know nothing about well, a little bit because we introduced it in the in the um in the interview, but really they don't know how to do anything at more to say, right? They they may know how to be an SLP somewhere else, but they don't know how to be an SLP at more to say yet. So we have to teach them. So we go through a very, very thorough training of the basics, right? Obviously, they get, of course, detailed like EMR training and um how we actually like what our policies and procedures are, and some of those more boring, no boring pieces, but that they have to learn. Um, but we also really focus on our core values in the beginning. So we have the deep dive into the training there. They learn about and some of the employee programs. We space this out over time because it's a lot. We offer so many employee programs that if we tried to teach them all like just in one session, it would be like they wouldn't use the benefit then because there would be too much for them to try to look through it. So we slowly introduce that. We start with our wellness program because we feel like anyone could use that from the start, right? We do in-office massages, um, they have access to virtual counseling um covered by the company. Wow. They have we do have a snack and water delivery system every month. Um just like we have um, you know, people who come in and do workshops, just like so many things in this program. And this is our most, you know, highly used favorite program. The massages are probably the number one that get used. So this is something we introduce right away. So we're like, you get this, and we want you to feel well. We want you to feel healthy and well. That's why that's there. Um, so we go through and really deep dive into all of these things with them. And their training is done both with their direct supervisor, with um our executive team, with other leaders, just it's really collaborative, which is one of our core values, of course. And so the first phase is probably like 12 weeks, um, where they're really getting ramped up, right? Like a norm, what you consider like a 90-day, you know, period for somebody. That's kind of like the traditional, but that's where most people stop.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 29:57

Right? So they stop and then they're like, okay, you're prepared for your job, good luck, right? And that's and that's where trainings fall off. Totally. And even if they get that far, right? Sometimes it's like you get one week training and then you know, good luck to you. Um, and we don't think that that's enough. We think you have to keep going. And in phase two, once they're like, okay, now I know how to do, I know how to treat the kids, I know to how to talk to the families, I know how to do home programming, I know how to make a resource, I know how to um exude our core values here, then they dive deeper and they really get to learn what everybody does in their individual roles in the company. So they get to meet with the patient services manager and really like have really good conversation about how does that person impact what you do every day and how does it impact what we're trying to achieve here. So they do that, they get that in phase two, they get um, they start doing a clinical pathway. So we have a ton of internal training programs, so like an AC program, a feeding program, um sensory integration, and our clinicians then do these internal trainings to become experts.

SPEAKER_02 30:54

And what does that internal training entail? Is it like an online portal? Do you have like what does that look like?

SPEAKER_03 30:58

So we it's a number of factors basically. It's uh it's outlined just in a big chart and in a document, and it has links. Some of the links are external to things we house everything in Google Drive. So some of the links are external, some are things we've made, some are paid continuing ads that they have to go to. Um and it's like a checklist.

SPEAKER_02 31:16

It's like here's the checklist of things that you gotta do, and it just tells you it sends them where they need to go virtually or like to go get physical experience.

SPEAKER_03 31:23

And because sometimes it's you know, sometimes part of the training is observing this type of session or meeting with, you know, the feeding lead or whatever it is, right? So there's both pieces they do independently, pieces that they do interactively with other team members, and um both themselves and their leader holds them accountable to completing that because we think that clinicians need to be um supported and guided to get trained up in these different areas because there's so much out there to learn. And we just want to make sure that the alignment there is there with like what our play-based, responsive, naturalistic approach is. So we want to guide them and say, here, we've gathered all of this for you right here. You don't have to find it. It's it's laid out, it's so simple.

SPEAKER_02 32:02

And it's self-paced, it's like on their own, and how they can do it however they want. And there's I'm sure there's some sort of reward if they go through it.

SPEAKER_03 32:07

Yes, well, they have more opportunities, and it also aligns with our um clinical ladder. So our clinical ladders are essentially a growth path where you can earn different roles in the company and different opportunities and just better yourself. And um so that's kind of you know, there's some alignment there, and really the best benefit for themselves is they're finding the clinical skill set that they most value, and then the reward is you get to work with more kids with that.

SPEAKER_02 32:34

I see. So it's they get to do what they love more. Yes. And then so in that S curve, it's like, oh, you've mastered this, here's a new S. Yes. And so you have you provide multiple S's, which is great because as long as people are progressing, as long as people are productive, they're happy. Yes. And then the cultural piece, all those like fringe benefits, they get to go back and tell their family, I get massages. Yes. I have personalized snacks. Like these elements are and I love that you train them on those benefits. You can have 50 amazing benefit packages, but if people don't know or use them, they're worthless. And you're I'm sure you're getting those packages created on in terms of benefits based on feedback from people. Like what else, what's another problem you're having? And then you solve it, or you ask them like, how would you like to solve that problem? And they go, Yeah, like massage.

SPEAKER_03 33:16

Yes, I ask in the annual feedback survey what programs they utilize, which ones they have utilized, are there any other ones they would like to see, right? And and where we ask them questions about where they see themselves, right, and and growing and how can our leadership team support you to get there. And sometimes, right, it's it's with it's been in the past like the mentorship, the training, but now a lot of the time it's so great, they're like already what I'm doing, already the mentorship program and the yeah, they're more reinforcing what you already do versus new things that need to be done.

Why Culture Drives Profit

SPEAKER_02 33:44

What would you say to uh uh an owner who's looking at this and just thinking this is too expensive? I don't think that's really their secret sauce. What would you say?

SPEAKER_03 33:50

It's not, it's not expensive. Well, one, I think any investment in your team isn't even an expense because it's going you're just your ROI is gonna be just like huge on if you're gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 33:59

Do you believe that your your profitability has is tied to these things that we're talking about?

SPEAKER_03 34:03

Absolutely. Absolutely, because it retains team members. It is so expensive to hire an onboard and train team members, especially with our training. It is very tired, we our leaders spend a lot of time with this training. And and that not only um revenue-wise, but to people's time and energy, if they have to keep starting over because they're replacing people with the trainings, that's exhausting. When we're doing it for growth, much more exhilarating for those leaders to be doing the training versus if they're like, I gotta catch this person up so that we can you know cover someone that left. So the so the retention alone is huge. And so it the investment is there. That's absolutely and and it reflects in the services, right? If you don't have team members who love to be there and love what they do, your services are not gonna be as good for those families. No and your the families are gonna want to go elsewhere. So for me, every single piece, and and people might disagree with this, but I think every single piece of the profitability comes from starts with a culture.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

Every single piece. And I would say the same for me. Um, every time I built a company around these concepts and have done my version of this, and I had to figure mine out with help. I really didn't. I mean, there's a point of which you start figuring it out because you do become aware. It's like just about being a good human, understanding how you can look at your team as your primary customer, not as a means to getting money or serving your primary customer. They are the primary customer for owners. The legacy isn't the money or the or the patients we see, it's the team that we build. And when we see that, it becomes a joy to see them light up, like a parent with children, going, wow, look at them progress, look what I can do to serve them, and you reward them and they get happy. But I think what people don't realize is the statistics. I think when you go through the, and I won't go through them now, but like when people see how much more expensive it is not to do this, they might be motivated. Yes. But the things that the intangibles that we can't quantify in terms of money, but it does show up in money. We just can't link them directly, and I know you can agree to this, is that when you go to work every day as an owner and you're happy and they're happy for the most part, and you just feel like you're lucky and everyone feels like they're lucky. Today I've had a number of people tell me how great my team is and how lucky I am to have them. And like, you better believe it. And I like I don't I I take that as a huge compliment that I'm it's not the will show. Because when I go to work and I'm happy and they're happy, guess what? Those are coincidentally, I'm putting that in quotes, the most profitable moments of my business. And so there's a joy factor, it's not about like reducing expense and it's it's expensive not to do this, but it's just so sad not to. It's it's so wonderful to go to work and have a team that your team loves you, yeah, and I love them. It's so mutual. It's it's a rare thing to see your team the way you guys show up.

SPEAKER_03 36:49

It is. I truly like I can't even explain, like, it's so humbling when I when I go to the office or when we're at an event like this, and people are always coming up to me and they're like, Your team is amazing. They are the energy of your team, and I get goosebumps because I'm like, I know they are. And I couldn't do anything that I do without them. And the thing is, we've all built into each other. I built into them, but they built into me, and they truly make me grow and become a better leader because I feel so much joy. That's it for me. When I see them happy, my team, every single person on my team, that brings me joy, and I can't ask for a better there, I can't ask for a better payment, right? Like that's it for me, and that's why for the whole the whole purpose of my company, right? Of course, our mission is to empower all children to live happy, fulfilling lives. Yeah, number one. But it can't be number one w without being equal to creating a place where team members want to be, where they love to be, where they can grow. Yeah, it there's it's not it can't be one or the other in the top space, right? They're equal.

SPEAKER_02 37:55

Well, your purpose to me, because who isn't a child? Like who isn't a who doesn't have parents? So when you I when they hear your purpose, I I see that perfectly applied to your amazing team. Um, you have two people here at Growth Code, don't you? Yes. Um so amazing. Yeah, like it's one of those where you're sitting down there and you just you it's like a club that you're feeling openly invited to, but like I know when I have a culture where I feel like I want to apply to that company, which I want to apply to yours. And I'm I'm like, I'm not a certified in your specialties at all. Like, and and it's it's because of the culture and that magnetic, that magnetic draw for people is so intoxicating and wonderful. Here's what I want my rock stars to hear. Rockstars, as you're listening to this, you might be beating yourself up because you're thinking, man, I don't have this, I'm such a loser, all these things. Listen, we've all you don't see the light until you're in the dark. And that's what we're showing you is that we found that after having some really rough experiences with teams. The other thing though is that people are afraid of doing it. You most rockstars who are listening to this who have the capability are making excuses not to do it because I believe we get burned so bad as owners that when people fire us or talk crap about us from our employees and we have the opposite experience of what you're talking about, they're afraid of giving that much trust. Because you said something that really sparked this for me, Haley. You said I couldn't do what I do without them. I feel the same way. That takes vulnerability. That takes trust to give your company because it's your you're the one who goes to jail. I go to jail if something goes wrong. And I use that as an extreme example. But like, but that's what the point is, is that we have the risk. So to take that risk and then just trust that they will take care of us. The only way we can do that is by uh giving ourselves to them fully, and in that we find greater peace. I always still occasionally have just little worries here and there, like, okay, am I taking care of that person well enough? But that's that's a good thing. Yeah, I think there's something I I I never want to be cocky in the fact that like they might be taken away in some way, shape, or form, whether that be by choice or by accident. Like I don't want to ever take that for granted.

SPEAKER_01 40:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 40:07

So I love I love how you love your team. What do you see for your company as you grow, Haley?

Vision Ideal Hires And Rapid Fire

SPEAKER_02 40:11

Like what is it that you want to see long term? You're so young. Like, what is it that you want to what you see for your company, your vision?

SPEAKER_03 40:16

Yeah, so for me, I want I just want to make a difference as widely possible. Like for as for as many families, for as many people. And the only way to do that is to grow, um, both with right, our physical locations, the service offerings, the community impact that we have, our events, all those things. So I see huge growth. I see kind of taking over as the thought leaders in the pediatric therapy worlds and creating, you know, more places for families to come and creating more job opportunities for team members so that they can continue to do what they love and and grow. And the more offices we open, more leadership opportunities that are available, the more chance they have to really rise up and continue on those more S curves and all of those things, and just and because we're motivated by growth. Deep down, we all are motivated by growing. And that's what I want to keep creating. So, you know, I really just see us kind of taking over.

SPEAKER_02 41:14

You will. You're and I'm so inspired. I promise you, we'll do a follow-up podcast every growth code if we're both here. And let's see where you're at. And I promise you it's gonna be exponential because I've seen it at this at this stage in my business and multiple companies. I see a rising star. It's it's impossible not to. And it's so fun. Uh, so who's your ideal hire? Who would you describe if someone's listening to this going, I want to be uh, you know, someone who who works here, uh what who is that person?

SPEAKER_03 41:40

We look for team members who are as purpose-driven as ourselves, right? So as our team right now, so people who really feel fueled by our purpose of more to say, yeah, and who are willing to jump in and be a part of the team and really pull those core values in, right? Support each other, collaborate with each other, live out that growth. We look for people who want to do that, who are willing to do that. Um, and then also fun. People who are fun.

SPEAKER_02 42:10

Yeah, you guys are so fun. I can't keep up with your fun. I've been invited to do things with you guys after hours that I just don't have the energy, and I'm sorry, I have never had more FOMO. It's like it was like in high school again, watching you guys go out. You're like, come on, Will, let's go! And I'm like, I really have to go to bed.

SPEAKER_03 42:27

I know, it's tough because it's it actually it really is like a very energetic, uh magnetic. It's fun. It's fun. And and that's every day in our office, right? I only have two of my team members here. Sometimes we've gone to conferences with like eight, oh, nine, ten of our leadership. Only imagine. And we, you know, we basically like we're like, all right, karaoke night, like let's go. Who's coming? Everybody's invited, right? And um, because you can't have just you have to do the work and no play. You have to do all of it. And the more you could put the play into work, the more it doesn't feel like work. The more it doesn't feel like work.

SPEAKER_02 42:59

Yeah, you guys do a lot of both. I love that. So if people wanted to apply or patients wanted to learn more, how could they get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_03 43:06

Sure. So they could um well, our website has a direct link to all of our job postings, so more to say ct.com.

SPEAKER_02 43:11

So it's www.more more number two.

SPEAKER_03 43:15

Nope, just spelled like the words. More to say ct, like can I do ct.com. Yes, so they could um look through our careers page there, see our job openings. Um families can also reach out to us on a website, they can give our office a call, they can reach out to me directly, Haley Addis at more to say ct.com. Um, and I would love to chat with anyone who is interested in learning more.

SPEAKER_02 43:36

I love it. Okay, so you ready to uh for to the end? I like to do rapid fire questions. You ready?

SPEAKER_03 43:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 43:41

Okay, so um if your current so you have two people who brought you brought with you. What are their spirit animals? Who would say their spirit animals would be?

SPEAKER_03 43:53

Okay. So I have Mariana, my admin director, here. I think her spirit animal would be. A lion. She is a very fierce. And she is she is fast and she is just ready to go. She is there. She's verocious. Yes, she is. Yes. And then I have Kelsey, who's our clinical director, and I think her spirit animal would more be like a puppy. She's so sweet and and but also like she's so compassionate. And like I sh I every she's our clinical director, like I said, and every clinician on our team is like, I love Kelsey. I could just talk to her about anything, and I she's not going to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 44:33

She is she has a very calming energy.

SPEAKER_03 44:35

Yep. So the puppy is like, you're right, you would go, you want them around you, they listen, but also, of course, she she always gets done what needs to be done.

SPEAKER_02 44:43

So amazing. Okay. What is a book, movie, song, or something that you've heard recently that you really enjoyed?

SPEAKER_03 44:50

Oh, I'm a I'm an avid reader, which is why I started the book club. The book club. And I do a mix. I do so I do morning reading, which is my um professional development reading, and I do evening reading, which is my fun reading. Um, so I really um I'm really into like on the Gilded Age time.

SPEAKER_01 45:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

So for like out of personal things because I'm like, I do so much talk about work-related stuff. Um, I've been reading these murder mysteries of Newport.

SPEAKER_02 45:15

And do you read those before you go to bed instead of watching TV?

SPEAKER_03 45:18

Yeah, I don't watch TV.

SPEAKER_02 45:19

Okay. And that calms you down?

SPEAKER_03 45:21

Yeah, uh yeah, I don't get it. Yeah, it's not it's not like scary. It's a okay.

SPEAKER_02 45:25

Reason being is because I just I'm trying to find something other than shorts to watch at night. And I a book sounds so perfect because it's like a good edifying thing, but my brain is a very good thing.

SPEAKER_03 45:32

Yeah, I need to do morning reading for professional development, like I said, because that's when I'm ready to learn.

SPEAKER_02 45:36

Yeah, you're open.

SPEAKER_03 45:37

Yes. And then at night is when I, you know, I do an hour and a half of reading at night, and I do an hour in the morning. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:43

Amazing. Okay, where somewhere fun in the world you've been, or somewhere you would like to go.

SPEAKER_03 45:48

So our our number one um travel spot is Disney Worlds. Let's go. I have three kids, we're going, we're driving up after this. Are you really? Yeah, we're driving up. We go, we go like three or four times a year. And it's actually the most joyful thing for me because I get to watch my children have joy. So I love that. They are pleased to be.

SPEAKER_02 46:04

Last question is funny. You mentioned the children piece. You know, it's not lost on me that this is going out into the ether and that it will be out there for your kids and their kids and their kids to watch. They get to see great, great, great grandma Haley talk about what she loves. What is it about? What is it about your company and what you do professionally that you love?

SPEAKER_03 46:23

I love making a difference in people's lives. So I just love seeing other people be positively impacted because of what I do. And I will do anything I can to bring joy to more people.

SPEAKER_02 46:35

You know, for anyone who's listening, I have the privilege of interacting with hundreds of companies since I sold my practice. I think I'm upwards of over a thousand. You are in the top 1% of the best I've ever experienced.

SPEAKER_00 46:48

That's amazing. And it's so kind.

SPEAKER_02 46:49

And it's the reason I don't need to go to your clinic or know to know that is because it's so evident in your culture. You can't have a culture like with that without production, without being profitable, but without a lot of great leadership and love. So thank you so much for being on the show, Healing.

SPEAKER_03 47:03

Thank you for having me. This was so much fun.

SPEAKER_02 47:04

It was so great. Rockstars, thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the Will Power Podcast. As always, this is Will, reminding you to lead with love and never give up.

SPEAKER_00 47:14

Until next time, I