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IDD Leader
For IDD Providers: Tired of the revolving door of staff? Join host Nate Beers as he and other industry leaders share loads of actionable advice on how you can retain and grow your DSP workforce. Just because there's a nationwide DSP workforce crisis doesn't mean that your organization has to churn through staff. Listen to innovative solutions to increase your staff retention and give your organization a competitive advantage so that at the end of the day you provide the best quality care for those you serve.
More effective supervisors. Stronger workforce. Lower turnover.
IDD Leader
Ep. 74 - Stop Hiring Fast. Start Hiring Right. w/ Holli Beth Clauser
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When you're short-staffed, under pressure, and drowning in overtime… speed feels like the only thing that matters.
But what if hiring fast is actually making your turnover worse?
In this episode, Nate sits down with Holli Beth Clauser, founder of ABA C.A.R.E.S. and host of The People Contingency Podcast, to unpack what most human services leaders get wrong about recruitment.
Holli has lived the high-pressure scenario—delivering nearly 90 net hires in four months with just two recruiters. But here’s what makes that story remarkable: 83 of those hires were still there after 90 days.
This conversation isn’t just about recruiting. It’s about retention, leadership, and building hiring systems that actually work in emotionally demanding, entry-level roles like DSPs and RBTs.
You’ll hear:
--Why speed-of-hire can be a misleading metric
--How vague job requirements quietly sabotage retention
--The difference between intentional slowness and accidental friction
--What most interviewers miss when they “check the box”
--Why recruitment is a lot like dating (and how agencies accidentally catfish candidates)
If you lead an IDD organization—or any human services team struggling with vacancies—this episode will challenge how you think about urgency, quality, and what it really means to “fix” turnover.
Timestamps
00:00 – 96 hires in four months… and 83 stayed
01:14 – Why retention and recruitment are two sides of the same coin
02:44 – “You have 60 days to hire 15 staff…” Where Holli starts
03:01 – Getting crystal clear before you recruit
06:17 – Why speed alone is the wrong metric
08:53 – What passive sourcing actually means (and how to do it well)
11:52 – How to spot red flags in frontline interviews
15:38 – The biggest hiring myth hurting agencies
17:29 – The bathtub metaphor: why your hiring feels fast but still fails
22:18 – Removing friction without lowering your standards
25:23 – The power of follow-up questions in interviews
29:33 – “Don’t catfish” your candidates
31:00 – Action steps: auditing your hiring process
Learn More
Learn more about Holli Beth Clauser and her work at:
https://abacaresstaffing.com/
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