Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Business Forward. I'm Joe Reyes, and today we're talking about how smart decisions and clear numbers can drive real business growth. You're watching now Media Television.
Welcome to Business Forward. I'm your host, Joseph Reyes. And today we're talking about something every leader struggles with, and that is building a workplace that people truly want to be a part of. My guest today is Adam Henry, vice president of the Amity Group Incorporated, a national leader in hospice, nursing, staffing, compliance, and technology.
Alongside his wife Shelley, Adam has transformed Amity from a regional firm into an innovative force helping healthcare organizations scale, streamline, and serve better.
Adam, welcome to Business Forward.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Hey, thanks for having me, Joe.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: Good to have you.
All right, let's, let's kick things off with a question every employer asked.
How do you create a company culture that keeps people motivated and connected?
So first question is, why is company culture more important than ever in today's job market?
[00:01:13] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. That is a good question. The, you know, culture has become the new currency, right?
The job market is changing. The cultural changes across the generations.
You know, the, the boom boomer generation, you know, those guys went for stability, benefits, retirement.
You often got one job at one company and stayed there your entire life and raised your family and, you know, were a part of the community.
I'm a Gen X. You know, we liked a little bit more excitement. You know, we wanted more opportunities, and we also wanted to make more, you know, so that's kind of what, what drove us. But today, what, what I see, particularly with the millennial generation and Gen Z, they want to feel a part of something. They want to be paid fairly. You know, of course, we all need a certain amount of money to, to, you know, live our life, but they want to feel like they're connected to community, some good, you know, humanity.
They want to know, the question is not so much today, will you hire me? It's why would I work for you? You know, with, with AI and technology and all the different things that we have at our disposal.
I can literally work for anyone, anywhere, just about.
So I think the, the most important thing as a business leader, entrepreneur is to know your mission. Why?
Why are you doing what you're doing?
Even if your, your. Your why is not connected to your business, but your business gives you the, the resources and the time to dedicate to this higher good.
When you can communicate that well and efficiently, I think that you will organically attract the right people to your organization.
And look, not everyone's for everyone. Not everyone's going to align with and you may find that folks are attracted to your mission, but not necessarily, you know, maybe they have a different take on it and that's okay as well. But I really think that that culture is the new currency in the workforce.
[00:03:36] Speaker A: Oh, those are some great thoughts. So let's say myself, I'll use my. I, I'm a CPA of a CPA business. Right. And the mission, of course, is to enhance the wealth of our clients and to take care of their finances properly. But I guess the higher mission, let's say I'm concerned about the homeless.
So I could tie that in somehow, I guess, on the website and our branding materials. Tie that in, I guess, and, and say something like a percentage of our profits goes to help the homeless. Things like that. Is that kind of what you, what you're alluding to there?
[00:04:16] Speaker B: Yeah, and I, I think that you're on the right track, Joe, but I think, you know, a lot of times, you know the saying. I hear what you're saying, but I'm watching your feet. You know, are we out in the community, Right. Helping the homeless, you know, list like, you know, we're animal lovers. Right. And so we give financially to a no kill shelter here in our community.
[00:04:42] Speaker A: Right.
[00:04:44] Speaker B: But are we actually going there and putting in a little bit of work or are we just writing a check? Because, you know, you can get to a certain place in your economic career and check writing becomes just a thing. Right, right. And I think these younger generations, they want to, they want to see your actions meet what you're saying.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you for unpacking that. I didn't think of that. You know, I thought, you know, we support.
Especially if you're busy.
[00:05:16] Speaker B: I mean, sure, yeah, absolutely. You know, and, and maybe, maybe, you know, maybe I'm not there washing out the kennels, but maybe I'm helping organize the folks who are washing out the kennel. You know, there's a lot of different ways to be of service.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: Yeah, that's. That's excellent. Thank you. That's. That's Matthew boy, right out of the gate in this conversation. Valuable stuff.
All right, well, tell me, how can leaders make employees feel valued and connected to the mission?
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Okay, well, you know, I think that a monthly meeting is great, right? Having your mission statement on the wall.
However, a really good investment of time as a business leader, entrepreneur, business owner is getting to know your, you know, you were attracted to work at this business. Why?
And find out what that why is. Maybe they're also an animal lover and just saw that Maybe they don't care anything at all about animals, but they recognize your authentic.
What's the word I'm looking for? Empathy for the community at large. You know, there's a lot of different things. Maybe, maybe they're working in a capacity where they answer ph homes and push out invoices.
But however, when you talk to them, what they're really interested in is being an organizer. And that opens up that door that, hey, I work with this animal shelter. And you know what? They need an organizer. Wouldn't be a lot of time. It's just a few hours a week, you know, on Saturday online of you making out a schedule for the folks who are going to wash out the kennels.
But if you don't have these conversations, if I'm just always preaching my mission, and again, if, if my actions don't back up my mission. Right. Then.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Kind of falls on deaf ears and then we.
[00:07:19] Speaker A: Yeah, so. So with that, would you recommend accrediting a certain number of hours per week, paid time off, if you will, but not credited towards vacation time, to, let's say, working at a candle like eight. We're going to give you two hours a week.
Go be part of the mission. You're going to get paid as if you were in the office or whatever it is you do. Is that something that people do and companies do or.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Absolutely. I think that's a great idea. That's actually, that's something that hadn't really occurred to me.
Social media is huge. Hey, put everybody in a. In a branded polo shirt and have them on the mission. You know what I mean?
[00:07:59] Speaker A: Yeah, right, exactly.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: Ways.
[00:08:02] Speaker A: Would you, Would you like, put this mission. If you're advertising for an employee, for a position, would you put anything about the mission in that advertisement or commercial, if you will, or ad.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: I think that it's. It depends on your industry and it depends on where you're at in the search for an employer or an employee. Or rather, you know, we make a lot, my wife and I, we make a ton of content on social media.
So a lot of our, particularly our current staff is organic. They knew who we were before we ever made contact with them. A lot of folks and also our clients have. They see our content on social, then they reach out to us and say, hey, we want to be a part of this.
How do we, you know, and it's usually directly in the industry, but they also know because we have our dog and all kind of videos and we talk about it and different things. So, you know, they feel like, they know us already.
[00:09:18] Speaker A: Oh, that's good. Okay. All right, so. So let's pivot a little bit from that to.
You have the people on the team, you know, you've gone through all that.
What. What small changes do you recommend to. That makes a difference in morale in an existing team? Because that seems always to be a big challenge.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: Definitely a big challenge.
You know, we were just talking about having the. The right. The right guys on the bus and have them in the right seats. And sometimes you got the right people on the bus, but they're just not in the right seat. It's the investment of time and talking with your people and creating an environment where saying, I don't know is not a confession, but it's an opportunity to explore some areas.
Maybe you have someone in a capacity in your office that they're doing well, you would like if they did better, maybe. And. But when you find out that what they're really interested in is something outside of your industry, you know, it's like, okay, well, how can I work with this person? Because, look, if I. If I get rid of them and start all over now we're at ground zero, right? So maybe it's a. It's a question of linking them up with the right people or, you know, say they want to be, I don't know, an art historian, but what they're actually doing is record keeping. Right. Well, most all major universities offer free online courses.
Business leaders were at our desk already, majority of the day. Take 10 minutes, do a couple of searches, fix up, you know, Janet with a link to, you know, Saylor University. They have an online course for art history.
You know, do it on the weekend and good luck. And hey, if they leave, would you rather be known as the guy who. Who helps people fulfill their dreams, or do you want to be that guy that keeps people in a box and, you know, they're a little unhappy, and quite frankly, if they're unhappy, you're a little unhappy as well.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a good point. Okay, so as we close out the segment, can you think of a company that built a nice, strong employee culture and then saw results from that? Anybody come to mind?
[00:11:41] Speaker B: Yeah, the Amity Group, our company. Ah, again, social media. Right. For sure. You know, social media is free, and a lot of people are terrified to. To do what you and I are doing right now, having an honest conversation, putting our face out there. But I'm telling you, Joe, I can't tell you how many of our nurses. So we have a nurse. I don't know how much time we have, but we have a nurse that has become our greatest cheerleader. She used to work at a potential client. She was middle management and that was who my point of contact in those days. I did all the marketing and no time for me.
However, she got fed up with the the grind and that organization she was working for. But she recognized my wife on tick tock making videos and loves her.
Well, when she found out that we're in the same town. Look, Joe, she's our biggest cheerleader. I can't tell you how many fantastic nurses that she has sent to us. It's great.
[00:12:44] Speaker A: Oh, that's fantastic. That's great. All right. Yeah. All right. So as we get ready for next segment, coming up next, we'll be talking about one of the biggest challenges that businesses face today.
Staffing.
So Adam will share how to turn hiring problems into powerful opportunities for growth. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more insights, tools and real talk to help you grow your business.
This is Business Forward on non Media television.
And we're back. I'm Joe Reyes and you're watching business Forward on non media television. Let's get back into it.
Okay. Welcome back to Business Forward. Want more of what you're watching? Stay connected to Business Forward and every now Media TV favorite live on demand anytime you like. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and unlock non stop bilingual programming in English and in Spanish on the move. You can also catch the podcast version right from our website at NowMedia TV.
From business and news to lifestyle, culture and beyond, Non media TV is streaming around the clock. Ready whenever you are.
And so here we are with Adam Henry again. Welcome back, Adam.
Good to have you.
And now we're diving into staffing, one of the biggest, and I can tell you from my life, biggest headaches for any business owner. From recruitment to retention, staffing can feel like never ending struggles. And Adam believes it's also a strategic opportunity when handled right. And I am looking forward to this conversation. So, Adam, how can business owners turn staffing challenges into growth opportunities?
[00:14:30] Speaker B: Well, you know, challenges, staffing challenges are inevitable, right? We almost always have either one of two things, too much staff or not enough staff.
So what I found in my experience and look, we are staffing agency, right? And we have these same challenges from time to time.
But what I've found is that staffing challenges are really a just a great mirror for your business and it exposes the challenges or the deficiencies in your systems. And maybe in lack of mission, you know, it. It also exposes where you can, you know, do some cross training.
Again, going back to having the right guys on the bus. Maybe, you know, maybe there's an internal problem that's not beyond the realm of possibilities that you have this one negative Nancy, if you will, that's kind of making everyone in the break room a little, you know, they're always kind of in there, you know, we need to maybe get rid of those people.
But having a solid mission, knowing what you stand for and what you're about, what your company is about, and attracting the, the right people, often organically, particularly in this, this market that we currently have, where remote workers work everywhere.
You know, the.
I really think that, you know, sometimes.
Right. Sometimes I'm the wrong guy in the seat. You know, there came a time when I became comfortable marketing, but if I wanted our company to continue to grow, I needed to turn that over to someone else and focus more on the management of the cash flow. A staffing agency, that's. Cash flow is king. Right. You know, so I think that paying attention to your numbers, every year, historically, the last nine years, we have seen a decrease in need.
May, June, July.
Right.
So the months going in, let's don't invest heavily in new equipment or new systems or new software because we know that, that we're about to have a little lull in revenue.
Likewise, I've made this mistake always investing because I believe in that, always investing in the business.
We have this little lull in revenue because we have less staffing needs.
Inevitably we pick back up again. And now I'm stressing because can I make payroll all the time? And naturally it can, but, you know, we want to do it easily. So I'm just using that as an analogy to, to plan ahead. You have history, track that history. And, and you know, if, if you have solid turnover all the time, maybe there's a problem that you need to look at and that as a leader, you know, you need to look yourself in the eye.
And again, going back to segment one, talking to your people, knowing your people, being open to some feedback that they want to let you know, they, they're letting each other know for sure.
[00:17:54] Speaker A: Right? Yeah.
Yeah. All right. Well, cool.
And, and I mean, there's always the external factors too, of course, but the more attractive you make, your culture and the more right people you have in your team, the better a place you're going to have.
And it'll be harder for people to want to walk away from that.
So what do you think are the biggest misconceptions that leaders have about staffing,
[00:18:20] Speaker B: staffing agencies in particular?
It's usually we think of bottom of the barrel, Not quite qualified or not.
Whatever you think quality people or quality workers are, that is changing across all industries.
Like our company. We are very small niche. We do one thing and we do it really, really well.
I believe that we're going to see that catch on and people are going to focus on highly specialized areas.
You know, like we do hospice, but only hospice nurses. We don't do hospice physicians or chaplains or social workers. We focus on one thing and we do that very, very well. And I think that that is beginning to take off.
And look, when we started in 2017, people, particularly in our industry, laughed at us. Joe, they laughed at us. He said, this is never going to work.
Right. You need more volume. No one's going to want to, you know, follow this business model.
But we believed in our mission. We wanted to change the way nurses, particularly hospice nurses, work and give them the autonomy to choose who, where and how long they work.
And so it's kind of a win win. We're trying to solve the problem for the nurse and at the same time solve the problem for the hospice agency is they too. You know, the nature of hospice is your census goes up. You have five or six admits Friday afternoon at 3:45, but before Monday gets here, your census is down by six or seven. Right. So a trap is you find the right person, then your census goes down. Now you don't need them. Right. So when you find a highly specialized staffing firm that can fill those gaps, a PRN as needed basis, that's a really, really good fit, we take a highly specialized professional person who's an expert in that particular job task, and they can move around the city and do the work that they love and return home to their families. And the employer is not burdened with the finding of the people and, you know, and personnel records and all that. We do that on our end.
[00:20:58] Speaker A: Yeah, that it makes a lot of sense to micro focus if you could do that. Well, that makes a lot of sense where we're focusing on tax planning. So we're kind of moving in that direction as a CPA firm and we want to make that a bigger specialty so we get that.
So how can businesses plan ahead?
And this is a big one. How do you plan ahead to, you know, to avoid a sudden hiring crisis? I mean, that's a big unknown. You never know what's going to come at you, how do you prepare for that?
[00:21:27] Speaker B: I think you have to know your numbers, right? You have to track your history. And if, and if you're brand new, well, then you're probably not quite in this situation anyway. But if you've been in business for any period of time, you have to know your numbers. And when you know your numbers, those tell you a story.
And like for the Amity Group, for instance, we know that those summer months, business slacks off so you can communicate with your people, right? Not everyone can go on vacation at the same time, but this is a really good time to plan your vacations. And let's start spreading that out, you know, and using a temporary, a highly specialized temporary staffing firm for when your, your needs are greater. When, you know, if you're tracking your numbers, you, you know, like say February through April, we have a influx of work.
If you know you're going to have an influx, if that's what your history has shown, maybe you form a partnership with a specialized staffing firm to bridge those gaps. That way when your slow period comes, you don't have anyone to lay off. You don't have people sitting around becoming disgruntled.
Idleness is not good for anyone.
[00:22:44] Speaker A: So that, so that's, that was going to be my next question. Like, you know, how do you prepare in advance? I think you just answered the question.
Have a relationship with a staffing agency such as yourself, or a partnership with some local group or something along those lines and then hope for the best.
[00:23:07] Speaker B: Well, you know, look, entrepreneur in translation is overcoming obstacles, right? That's, that's the nature of the business, right? And so I think that the best we can hope for is to be as well prepared as we know how to be. And so I think that a good place to start is knowing your history, knowing your numbers, studying it, not just hoping for the best, and then just try to figure it out. But then also if you're developing a culture, if you're, you know, I mean, I, I make the joke, but if you get on your phone and you make that video of yourself, but your voice talking about your company, talking about your, your culture and what you stand for, maybe not on day one, it might be on day 600, but it's gonna get through to the right people. You're gonna start attracting the right people that buy into your culture. And when you're having these honest conversations with your people about, hey, this is our busy time, this is our slow time, what do you have going on? You know, do you have kids in School. There's a lot of different things we can do, but it really begins with us knowing our numbers and the history of our business.
[00:24:24] Speaker A: Well, you see, you sound like very creative person. So, Adam, if anybody wants to get in contact with you, how can they do that?
[00:24:31] Speaker B: Sure, they can reach me via my website, which is ww.amity staffing, which is a m I t y s t a F-F-I-N g.com or they can find me on LinkedIn at Adam Warren Henry.
[00:24:48] Speaker A: All right, well, thank you. All right, so that in our next segment we'll be talking about how small and mid sized businesses compete for top talent. When big companies are paying more. Adam shares creative ways to attract and keep great people without breaking the bank. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more insights, tools and real talk to help you grow your business.
This is Business Forward on Non Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Joe Reyes and you're watching Business Forward on NOW Media Television. Let's get back into it.
Okay. Welcome back to Business Forward. I'm joined by Adam Henry and we're tackling one of the most pressing questions for business owners. How do you attract and retain great talent without overspending?
In an era of rising wages and fierce competition, purpose, flexibility and recognition might just matter more than paychecks.
So, Adam, this is a fantastic question because small businesses, I mean, you got to have deep pockets to get the very, very top talent that's out there. That's not a, that's not a myth, that's not a, you know, a question. But there's other things, other things that can be done. So what can small businesses do and offer besides money does and still attract great people?
[00:26:07] Speaker B: Right. That, that's a big, a big obstacle right there. But I think it comes back to culture and knowing what you believe in and attracting those types of people that align with your culture of your business.
You know, the, I'm sorry, I'm drawing a blank that, you know, early on we made it our mission to change the way hospice nurses work. And we made that, we talked to everybody about it, anyone who, even people who didn't want to hear about it. We talked about changing the way hospice nurses worked and, but we, we sold into that idea.
[00:26:57] Speaker A: That's a tough one. I mean, how, how do, how does a nurse in hospice care, I mean, what, I mean, they don't, my wife's a nurse.
Yes, money's a factor, but there's a greater mission in her head. There's something else going on there. They like to help people, you know.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:20] Speaker A: And hospice is a whole nother level of care.
[00:27:24] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: Yeah. So I, I, you know, I don't get it. You know, some of the things that they do are unpleasant for the average individual.
You know, so, so let's just take, you know, the hospice nurses that you work with.
Do you provide them with like, flexibility, any kind of recognition, any perks, anything other than monetary or financial that amity group offers them to motivate them and keep the morale up as people are basically dying around them?
[00:27:57] Speaker B: Right, absolutely.
[00:27:59] Speaker A: How do you do that?
Yeah.
[00:28:01] Speaker B: So, you know, first of all, we allow them the autonomy to choose how many days a week they work, how many hours a week they work. You know, we have nurses who want to work five days a week, and there's always a client that needs a nurse five days a week.
We also have nurses that, you know, it's kind of towards the end of their career, they don't need to work, but they want to work. They just want to work Tuesday, Thursday, or Monday, Wednesday, Friday. There's always a client that says, hey, I just had a census increase, but I don't need someone five days a week. I just need them three days a week. We had a nurse, her and her, her and her husband were retired and they bought a camper and they travel all over the U.S. right, but exactly. But she still wanted to see patients and she had this. I just want to work two days a month.
Sounds impossible, but you always, we always have a client that says, hey, I have a nurse out. They have an eye appointment or their child has a school play, or it's always some little function that, you know, they called in sick. Do you have somebody? And Charlotte's available, you know, for that one day. And so that always works out.
But I really believe that, you know, just knowing your people and knowing what they want, you know, it's not all about, you know, ping pong tables and flexibility and just creating a fun atmosphere. Right. But letting folks align with something higher than, say, just being a hospice nurse. Right.
We're, we're a movement. We believe that we are changing the way hospice nurses work and potentially one day the way all nurses work. And so when you, when you talk about that insistently and their, your actions match what you're saying, the right people will buy into that and they're no longer working for just a paycheck.
[00:29:59] Speaker A: Right. That's cool. And then I guess that kind of feeds into, if you could provide that environment for them.
Do you find that that kind of builds a certain amount of loyalty and stickiness in the position in the company?
[00:30:16] Speaker B: Absolutely. The, the nurse that I was speaking about earlier who worked for a potential client, then later when she became uncomfortable there and works for us now she's been with us for five years. And for a staffing agency to have an employee for five years. And by the way, she's not the only one. She's just the example that I'm using for this. She has been one of our greatest cheerleaders.
Not poaching, but when nurses become available in the community that she's worked with and she likes and respects, she has told us that, hey, this person's going to fill out an application. They're definitely worth talking to.
And again, there's some others that she has said, hey, you know, they talk a good game, but they don't. Their actions don't match up their word with their words. So, you know, I definitely believe that once someone buys in, you know, I was in the military. I, I played sports as a kid.
You know, I think that people want to belong to something and once they buy in and they become a part of rather than apart from, and they're just, you know, work until they get paid on Friday, it develops a, a bond that, that is difficult to break.
[00:31:36] Speaker A: Yeah, I, I think, I don't think money's the best motivator around. I mean, it's, it's a good base. But you're right, we, we humans have built for mission or something, you know, that's fulfilling and what's driving that person. So if you had all the money in the world, what would you love to be doing? You know that it's not money. Right. It's the, the money just gets you to where you want to be and then, you know, you take it from there. So, so how do you turn your company story into a reason someone wants to work there?
I guess that's a narrative that you have to get good at.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: Well, I don't know that you have to necessarily be good at it. I think you have to do it a lot. And if you're willing to not be good at it until you are good at it, then, you know, eventually you will get the message to the right people. I know that our company was three years old and we were, you know, three years old as a company and struggling Covid had happened.
And so, you know, what do you do?
And we didn't have $30,000. We didn't. But I borrowed the money. And we, we hired a team of writers to write our story. Now, I realized that that's not for everyone.
And we didn't get from them what we thought we were going to get. They were really geared towards much larger companies than, than what we are.
However, what they did for us is they made us really think about the Amity group in a much different ever thought about it? Because even though I, for three years I've been going around knocking on doors and talking about Amity and telling people about Amity, I wasn't really good at explaining what we did.
And so just thinking about Amity in a completely different way, you know, now write articles and post them on LinkedIn and both Shelly and I make videos and post those on, you know, all the social platforms. So a lot of folks have never met us, but they feel like they know us.
Right.
[00:33:44] Speaker A: Yeah. I got to look you up. I'm very fascinated by what you're talking about. You've got me definitely thinking a little bit more about social media and utilizing like, you know, using my iPhone and just say something about my group. I, you know, I never thought of that. I'm thinking about, you know, we're doing Facebook marketing, but I never thought about that angle. And that's an interesting concept. Right? So, yeah.
[00:34:05] Speaker B: All right.
[00:34:05] Speaker A: Well, great.
So we're coming to the end of this segment. When we return, we'll be looking toward the future.
What's changing in the world of work and how can leaders prepare their teams for what's next? Because we're going through some massive changes right now in the world, in the United States in particular, and I'm curious and anxious to see what you say about all that. So we'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more insights, tools, and real talk to help you grow your business.
This is Business Forward on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Joe Reyes, and you're watching Business Forward on NOW Media Television. Let's get back into it.
Okay? Welcome back to Business Forward. Don't miss a second of this show or any of your NOW Media TV favorites. Streaming live and on demand whenever and wherever you want.
Grab the free non media TV app on Roku or iOS and enjoy instant access to our lineup of bilingual programs in both English and Spanish. Do you prefer a podcast? Listen to Business Forward anytime on The Non Media TV app, which is now Media TV, covering business, breaking news, lifestyle, culture, and more. Now Media TV is available 24 7, so the stories you care about are always within reach.
Today we're wrapping up today's episode of Business Forward with Adam Henry with the Amity Group talking about how to prepare for the future of work, even if you're not quite ready for it.
Technology, generational shifts evolving work expectations are transforming how every business operates. But small steps today can lead to massive progress tomorrow.
So, Adam, welcome back.
[00:35:54] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:35:55] Speaker A: You're welcome. So let's talk about the trends in staffing or hiring and how they're shaping the future of work. What's your take on that?
[00:36:05] Speaker B: So, you know, it's no secret. Whether you like it or you hate it or you're afraid of it, automation and AI is here to stay, and it's only going to get bigger.
What I see dealing with clients and potential clients is folks are either all in or they're all out. Right. They're afraid of it and they don't have anything to do with it.
That's.
That's risky. Right. And I see the other people on the other end of the spectrum, they're all in. We're gonna, we're gonna cut salaries. You know, we're all in. And, and, you know, I'm with you there, Joe. I really am. I believe that the, the truth, like everything in business is somewhere in the middle. Right. I don't think we'll ever truly be able to eliminate the, the human factor, if you will.
I think that automation and AI certainly will help a company like mine or yours or anyone, you know, out there in the audience find skilled people, sift through those resumes.
You know, automation and AI is a real good test, we have found. If a potential employee is not able to navigate the system to get an interview, they're probably not a good fit because we're very tech forward.
Right. You know, so that's kind of an easy eliminator. But even after everyone has, you know, navigated through all that and got through our hr, which I don't know that I want to be interviewed by hr, but, you know, then they send them to, to my wife Shelly. Right. And so, and then we have an honest conversation about is this person a right fit for our company?
So you're never gonna get rid of that human factor. I think that you're really headed for trouble if you do. And then, you know, of course, like you mentioned in the opening of this segment, the cultural change across the generations, I think a wise investment is something that we invested in is some generational education.
Right. And not just thinking that we know what these younger folks, because some of it, it makes a little Bit more sense to me now that I've got some education on it. But in the beginning, I was just wrong. And my assumptions about, you know, they're lazy, they don't want to work, or they're entitled or whatever I thought, right.
What I found, the younger generations, they're. They're really good workers.
They. They want to work.
However, they need more.
They just need more, whether that be tied to some higher good or they feel like they're aligned with. With you and your mission, your company in some kind of way. And I think that just getting some education on all that will help other entrepreneurs understand.
And, you know, look, I'm 60 and I squandered my youth, so I'll be in business a long time. Right. So we'll just even keep having younger generations that work in the company.
So I think it's. That's a very wise investment.
[00:39:37] Speaker A: Yeah. And so that, you know, and as long as you have a good work ethic, you can work with that. It's. Once you don't have a good work ethic, it's. I don't know how you can get around that.
So how do businesses prepare for changes, though, without overhauling everything at once with the technology? Everything's moving so fast.
Yeah, you do.
[00:39:58] Speaker B: Yeah. So I would say if you're not familiar with AI, if you do find it a little scary, dip your toe on it and see what that's like and find out that it's not. It's not as scary as you may think. You know, certainly open it up for creativity. If you feel like, you know, hey, Adam is saying, get on your cell phone and, you know, just start talking about yourself and your company and your mission.
That sounds terrifying. Well, maybe you get on the AI of your choice and start working with it. Start community, having a conversation with it. And I know if you're not. If you're not tuned into AI, that may sound unusual, but that's really one of the biggest tools that we've used for creativity. Hey, this is what I'm trying to do.
Give me some topics and then just start building from there.
You know, maybe you're not comfortable with putting your face in your voice on social media, but you're not doing any type of social media posting.
Use AI to give you some ideas. I mean, there's, gosh, there's a ton of them out there to choose from if you work with them.
And I think I just lost you.
[00:41:23] Speaker A: Okay, so. So using AI, so maybe you could. I could tell AI, hey, use my voice. And my image and create it. Create an ad for or create a post.
[00:41:35] Speaker B: Well, you could. You absolutely could. We don't do that. But you can.
[00:41:41] Speaker A: That's interesting.
[00:41:43] Speaker B: Yeah. But, you know, like our business, I don't know, let's just say I'm trying to grow in Nevada, and I don't know really anything about Nevada, but I do know that community and culture, particularly in hospice, is very important. Right.
So, you know, what do I need to know about Nevada? What do I need to know about that? Not going to Las Vegas about the cultural community that the folks who live there, what's going on them. That's just really good place to start. And sure, you could, you could do a search on whatever search engine you want, but AI is going to get you there much, much faster.
Right. And then we have the other angle, right, where I'm all in on technology.
And, you know, I'm guilty of this at the, you know, like, like I say, everything I know, I've learned the hard way. I know a lot more about what not to do than I know what to do.
You know, don't buy all the technology, don't buy all the apps and, you know, applications. Let's get one, get comfortable with it, see where that takes you and just start implementing. You don't have to, you know, reinvent the wheel overnight because like you said, you get comfortable with one thing and then, you know, a year later, it's obsolete. Let's make sure that we're making wise financial decisions and not just buying things that we don't understand.
[00:43:13] Speaker A: Yeah, good point. Good point.
So, so now we have a, a new generation of workers coming in. I'm getting lost in what the generations are.
So how, what do we do to prepare for the next generation of workers that maybe are maybe making their way through college or trade school, whatever it is.
What, what do you, what are your thoughts on that? How do we get ready for those?
[00:43:39] Speaker B: I think if you do a search, if you look for some generational training, you will find some usually online. And, you know, it's very minimal investment of dollars and time, but I think will pay off dramatically for you and just help you understand or debunk some of the myths that you may have.
Right. And then when you're committed to your company culture and you're out there on social media like I know you will be after this, and you're putting your mission out there, you know, the right people will gravitate to you. And then when those people are in your orbit, you start having those Honest communications with them about, you know, what do you want? Why do you work here? Why do you want to stay working here? What does it look like? And you know, that's what they used to tell us. What does it look like in five years, 10 years. But don't use it as a tool against them. Let's try to catch people doing the right thing versus catching people doing the
[00:44:42] Speaker A: wrong thing, you know, so, so this mindset is not just for the big corporations.
[00:44:48] Speaker B: No, no. It's for all corporations.
[00:44:49] Speaker A: They do the generational training and you, you, you would think they do, but this is available nowadays for everybody, I guess.
[00:44:57] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:44:58] Speaker A: Right. So, last question. So what's one step business owners can take today to future proof their workforce?
Have you thought about that?
[00:45:07] Speaker B: Oh, gosh, you know, that's, that's a very good question. You know, proof, I don't know, you know, but education, know your mission. Right. Use the tools that are available to you that are very low cost.
Social media is a great way to begin developing that culture. If you don't know what your culture is, maybe you need to have a look in the mirror and ask yourself, you know, what do I believe in?
What, what is my company about? What greater good?
And it could be a thing of. It's not necessarily you're a bad person because you don't have a higher mission, but maybe you just haven't thought about it.
[00:45:48] Speaker A: Right.
[00:45:49] Speaker B: You know, and, and just identify that. And it doesn't. There's. What's great is there's no wrong answer to that.
You know, a higher good is as individual as there are people.
Right.
[00:46:01] Speaker A: Good point.
Yeah. Well, Adam, great, thank you. We're coming to the end of our segment for business leaders who want to learn more about the Amity group and your technology tools like Tag staff or the Dan app or where can they contact connect with you?
[00:46:17] Speaker B: Okay, so they can go to our website which is www.amitystaffing. that's a M I T Y S T A F-F-I-N-COM and, and the dawn app is available at, on both the Play Store and the Apple Store. That's D A H N and that stands for documentation app for hospice nurses.
You can reach me directly on LinkedIn. Adam Warren Henry.
And pretty easy to find TikTok as well. Adam Warren Henry.
[00:46:53] Speaker A: You know, great. Well, thank you for joining us today. You reminded us that being that building a great business isn't just about processes or profits, it's about people.
To our viewers, remember, your team is your brand. The culture you create today becomes the legacy you lead tomorrow. I'm Joseph Reyes, and this has been Business Forward. Helping leaders move with purpose, adapt with confidence, and build the future of business.
One smart step at a time. See you next time.
