SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Loretto has an employee-coaching program that started a few years ago and has, so far, helped more than a 1,000 of the organization’s employees since its inception.

Loretto has also started its new “EDGE” training program to help employees feel more engaged and supported in the era of “quiet quitting.” EDGE stands for “educate, develop, grow, excel” and offers leadership training and certification programs in specific areas such as dementia, advanced rehabilitation, and food services.

The nonprofit Loretto is a health-care organization providing services for older adults throughout Central New York. The organization serves close to 10,000 individuals each year through 19 locations in Onondaga and Cayuga counties.

Employee coaching

The employee-coaching program started a few years ago when Loretto was active with CenterState CEO and BOCES in employee-training programs. Some program participants started working at Loretto in entry-level, frontline positions, and the organization “tried to make sure they were successful,” says Julie Sheedy, chief marketing and engagement officer at Loretto, who spoke with CNYBJ on Nov. 21. 

Participants included new Americans and others who were starting their first job, so Loretto wanted to provide them a point of contact to help them get adjusted to their role in a working environment.

The feedback to Loretto officials from both managers and employees indicated that some of the frontline employees needed “help navigating their work and their life balance,” according to Sheedy. 

Loretto’s first employee coach started just prior to the start of the COVID pandemic. CenterState CEO helped Loretto find the individual to fill the role. “The position has evolved and been so successful in helping us retain employees that we added a second coach,” says Sheedy. 

The second employee coach has been on the job for nearly a year, she noted. 

Loretto’s employee coaches have worked with more than 1,000 employees since offering the service. When fully staffed, Loretto averages between 2,000 and 2,500 employees, and at the time of the interview, had about 2,200 people on the payroll, according to Sheedy.

Loretto introduces the two employee coaches during its new-employee orientation sessions. “They pass out their business cards and then it’s really a partnership between the coaches and our human-resources business partners and our business leaders themselves,” she says.

If they identify someone showing signs of risk, such as calling off from work, or exhibiting signs of struggling in the job or personal life, the coach can meet with the person and provide that individual some resources.

“It’s a very sensitive topic, so employees know how to reach them and can approach them one-on-one,” she says. “They have very personal situations that they deal with at home that they’re not sure how to navigate.” 

The coaches keep a food pantry in their offices as some employees may lack available food or formula at their homes. 

Sheedy went to say that Loretto’s workforce includes a “significant population” that comes from the city of Syracuse, where it knows people deal with challenges such as poverty “and other barriers to work.” The employee coaches have been “essential” in helping its employees find the right resources to help them have a stable workplace and homelife, says Sheedy. 

When asked if Loretto plans on hiring additional employee coaches, she says it “depends on the demand and the need.” 

The employee coach is a Loretto position and grant funding paid for it the first year through Loretto’s partnership with CenterState CEO, but the position is now part of the Loretto payroll, including the addition of the second position.

EDGE training program 

Sheedy says Loretto is “constantly” looking at employee retention and stability, noting that the organization is hearing that 67 percent of registered nurses are going to leave their jobs in two years. “The competition is tremendous.” 

Almost 400,000 people have left long-term care organizations in the past two years, representing 20 percent of the workforce, she adds.

“We have to really think outside of the box about how we can wrap our arms around our employees and provide services to retain and grow them,” says Sheedy.

Besides the employee-coaching program, Loretto is also investing in its training programs, which it packaged under a concept called EDGE (engaged, develop, grow, and excel.) 

Loretto conducted an employee survey and one finding that management heard “loud and clear” was that its managers needed help with employee management. Under the EDGE program, Loretto launched its first leadership-training academy. 

“We have 40 of our front-line supervisors, managers, and directors that are being trained on all the skills they need for people management,” says Sheedy. “It helps them be stronger … be more confident as a people leader but also help us retain those employees as well.”

Since May, Loretto has trained 37 employees through its new frontline-certification programs in dementia care and ServSafe food service under the EDGE umbrella, Sheedy noted.

The New York City–based Mother Cabrini Health Foundation also awarded Loretto grant funding for a front-line career-advancement program, which involves certification programs. Loretto uses the programs to help employees starting in entry level positions grow on a career pathway. An example of this is a dementia certification that’s conducted in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association.

“A [certified nurse aide (CNA)] can come in and take this dementia certification program,” says Sheedy. “If they pass the test, they become certified to work and provide advanced-level skills in dementia care and they earn an additional wage.”

She noted that it goes “hand in hand” with Loretto’s LPN (licensed practical nurse) apprentice program, a program that seeks to make the organization’s employees successful and “build their career trajectory.”