How This IDD Agency Bet on Its People w/ Core Services

Imagine telling your board you're about $150,000 in the red this year, and that you chose it. That's the call Susan Arwood made as the new executive director of a Tennessee agency in turmoil, when she put her staff through intensive person-centered training. She bets it paid for itself ten times over. Susan, now with NADSP, joins Core Services' current leaders, Nick Filarelli and Jessie Dunn, to tell the story of how a small agency went from a place where staff weren't allowed in parts of the office to a model for the field. You'll hear what she found when she walked in, why she invited her loudest critics to the table, and the other bets they made along the way: pay raises that could have blown the budget and a technology pilot that lost about $40,000 a year. You'll also hear the change Susan says she would make faster if she could do it over. If you're weighing an investment in your people that looks expensive today, this one is for you. 🔗 Learn more about Core Services: https://www.coreservicestn.com/ 📥 Free resource: 7 Warning Signs Your Supervisors Are Burning Out Their Staff: iddleader.com/burnout TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – The board's reaction to a very big deficit year 03:24 – The handoff Susan counts among her biggest successes 04:44 – What Susan found when she took over 06:45 – The workshop most people attended, and the pushback to closing it 08:47 – Why they chose better over bigger 12:08 – Why Core turns some families away 16:46 – The training bet that put them $150k in the red 18:07 – The pay raises that could have blown the budget 18:44 – The independent-living pilot that lost $40,000 a year 21:58 – Inviting the loudest critics to the table 24:13 – The rule that kept staff out of parts of the office 26:35 – Susan planned to watch quietly. She didn't. 32:06 – What Susan would do differently 33:21 – This week's action move 🎵 Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: VWGDUO1RBUYZEQ6K