Training and Excellence

By Sadie Hess, Founder and CEO

Something BIg

We are in the process of doing something big!  (Something we haven’t done in about 15 years here at Compass.)  We are going to open a new department at Compass!  Not another office, as we have been doing.  This will be a department that supports the whole company.  We have been planning it for a few years, so we are excited to see it become a reality. Eric and I invested in a coach about 5 years ago and quickly came to the conclusion we need a department responsible for our value of Excellence.

This new division is going to make sure we keep our promises to the Regional Center, our clients, and their families.  We are calling the department “Training and Excellence”.  We originally had the title of Quality Assurance, but I don’t like what that represents in most organizations.  Many people have experience with “QA”.  It is where someone from the “outside” comes in and tells you what you are doing wrong.  This causes people to resent, hide and protect themselves, which doesn’t bring out their best.

Accountability and Integrity

I want accountability and integrity, but not perfectionism.  I want colleagues and someone who has our best interest speaking to us about promises.  We all need a mirror to show us where we are doing well and what we need to improve.  Our team will make sure that our paperwork reflects our excellence as well as our follow-through and promises.  Further, I want this team to be able to help!  So, our nurses, teachers, person-centered specialists, and behavior experts will also be in this department, so they not only point out a weakness, but they can also bring the strength to make us better.

The other portion of this team will be dedicated to our ongoing training.  We have always believed in training and have worked very hard to have excellent training.  However, in the wake of this pandemic, we have learned that we need to continue to innovate and improve our training practices, methodology, and process.  We have invested heavily in a team to oversee all aspects of field and leadership training so that we can be both consistent and excellent every day.

New Adventure

This department will become fully operational in the Fall when Rhonda McGlashan, our current Regional Manager in the East Bay, steps into her new role as Director of Training and Excellence.  We are so excited to choose someone who has done all aspects of our service to lead this department.  She exemplifies rigor and distinction in all she does.  She has grown with us over the past fifteen years.

It will be a new adventure for our team, as we better integrate Excellence into our every day and draw on a tremendous group of experts to strengthen and empower our staff and clients.