High turnover undermines an organization’s stability, effectiveness, and long-term success, leading to increased costs, loss of expertise, decreased productivity, and lower morale, especially in challenging roles.
Prioritizing organizational culture is key to supporting employee retention. When employees feel valued, connected to their colleagues, and aligned with the organization’s mission, job satisfaction improves, making them less likely to leave. Organizations that emphasize a healthy work-life balance and employee wellbeing through things like flexible work arrangements and social and mental health support tend to achieve higher retention rates.
Watch this webinar recording to learn strategies for fostering long-term retention by creating an environment where employees feel valued, fulfilled, and motivated to stay.
Key highlights of this webinar recording include:
- Learn how a large provider transitioned more than 90% of their 400+ staff to a 4-day work week where individuals work 32 hours but are paid for 40 hours.
- Hear about the impact of a 4-day work week from the perspective of staff, and how other organizations can start this journey.
- Explore the multi-faceted approach taken by a social services organization to create a culture of respect and belonging that significantly reduces turnover.
- Understand why staff are choosing quality of life at work over higher salaries.
- Learn about a model from the United Kingdom for developing organizational wide approaches that support creating psychologically safe workplaces.
ANEW is a social services organization that offers a range of comprehensive services to women and their families including Residential and Outpatient Substance Use Disorders Treatment, Sober Housing for Women and Women WITH Children, Family/Partner Apartments, a Non-profit Mental Health Clinic, and a Licensed Childcare Facility. ANEW is aware of the gaps and barriers that women face in the process of receiving the help they need to begin their lives anew and we aim to reduce and remove those obstacles.
4C Health is a certified Community Mental Health Center and Inpatient Psychiatric Facility in the State of Indiana. 4C Health serves over 9,000 consumers annually across 14 rural counties in North Central Indiana with over 430 employees. 4C Health is known for its innovation in care and operations and was an early implementer of an expanded crisis continuum implementing Mobile Crisis Teams in 2020 and opening a Crisis Stabilization Unit is 2021. 4C Health is 1 of the 8 pilot organizations for Indiana’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Center State Demonstration.
Speaker Information
Dr. Carrie Cadwell has been the CEO/President of 4C Health since 2017. She is a licensed psychologist in the state of Indiana. Dr. Cadwell has dedicated her almost 20-year career to rural North Central Indiana communities and, in particular, serving the behavioral health and substance use recovery needs of those with significant socio-economic disadvantage. Her experience spans community mental health, crisis services, youth residential, inpatient psychiatric care, integrated primary care practice, and outpatient private practice across the lifespan. She is passionate about 4 day work week as a public health intervention and over 90% of 4C Health’s employees work a 32 hour week but are paid for 40 hours.
Emily Carlstrom, CPRS, is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist who works with women in recovery to help find ways and resources to live a new way of life. Emily participated in the Recovery Coach Academy through Bold North Recovery and became certified through the Minnesota Certification Board. Emily is in recovery herself and also a graduate of ANEW’s Outpatient program. Emily is also the sober house manager and oversees all six sober homes at ANEW Chemical Health Services. As a former client and resident of the ANEW program, Emily knows firsthand what the women she works with have been through. It has been an amazing journey for her so far and she takes great pride in being able to make a difference in the lives of other women like herself.
Michaelene Colestock has 22 years of experience in the Substance Use Disorders Treatment field. Currently, Michaelene is the owner, founder, and CEO of ANEW Chemical Health Services a 245G Co-Occurring Treatment Center for adult women. Michaelene has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of St. Thomas. Michaelene has a passion for educating others on the topic of addiction. She has taught students at the U of M and Adler Graduation School, facilitated trainings at Metro State University on Co-Occurring Disorders, Family Supportive Housing Center on a variety of topics, MARRCH Conference, Washington DC Conference to Prevent Homelessness, all required 245 G trainings for other treatment centers, and many more informal trainings. Michaelene is most well known for her passion to house women AND their minor children. She has owned and operated sober housing on the East Side of St. Paul since 2010 and her mission is to keep families together while working on recovery. In addition to ANEW Chemical Health Services Michaelene owns and operates Spence Specialties LLC which is 4 sober homes and an 11-unit apartment building located in St. Paul, MN. Spence Specialties has a contract with Ramsey County for Housing Supports and the MN Department of Health Board and Lodge with Special Services. Michaelene has as an affinity for the East Side of St. Paul. She and all of her family members attended primary school at Sacred Heart on 6th St. and Harding High School. She and all of her siblings, parents, and grandparents were married at Sacred Heart Church.
Honorary Associate Professor Sean Russell MBE is a researcher focusing on reviewing and delivering interventions for mental wellbeing across the business sector and wider organisations.
Over the last 7 years, Sean has been the Programme Director that led the development and implementation of the Mental Health Commission Action plan in the West Midlands, England and national Mental Health and Productivity Pilot researching 1150 organisations with over 850,000 employees. He was the founder of Thrive at Work and led the regional response to implementing Thrive into Work.
He has 35 years of public service experience across Policing, Local Authorities and more recently academia. Sean is also the COO and European Lead for GLE and works to build leadership and rapid knowledge exchange across addiction, disability, and mental health.
Letecia Timmel, LCSW has been employed with 4C Health for the past 9.5 years in various capacities. Most recently, Letecia has been serving as the Senior Clinician that oversees clinical supervision of master’s level therapists and practicum students. Letecia is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Indiana and has been working in Community Mental Health for almost 20 years with an additional 4 years working in an inpatient setting. Letecia has experience in the delivery and supervision of wraparound services to at-risk youth, system of care development in the community, quality management, individual and group therapy and clinical supervision. Letecia is passionate about trauma and secondary traumatic stress as it pertains to staff and often provides support to staff and community members following crises.
Background
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing launched the Center for Workforce Solutions in 2023 in partnership with The College for Behavioral Health Leadership and Health Management Associates. The partnership is levera
