Unlocking Pathways to Housing: Meet Randy
Randy Perrin is our Vice President of Human Resources. He joined Pathways in 2022 and describes his department as “taking care of employees from recruiting benefits to training. It's all about the employees.”
In addition to Randy, there are two additional members of the HR department who support recruitment. Since Randy joined Pathways, the focus has been on automation and streamlining to ensure that we're getting more of the right candidates in the right positions. Particularly, Randy shared that when he’s interviewing, “I'm looking for a person that is passionate, because you really have to be passionate about working with our participants. It's beyond what the normal social worker would do on a normal scale. Here we do a lot of wraparound services for participants other than housing them. The biggest thing that we do now when we bring people in, let's explain the hardest thing you're going to see in the field. Let them know, give them a very clear view of what this position really is.”
Randy knows what he’s up against. “Because there's a fear right now, in the industry. Hiring is hard. Everybody's recruiting for the same people.” However, Randy’s philosophy is what sets us apart: “My philosophy is it’s my job to take care of employees. I take care of those who take care of our participants. That is the biggest thing to make sure of, that not only is it about pay, what kind of benefits, what kind of services we can provide for staff. I understand our mission and enjoy our participants and what we do there, but for me, I have to take care of those who take care of them. We have to have benefits to show them it's not just about acknowledgement, it's about really believing that we had their back.
To build up the confidence and our trust of our staff, that management is really in tune with them, that is a big thing. And we do a lot of different things to try to get that message across. It's an ongoing thing, because it should never stop. Therefore for HR, we're looking at other things, it's really about the full coverage of an employee. If they don't like where they work, and we don't create a certain culture, that [affects] retention.”
One way we build that culture is to host team-building events, both amongst different departments and together as an agency. According to Randy, “these team building events are an opportunity to meet with other staff and share what each one is going through, so you're actually a resource for each other. We encourage that you talk to people between different departments, because that way you don't feel alone.”
Of course, being in HR doesn’t mean that Randy doesn’t get the opportunity to connect with our participants. Each day on his way into the office, he walks past Gloria. According to Randy, “She is my fashion expert. Every day I come in, I have to open my coat to show her what I'm wearing. And she lets me know if she likes it. Once, I was upset that she didn’t like one of my favorite sweaters. But she told me, you know, not that one. And she was dead serious. But the thing is, is every day, she's the sweetest woman."
The passion Randy has for our staff is immeasurable. He told us “they are amazing. Not just the professionalism, but the passion they have and the way they connect with the participants. Connection is the number one thing to get our participants to trust us. And [our staff] do an amazing job of doing that.”
When asked if there was anything he wanted to share with you, our supporters, Randy told us “Come follow our staff, and you’ll understand why we want you to donate.”
