Director of Employee Engagement & Retention

Position Summary

The Director of Employee Engagement & Retention serves as the senior leader responsible for the organization's employee experience, culture, engagement, retention strategies, performance management, professional development, and people operations infrastructure. This role owns the employee lifecycle following hire, ensuring team members receive the support, development, recognition, and resources necessary to thrive and remain engaged throughout their employment.

The Director partners closely with executive leadership, operations leaders, and clinical leadership to create a high-performing culture that drives employee satisfaction, retention, performance, and organizational success. This is both a strategic leadership role and an execution-oriented role, requiring strong operational engagement, data fluency, and the ability to build scalable systems that improve employee outcomes.

Core Responsibilities

• Employee Engagement Strategy & Executive Leadership
• Develop and execute a comprehensive employee engagement and retention strategy aligned with company vision, growth plans, and organizational objectives.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO and executive team regarding employee experience, culture, workforce stability, leadership development, and retention initiatives.
• Translate business goals into measurable engagement, retention, and culture-building initiatives.
• Participate in executive planning, EOS processes, and leadership decision-making.
• Champion programs that strengthen employee connection, recognition, belonging, and organizational commitment.
• Employee Retention & Workforce Stability
• Design and implement retention strategies focused on reducing turnover and improving workforce stability across all departments.
• Analyze employee feedback, turnover trends, exit interview data, engagement surveys, and retention metrics to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Develop proactive retention initiatives for critical positions, including RBTs, BCBAs, leadership, and administrative staff.
• Partner with department leaders to create action plans that improve employee satisfaction and long-term retention.
• Establish reporting and dashboards to monitor engagement, retention, turnover trends, and workforce health.
• Lead stay interview initiatives and employee listening programs to identify concerns before turnover occurs.
• Onboarding, Training & Professional Development
• Design and maintain structured onboarding programs that create a positive employee experience and accelerate integration into the organization.
• Build internal training and professional development frameworks, including leadership development pathways.
• Partner with Operations and Clinical leadership to ensure training supports quality of care, compliance, and performance excellence.
• Implement succession planning strategies and internal career growth opportunities.
• Create developmental pathways that encourage long-term employee growth and advancement within the organization.
• Performance Management & Employee Experience
• Own performance management systems, including goal setting, evaluations, feedback cycles, coaching, and accountability processes.
• Partner with Division Leaders to establish clear role expectations, KPIs, and accountability structures across departments.
• Drive employee engagement initiatives that support team morale, recognition, communication, and workplace culture.
• Develop strategies to reduce burnout and support employee well-being, particularly in demanding clinical environments.
• Oversee employee recognition programs that celebrate performance, tenure, and contributions.
• Promote a culture of continuous feedback, growth, and professional development.
• Compensation, Benefits & Employee Rewards
• Partner with executive leadership and Finance to ensure compensation and rewards programs support retention and employee satisfaction.
• Evaluate compensation structures and incentive programs to maintain market competitiveness and internal equity.
• Oversee benefits strategy, enrollment, renewals, and vendor relationships.
• Regularly assess employee benefit offerings and recommend enhancements that support retention and well-being.
• Develop non-monetary recognition and reward programs that increase employee engagement.
• Compliance, Employee Relations & HR Operations
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws across all operating states.
• Oversee HR policies, procedures, employee relations, investigations, and documentation.
• Manage employee lifecycle compliance, credential tracking coordination, licensing support, and workforce documentation processes.
• Partner with legal counsel as needed on employment matters.
• Promote fair, consistent, and legally compliant employment practices.
• Mitigate organizational risk related to employee relations, employee engagement, and workforce turnover.
• Systems, People Analytics & Reporting
• Own HRIS, employee engagement platforms, assessments, and people-related systems and integrations.
• Build and maintain people analytics dashboards focused on retention, turnover, engagement, productivity, and labor effectiveness.
• Use employee data to inform strategic decision-making and continuously improve people operations.
• Present engagement and retention trends to executive leadership and recommend action plans.
• Ensure accurate and timely reporting of employee experience metrics.
  
  
  

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to improve employee engagement, retention, and organizational culture.
• Experience scaling employee programs and people systems in a growing organization.
• Adept at engaging, coaching, and motivating employees at all levels to achieve their full potential.
• Strong employee relations, leadership development, and organizational development experience.
• Commitment to maintaining compliance and reducing employment-related risk.
• Data-driven mindset with experience using workforce metrics to drive decisions.
• Excellent executive-level communication, relationship-building, and leadership skills.
• Ability to influence leaders and drive organizational change through collaboration and accountability.
  
  
  

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Employee Retention

• RBT Retention Rate
• BCBA Retention Rate
• Leadership Retention Rate
• Voluntary Turnover Rate
• Overall Employee Retention Rate
  
  
  

Employee Engagement

• Employee Engagement Survey Scores
• Employee Satisfaction Scores
• eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score)
• Stay Interview Participation and Outcomes
• Recognition Program Participation
  
  
  

Performance & Development

• Onboarding Completion Rates
• Time-to-Productivity
• Internal Promotion Rate
• Leadership Development Participation
• Employee Training Completion Rates
  
  
  

Financial & Operational Impact

• GGOB / Expense % / COGS %
• Labor Cost Efficiency vs. Budget
• Turnover Cost Reduction
• Workforce Stability Metrics
• Overtime and Burnout Reduction Indicators
  
  
  

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

Cardinal Pediatric Therapies is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating and maintaining a workplace where all applicants and employees are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, business needs, and job-related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Cardinal Pediatric Therapies is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees in accordance with applicable law.

Disclaimer

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed in this role. It is not intended to be a complete or exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, or working conditions associated with the position. Cardinal Pediatric Therapies reserves the right to modify, add, remove, or assign duties and responsibilities at any time based on business needs and in accordance with applicable law.

This position may require sitting, standing, walking, bending, reaching, using standard office and technology equipment, occasional lifting or moving of materials or supplies up to 25 pounds, and travel between assigned locations. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Nothing in this job description creates a contract of employment, express or implied. Employment with Cardinal Pediatric Therapies is at-will unless otherwise stated in a separate written agreement signed by an authorized representative of the company.