December Think Tank:
Attracting and Retaining the People You Need
December 6, 2007
Attracting and Retaining The People You Need:
Lessons and Perspective from the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Aegis Living
When: Thursday, December 6th
Networking starts at 7:00pm
Program starts at 7:30pm
Cost: Free--$10 suggested donation to The Potato Soup Foundation *
A not-for-profit exempt organization Dwayne Clark founded with the principle purpose of helping Aegis line staff and their families in extreme times of need.
Where: Seattle University, Engineering Building, Room 200 (Wyckoff Auditorium) Campus Map
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Do you have a great idea that you want to launch? Have you assembled the team you can rely on to execute the vision and deliver the dream? Are you curious about how to attract and retain the people you need? Join us Thursday December 6th to hear unique insights and perspectives from a business leader who is setting industry standards for attracting and retaining team members.
A few examples of what you’ll learn:
- How to substantially lower employee turnover rates and drive superior financial performance.
- How to use unique and effective interviewing techniques to identify and hire the right people so you can set your business apart from the competition.
- How to inspire your leaders and managers and drive your organization to higher levels of performance while creating the kind of company people want to join.
Featured Speaker
Dwayne Clark is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AegisLiving, a leading private senior living company based in Redmond, Washington. As founder, Dwayne is responsible for taking Aegis from nothing more than an idea he had to what today is a leader in the industry with annual revenues of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in operating revenue with $1.6 billion in real estate assets. The company currently has over 2000 employees and 40 locations in three states. With 23 years of senior housing industry experience, Dwayne is nationally recognized for his innovative style and quality care standards that have lead the company to its current position in just over a decade.
This year Dwayne was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst and Young for the Healthcare Category. For years, Aegis has been recognized for its excellence. In 2006, the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce named Aegis “Eastside Business of the Year” and for the last five years has been voted as one of the best companies to work for in Washington State by Washington CEO magazine. In 2003 INC. magazine voted Aegis the 3rd fastest growing company in the nation and Seattle magazine voted it the “Best Place to Work.”
Dwayne credits AegisLiving's rapid growth and innovative reputation to the company's culture; a place that embraces a new vision to provide unparalleled care and service for its residents and their families. Equally important are his employees. ÁegisLiving’s rapid growth and wide acceptance can be attributed in great part to the company’s “employee-first” environment, chronicled in his book, Help Wanted: Recruiting, Hiring and Retaining Exceptional Staff.
When Dwayne founded AegisLiving in 1997, he looked at creative ways to redefine an industry that held great potential but was failing in execution. He studied business models from top companies around the world, including Starbucks and Costco, and built his company around the same concepts and strategies that made those companies successful.
When Dwayne was in high school, he and his mother were very poor. A proud and very ethical woman, the occasion came up where she had to steal a dozen potatoes from her employer so they would have something to eat. For an entire week, they ate the potato soup she made, teaching him a lesson he has never forgotten. She told him to never forget where he came from and what they had to do. And she advised him to “be there for your employees and they will always be there for you.”
To that end, several years ago Dwayne established the Potato Soup Foundation, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization with the principal purpose to help Aegis employees and their families in time of need. The majority of the Foundation's funds are targeted for hardship requests and the balance for education opportunities and loans.
Prior to founding AegisLiving, Dwayne served as executive vice president of operations for Sunrise Assisted Living. He was a key member of the management team that led the company from the private sector to one of the most successful IPOs in long-term care.
Dwayne is a leader in national organizations that support the growth and development of senior living professionals including: the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), the National Investment Conference (NIC) and the American Senior Housing Association (ASHA). In the community, he supports Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theatre, Alzheimer’s Association, American Diabetes Association, Eastside Domestic Violence Program and FareStart. In addition he is the immediate past chairman of the Young President’s Association (YPO) and currently services on the board of Rainier Scholars.
2333 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
Ph: (206) 902-4078 Email: info@nwen.org