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Leader Dogs for the Blind empowers people who are blind or visually impaired with the tools for safe and independent daily travel. Our goal is to educate, advocate, and share real life experiences of those with blindness. Come learn, laugh, and grow with us.
Taking The Lead Podcast_Erica Bearden
Leslie: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Taking the Lead podcast, where we empower people to be unstoppable. I'm Leslie Hoskins with my co-hosts, Alyssa Otis and Timothy Cunio. How we doing today, guys? We're wrapping up this summer pretty quick.
Alyssa: Pretty quick.
Timothy: Doing fabulous. Getting Glacier ready for a big trip in about three or four weeks and getting all her paperwork and ready for it.
Alyssa: Yes. Traveling with a dog, definitely you gotta think of a few things ahead of time
Timothy: Yep, going on a cruise. So yeah, there's a lot of work you gotta do for Canada and the cruise line, so it's a, it's a lot of work.
Alyssa: Yeah. Always good to be prepared on the front end. And we know a lot of people are getting ready to head back to school, head back to college too, so just some preparations to think about, some things to think about with your dog.
Um, if you are taking a dog onto campus, have you talked to the staff there? Have you gotten any sort of accommodations that you feel you might need? Do you have an area to relieve your dog, with a garbage can nearby ideally? Um, maybe they can give you a garbage [00:01:00] can. I know my husband keeps complaining that I'm just putting our dog's poop in bags on the, on the driveway, so always better to organize your dog's poop in a trash can.
Leslie: Well, that's an opportunity for him to buy you a trash can it sounds like. That's what I
Alyssa: said.
Leslie: I know, I can't believe it's time to get ready, uh, for back to school. So many things to think about. I remember, Timothy, one of the first episodes we did was about the backpack, and prepping and having all the things that you need for Glacier.
Oh. Um, so students and guide dogs, right, are getting ready and needing all of those different things. Um, what are some of the things that you do carry around in your, your backpack for Glacier?
Timothy: Well, I carry her little rubber booties in case we need them, in case we've got hot pavement. Mm. I always have water, I always have a ball, I always have treats, and of course, the poop bags.
Leslie: Yeah.
Timothy: And just, it, you know, it'd be a good idea to have something like if you're gonna be sitting for a while, have something that they can mess with with their mouth like a Kong or a bone or even a baby toy or whatever. So, I, all I am is a mule packing [00:02:00] for my dog. So that's all I do. And so if she's happy, then she'll make me happy later on, so we don't want her to be bored while they're sitting there waiting for you going to classes and stuff.
Alyssa: For sure. Yeah, it sounds like a diaper bag to me, really. It's, it's- Yeah ... you've got another living being and you need to make sure you have all of their stuff. So the bone or the Kong is a brilliant idea, especially for somebody in college or honestly somebody that goes to work meetings or, or somebody that's traveling.
I guess I should say anybody. But it's a, it's a good idea to always have a bone with you, keep the dog busy, give the dog... It's a stress relief when they can chew on that bone too. So that's great idea on, on you, Timothy, there.
Leslie: And I know I have to take my children to pick out their own backpacks for the school year.
Timothy, have you taken Glacier to pick out her own bag?
Timothy: Uh, no. She just takes what I give her. Aw. So it's just a basic blue one, dark blue one, and it's got a lot of miles on it.
Leslie: Yeah. Sounds a lot easier. Really does.
Alyssa: She doesn't want a Paw Patrol backpack. Oh my gosh. 'Cause that would be really, really [00:03:00] cute.
Leslie: No. That's-
Timothy: No, I don't think I would look cute with that. Nothing pink. You know, nothing pink. It's, it's, it's really suited for me. I don't think she really cares.
Alyssa: That's true
Timothy: But when, why, and what's funny is though she has her own carry on too. So when we're going through airports and connecting flights, we got somebody that helps us with the, uh, connecting flight.
She's sitting there basically following that bag 'cause her dog food's in there. Yes. So she's watching that bag making sure it makes it on the plane- ... 'cause she knows all her stuff's in that bag.
Alyssa: You don't need an AirTag in hers. She'll let you know if it's on the plane or not by sniffing it. Oh my goodness.
That is
Timothy: correct.
Alyssa: Yeah, always a lot to think about when you're traveling, when you're getting ready to go back to school, you know. And that goes for obviously if you have a dog and if you are traveling with your long white cane. Just being aware if you're going to an environment, maybe you don't know the environment, how are you gonna orient to it?
Just, you know, getting ready for the new school year and, and making sure that we're prepared for that independent travel.
Leslie: You know what you don't need with a cane?
Alyssa: Poop bags.
Leslie: A backpack. Yeah. Or poop bags. [00:04:00]
Alyssa: Yeah. Just a little cane holster maybe.
Leslie: Just reminding you guys. I
Alyssa: love that. Well, I hope everybody gets ready for school and all of their trips seamlessly.
But today we are joined by a special guest. She has been involved with Leader Dogs for the Blind for the last seven years in our human resources department.
Leslie: Here with us today is Erica Bearden. Erica is the director of human resources at Leader Dogs for the Blind. She is deeply passionate about our mission and committed to supporting both clients served and the dedicated team members who make our life changing work possible every day.
Outside of work, she's a wife, mother of two, and an avid equestrian.
Timothy: Erica, welcome to the podcast. It's great having you here this morning. So tell us what made you so interested in Leader Dog seven years ago?
Erica: Good morning. Thank you. So I grew up as a child in the Rochester area, and like many of us here, drove by the organization and was always intrigued by [00:05:00] it.
Um, my whole life has been in some kind of animal service industry, so I knew professionally I wanted to tailor my career to, um, serving people, animals. Combining the two is great. Um, so I've always had my eye on Leader Dog since I was a child, and I pursued, uh, my education, some other, uh, professions until I felt I was ready to apply to a career here.
I did that, and the rest is history.
Leslie: Isn't that crazy? We hear from so many team members about, like, having kind of this childhood hope or dream- Yes ... being in this area and knowing about this organization. Alyssa? I'm
Alyssa: one of them. Yep.
Leslie: Yeah. You're one of them. We've talked to lots of people, so that's fantastic, and then you're living out your dream here within this organization.
How did you decide, just first of all, before we dive into a little bit of Leader Dog stuff, what got you interested in HR?
Erica: So originally, I wanted to be in education, specifically for elementary ed, [00:06:00] and I did some internships in that. But again, my, my whole upbringing has been animal focused, so I think just through that I realized I love education, I love children.
Um, and then as I got into my later career and working through college, I became... You know, naturally as you evolve through your roles, I started training people, and those people were adults, and I really liked that. Um, I just love information, so I think I naturally moved into HR as combining teaching people, um, you know, learning, learning my own craft, and then I always knew my focus was going to be somewhere in an animal service industry.
Alyssa: Yeah. Yeah, you're a, a horse person. We have a lot of horse people here- Yes ... at Leader Dog. I
Erica: am one of them. Yes.
Alyssa: Yes. That is, that is great. And like you said, you know, it's ... You've always been animal focused, but we always talk at Leader Dog how we're a people organization and how that's kind of changed for you too, and, and you love training the people and working [00:07:00] with the people, and the fact that dogs are here is of course a bonus.
Um, you know, but people think about guide dogs. What else makes hiring somebody here at Leader Dog kind of unique? Because we have both of those parts. They need to be good with dogs and people, I assume, or not everybody, I guess, works with the dogs.
Erica: Yeah, and it's always a good question. And actually, my first love is not dogs, like you said.
It was horses. So my, my interest in this organization first was people. And I thought a nice bonus is having dogs around you, of course. But that is important for any role here. And so often we find, um, candidates who are interested in roles with the organization, if their first response to why Leader Dog is, "Well, I love dogs"-
we may be missing part of that puzzle, because what we do here is so much more significant than just training dogs, um, for clients. It's the clients who are at our focus. And so, um, knowing that myself, I feel like it puts us in a good position in [00:08:00] recruiting to be able to find those folks who identify equally with, you know, both areas of our service.
Timothy: So what are some of the things you look for when you're looking at all these applications if somebody wants to get a job at Leader Dog?
Erica: So we are fortunate. A lot of our roles get a lot of interest. Yeah.
Alyssa: Yes, they do.
Erica: Um, so we, we are very fortunate in that area. Um, so then as we narrow it down, there's a lot of qualified people, so then we have to really start zeroing in on what are we looking at.
So at Leader Dog, we have a lot of retention here. Um, again, a really nice area and a nice, a nice benefit to be here as a member of this team is there's a lot of sustainability in our careers. So as we're looking at the external talent, we are looking to see if they have had longevity in their careers, too, because, you know, while they might wanna change into a role with our organization, the likelihood that they may stay with us is better if you see that on paper.
Um, [00:09:00] and sometimes that's not the case and, you know, there's, there's team members with a resume who have bounced from a few roles to another, and then they landed here because that's where they were meant to be. So it doesn't necessarily rule someone out, but it is something that when you have a really large candidate pool, that it's, it's important to focus on.
Alyssa: Absolutely, 'cause as I've said on the podcast before, if you're here for, what is it, 30 years, you get a dog named after you.
That's right. So we're looking for that longevity. We're all really just hoping to get a dog named after us. No, but, but Erica, you're so right, is so many team members here have been here for many, many years. And like you said, not everybody. You know, some people come and go at what makes sense at their time in their lives.
But we've got people here on campus that have 30, 40-plus years of experience, and I think that says a lot about the organization as a whole. It's, it's incredible.
Leslie: And people who are here for that longevity and are, are what we would consider really successful in their roles here, what are some of those qualities that really stand out in those individuals?[00:10:00]
Erica: What I like to say about the team at Leader Dog, I feel like as a whole, we are very collaborative. Even our interview processes are very collaborative, and not just with the individuals in a specific department. We often invite, um- People to participate in interviews from, you know, across the way from the Canine Center, from client programs, from our administration.
And it just makes for a really well-rounded process. Um, but I think here our team members are... They're consistent, they're kind, we're passionate. I mean, uh, uh, so often we get new team members join and they are so surprised that everyone is so nice and then they continue to be so nice. And we're so happy to meet everyone.
But then there's also a lot of resilience. There's extreme expertise in what people do here because we're such a, a niche industry. Um, so I think every person is just so uniquely fascinating. And, you know, there's always something to learn. There's always [00:11:00] someone here who knows something that you don't.
And it's just, uh, and everyone is also so eager to teach one another about what they do. So I just, I find that so enjoyable every day
Alyssa: And you're right, we have a lot of kind of unique roles here because it is such a niche kind of, of organization, if you will. And I remember my interview, granted I know things have changed, it's been a, a hot minute here, but, um, it was a very intense interview.
There, I applied to be an apprentice GDMI, uh, guide dog mobility instructor, and it was ... It started with a, uh, in-person panel, and then it turned into a full day event of, of following people and asking questions and learning about the dog training and learning about client instruction. And it was so thorough, and I feel like it needs to be because we're looking really for the best of the best, the people that are gonna thrive here.
Leslie: And that role is really an investment, right? Like, we're really investing- Absolutely ... those three years in that role, and then hopefully beyond. So that is a [00:12:00] really important role. But I too remember my interview, uh, for orientation and mobility, and I luckily had done my internship here, so I'd just completed that for three months, so everybody knew me who was interviewing me.
That's a benefit. But they put me through it still. So I had to go and, you know, teach a client, and they observed, and different things like that. Um, but it is important to make sure that it's a really good fit. So I do appreciate that, that we have different team members from different departments joining those interviews and giving that different perspective because we are all working collaboratively together.
So sometimes one department might think of something that another department doesn't, or have experience in a different area. So, um, I certainly appreciate that, and I do always find it so fun that you say that about team members, like, people are still nice after like a couple months. Yeah. Clients always say that too.
Like, like really? No, how is it? Like it r- do you- Do you
Alyssa: guys actually get along? I know. And I'm like, "Yeah, she's one of the favorites in my phone. I don't know what to tell you."
Leslie: It's so corny. Yeah. It really is. But it's just a great community and family [00:13:00] that we get to work with and be a part of. So that's fantastic.
And HR is a part of that and really creating that culture, so thank you for the work that you do. Um, but as we start talking about, you know, this, this apprenticeship and GDMI, it's a really unique path. What are some of those things in this kind of intense interview that we are looking for?
Erica: It's a little bit different for both because, well, as a year comes, and so when we're looking for a certified orientation mobility specialist, we're looking for those folks who've already achieved that certification.
Often we're fortunate to have interns join us after we have some familiarity with them. But there is still a formal interview process. We do a phone screen. We invite, um, those team members on, or potential team members, to an interview. There's a panel type interview, and then there's a practical. Um, so everyone has a fair shot whether you, you know, have familiarity with this organization or not.
Mm-hmm. And then for our apprentice group, um, and, and for COMS [00:14:00] alike, we do a lot of behavioral based, um, interview questions. So we're not sitting here saying, "Walk us through your resume." We are saying, "Tell me about a time when ... Can you give me an example of, of a situation where you experienced this?"
Because what we're looking for is even if it's not exactly, you know, uh, a relevant, um, past experience, we're looking for someone to give us an example of how they may address a situation you would find here- Mm-hmm ... if they were placed in this role. So very, very heavy on the behavioral based interview questions here.
But it, it's proven to, to be successful for us.
Leslie: I certainly don't envy your role having to review all of those applications- No ... and resumes, and then
Erica: interviewing-
Leslie: Yeah ... such fantastic candidates and selecting.
Alyssa: No. But, and one of the things that you guys do too is, so when I moved from being a GDMI moving to outreach specialist, I interviewed and went through the formal interview process.
And I was, you know, [00:15:00] lucky enough to be able to kind of lean on you guys and ask you guys, "Hey, can we sit down and practice some interview questions?" You know, it's you guys are not only looking for external talent, but also looking to grow the people within the organization. So props to you guys. A little shout out to HR here.
Um, I've already had my review for this year, so this doesn't even matter- ... that I'm giving them props. But, um, no, I really, fantastic.
Erica: Thank you for that.
Timothy: So Erica, everybody thinks that GDMI instructors is nothing but knowing how to train a dog. But there's more to it. What other skills do they need to have?
Erica: Yes, it is not just dog training. It is a portion of the role, but a, a more significant piece arguably is that relatability to clients, um, instruction, being able to deliver appropriate instruction and feedback. We ask a lot of our GDMIs, um, as it relates to their emotional intelligence, about their ability to speak clearly and instruct and follow up, um, [00:16:00] make really hard decisions.
So when we're in the interview process for these roles, and so often we, we raise our own, um, per se, in The Apprentice GDMI program. So when we're assessing talent on that side, we're looking for, um, you know, emotional experiences where they may have had to coach someone in their personal life or in their professional life.
Um, where we do an instructional exercise, and so we evaluate their ability to, um, provide instruction. Also, what happens if something interferes with that instruction or something unexpected happens? How do you respond to that? Because again, that's gonna happen if you're an instructor here more often than not - Yeah.
probably. Mm-hmm. Um, providing feedback, assessing, there's the dog behavior, and then there's even just understanding the emotions and the learning abilities of the person that you're working with. So we tailor all of our questions and our practicals to give us the best picture of [00:17:00] what those candidates may be able to do if they join our team.
Leslie: So many things to think about. I was just gonna say. And so many roles here, and they are s- so unique. Uh, they're such a small organization really, but with a, you know, international impact. Uh, but one of the new initiatives that we're working on here at Leader Dog is dual certification. We've heard Melissa Weiss talk about this quite a bit.
We know our team members are s- very interested. Can you tell us a little bit more about how, uh, you and HR really and, or our organization plan to support these efforts?
Erica: Yes. So that is so exciting. We've just rolled that out in our new fiscal year, and we have five categories. We have vision rehabilitation therapist, certified orientation and mobility specialist, a certified assistive technology instructional specialist, Spanish sp- Spanish speaking fluency, and American Sign Language fluency.
These five things really support our client services, um, and client service provision. And so we [00:18:00] have allocated, uh, you know, budget dollars for team members, but there are criteria. So team members need to be, um, with the organization for a minimum of two years in a sustained role. So then we're, you know, revisiting our- Longevity
our, our longevity. Um, because if we're going to invest either in, you know, supporting someone through an internship or supporting curriculum or funds for another university program, we wanna make sure that, that the, the relationship is there, um, so we have good grounds to provide that support. But all of those areas, um, are really gonna help drive us forward in serving a greater of number of clients, which is what we're here to do.
So we're really excited, um, to, to roll that out to the team this year.
Alyssa: Yeah. We already have a few team members who are dual certified. Um, and that's incredible, so let's get more. We-- It started with, you know, we wanna see certified O&M specialists who are also GDMIs, but... And we have a few of those, [00:19:00] and now it's growing.
Erica: And now it's growing. And we're seeing more talent out there. We- Yeah ... you know, we join a lot of other guide dog organizations for visits, conferences, and so a lot of the ideas we have actually stem from the wonderful ideas that team members bring to us from their peers or colleagues elsewhere. And so they really are the inspiration even for this dual certification.
Alyssa: Yeah. And it also just goes to show the passion that team members here have, that they want to continue to develop their skills so they can help our client base. I mean, it's-- I am always surprised at how incredible our team members are here, and I really shouldn't be
Leslie: I know. The time that they, a lot of people take, and even in wanting to go and learn ASL, American Sign Language, or Spanish.
So many of our clients, like that's a really unique program and service that we offer. Not every guide dog organization can provide those services. So to continue to develop those, those roles and programs is, is really exciting. And with team members that we [00:20:00] already know, right? We've already invested in them.
We already have a relationship. We know that they can do it. It's very exciting.
Timothy: So Erica, what puts the biggest smile on your face when you walk into Leader Dog every morning?
Leslie: I love that question. That's a great
Erica: question, Timothy. That is a wonderful question. And I would say it's... Well, I mean, of course, and we'll all say, we're mission focused, so as soon as you drive in, depending on, so if it's 8:30, I'm watching our instructors drive out-
in their buses to go train for the day with their clients or their dogs. And, you know, we, again, we all know each other, so we're waving and, um, so that's, it's always motivating to see. Um, you can't walk in the doors in our organization and not have someone say, "Good morning. How was your night?" Or, "What are you up to today?"
And so it's just joyful to be here. Um, I feel like a lot of our, the sense of our team is to, you know, have a sense of wanting to be known and also know others. Um, but then at any point, so long as there's class in session, you can [00:21:00] go down and either observe from afar our clients in the residence or working with an instructor.
And I mentioned this before, there's just always something to learn. Um, and I use that as, you know, an avenue. So say I'm observing someone me working from afar, then I might go and talk to that person later in the day and, and give them a little, "Hey, that was a really awesome thing that you just did," or, "I wanna learn more about this from you."
Um, and so I just think there's an unlimited amount of things that we can learn from our team here, and it grows your relationship, it grows your respect for them and their role. So yeah, I mean, the... And then, you know, you just, you see dogs. I was gonna say,
Alyssa: what's not to smile about?
Leslie: I think that's one of the funniest things about this organization, and one of the perks, right, is that if you're a team member here, you can bring your personal dog to work with you, as long as they're well-behaved and they- Of c- up-to-date-
Alyssa: Right
Leslie: on all
Alyssa: their vaccines
Leslie: All of those things, you can bring your dog, which is so fun and fantastic, and it's proven to be a stress reliever. Not my [00:22:00] personal dog. But others I hear, though, that it's a stress reliever, um, to bring their dog. But one of the funny things around here is that you'll learn the dogs' names first most of the time.
Oh, yeah. So you're walking down the hallway, and I'm like, "Lily, good morning." And then you're like, "Oh." Who's the human? I mean, I know Anna, obviously, but- Yeah, who's the human again? Yeah ... there's so many times where you know the dogs and/or cats in this organization- Yes ... before you would get to know the human names.
So that's always kind of a very unique, uh- Yes ... situation or culture.
Alyssa: Yeah. It is, it is. I always say, around Halloween time, this place gets wild because everybody brings their pet dogs dressed up in, in unique costumes and whatnot. It's a place like I've never worked in my life, and it's incredible. And some of that is all about the culture that you guys have kind of created and Leader Dogs created together, is we've got kind of that family culture, that, that friendship.
We're all here for that same mission. And so with the culture, how would you kind of describe it to somebody that might be considering joining? How do you know if something's a good culture fit?
Erica: Culture fit is such an interesting topic nowadays. [00:23:00] Um, and so the number one thing that we see here, even if you look at our engagement surveys or if you probably polled 10 to 20 people, I think one of the first words in the top three, someone's going to say team members are passionate here.
Now, we're passionate about the mission, we're passionate about our specific fields of work, we're passionate about one another and, um, what is just per se. Um, but yeah, our culture, I think our team really appreciates, first passion for the work, um, subject matter expertise, um, I think accountability for, you know, making sure that those are here are doing a good job, but also being recognized for it and making sure that that's visible to the team.
So we're always, you know, making strides to ensure that we're doing that for our team. But I do think that this is one of the organizations where you do see that quite transparently.
Leslie: Absolutely. It's just a very unique place to work, and super [00:24:00] fun, and again, the longevity and the team members. We have I don't know how many team members who have hit that 30-year mark.
Quite a few. To have a dog named after them. Dang. One, one of my favorite things is that somebody the other day was like, "You know you could just raise a puppy and name the dog and then..." Yeah, no. No, no. Not- That's the easy way out.
Alyssa: Yeah. Except it's so not.
Leslie: That's the... I- Well, yeah, that's true. But we're like, "
Alyssa: Nope."
It's the easy way to get a name on a dog.
Leslie: We're gonna put in our 30. That's the only way around here.
Alyssa: Oh, my goodness.
Leslie: Um, but lots of people, like you mentioned, are applying for roles here at Leader Dog, uh, i- in various departments. What advice would you give to somebody who is submitting an application, wants to work in this organization?
Erica: Ooh, join us at one of our events. Mm. And- That's a great one ... make some connections. Listen to our podcast. Yeah. Yes.
Alyssa: Love that.
Erica: But familiarize yourself with the organization. The people who impress us most when we ask that first question, "Why Leader Dog? Why this specific role?" Because [00:25:00] both of those things are actually quite important.
So you have people who may have been like me, and who grew up knowing this organization, and gosh, they just wanna get their foot in the door, but is this the right role for them? So then we have the mission piece, but then maybe we find out that this candidate is really excellent, but this isn't the role that they're really passionate about.
And then we think, "Okay, well gosh, you know, we really want someone to stay in this role for a while, so maybe not this role right now, but your time may come." And we see that, um, that story happen with a lot of team members, too. So, um, so I think it's, it, right out the gate, it's just most important to, to know that people are here pursuing the right role for the right reasons, and then we'll carry that forward.
Alyssa: Great advice. I'm feel like I am lucky, I feel like this all the time, that I was hired here 14 years ago. I feel extremely fortunate. Uh, maybe I was the only applicant at the time. I don't know how I got the role, but- ... [00:26:00] nonetheless, uh, for anybody applying, that is, that is really good advice. So I wanna thank you, Erica, for, for taking time out of your day, out of all of your HR duties, to, to come and talk on our podcast.
Erica: Thank you for having me.
Alyssa: And then I also wanna thank everybody else for joining us today and listening to the Taking the Lead podcast. My name's Alyssa Otis, and I'm here with hosts Timothy Cugno and Leslie Hoskins. We hope you enjoyed learning about the work opportunities and the initiatives at Leader Dog.
Please join us next time as we continue to dive into the world of blindness.
Leslie: And if you'd like to learn more about applying to Leader Dog, you can head to leaderdog.org, or call us at 888-777-5332. Don't forget, you can reach us at takingthelead@leaderdog.org with any questions or ideas. And if you liked today's podcast, make sure to hit subscribe and check us out wherever podcasts stream.