Even as the senior care industry faces persistent challenges, some leaders inspire their teams, foster cultures of excellence, and drive innovation. The OnShift Applause Awards recognize their accomplishments and dedication.
A recent McKnight’s webinar featured HR Director Timothy Bryce (Williston Care Center), who won this year’s OnShift Applause Innovator Award, and Regional VP of Sales Joy Patel (ShiftKey), a former administrator and respiratory therapist. They unpacked how leaders are retaining team members, balancing efficiency with compassion, and preparing for what’s next in senior care.
Here are some of the key themes that emerged.
Prefer to watch instead of read? Access the on-demand webinar to hear the full conversation.
Both speakers started their senior care careers from a deeply people-centered “why.”
Timothy came to HR wanting to support the people providing care; Joy’s calling to be a “servant leader” brought her first to respiratory therapy and later to administration.
Early on, leadership felt task- and rule-driven to both of them. As they grew, they turned their focus to empowering the people around them. Both emphasized how this leadership style contributes to a positive environment for both residents and direct care workers.
Timothy thinks of his team’s compassion as a “well” that must be intentionally refilled to prevent burnout. He organizes ongoing engagement activities with two to three events every week, big and small.
He believes consistency in engagement activities is key, and appreciation and acknowledgement are critical. Pulling someone aside to say, “I noticed that you're doing a really good job. Just wanna let you know that if you need anything, you can always come to me” can change their entire day.
As an administrator, Joy led by example. When the team needed help, she jumped in and did everything within her scope of practice.
She paired that with:
Both leaders agree that efficiency and compassion must coexist. When it comes to processes, Joy suggests that leaders aim for streamlined, automated and standardized, but also look for opportunities to personalize every experience.
When allocating team workloads, she advocates for clear roles and smart workload allocation combined with team member training and support. Communication, she says, works best when brief and accurate yet empathetic and engaging. She also stressed that KPIs like wound reduction and turnaround times must be connected to the emotional dimension — connected to the humans they affect and the team members who made them possible.
Timothy highlighted the tension between coverage and capacity. If workforce decisions ignore human limits, he says, you end up with people physically present but emotionally drained — exactly the opposite of compassionate care. He works with his scheduler to maintain balance.
Both leaders candidly said the balance between empathy and accountability is one of the hardest to get right.
Timothy’s approach is to figure out the “why” behind every policy question.
For example, when handed a question like: “This person has called out X times. Can we write them up?”, he doesn’t see the answer in black and white. Instead, he asks:
He still enforces policy, but pairs the write-up with a solution, such as:
During her tenure as an administrator, Joy had a similar strategy. She shared a story of an outstanding nurse who frequently clocked in a bit late. Rather than simply cycling through progressive discipline, Joy sat down and asked, “What can I do to help you meet expectations?”
It turned out the nurse was a single mom with childcare constraints that made on-time arrival nearly impossible. Joy's solution:
The result: no drop in accountability, but a big rise in trust, stability and performance.
Despite very real headwinds, both speakers are hopeful about the future.
Timothy is energized by the possibility that technology and AI could reduce charting burdens and free professionals to do more of what matters most: being present with residents.
Joy is excited by how innovation could help solve real care needs—for example, technology that can monitor vitals unobtrusively, or tools that turn data into actionable insights for both healthcare professionals and leadership.
Over the next five years, both Joy and Timothy expect leaders to need:
More adaptability.
A stronger blend of:
A commitment to succession planning:
Demand for flexible work models
Technology and AI as force multipliers
Growing mental health focus for healthcare professionals
Timothy treats every unfamiliar question, especially around employment law or policy, as a chance to learn. He’s actively pursuing further education (including advanced HR studies) so his team can trust the guidance he gives.
Joy stays connected to mentors she’s known for years. She attends conferences, follows industry standards, and pays close attention to trends in post-acute and senior care. Maybe most importantly, she says she learns from her team every day and is intentional about saying, “I don’t know; teach me,” when appropriate.
In the full webinar, you’ll get:
Watch the full “Leading with Excellence” webinar on-demand to hear the full stories and take away ideas you can start using in your organization today.