The members of the 2025 DSP Recruitment and Retention (R+R) Project Team know firsthand that the heart of Venture Together lies in our Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), who act as caregivers, advocates, companions, and champions for the people we support. They make up over 78% of our workforce, helping individuals living with I/DD enjoy fuller, more joyful lives, and are vital to the continuity of care we provide.
The challenges of recruitment and retention aren’t new. 2025’s R+R project is in Phase IV, beginning in 2018 with consultant-led support where we gained expertise, then internally led after the pandemic in 2022 and 2024. Each time, these efforts have delivered significant contributions during periods of staffing crisis. Last year, the 2024 team helped us bring 70 new staff into Venture with an 89% retention rate.
Lisa Kirrane, our CHRO and Project Team Lead, framed the challenge clearly:
“The significant challenges of a competitive job market and the DSP staffing crisis have materially impacted Venture Together's ability to recruit and retain DSPs. This creates a domino effect on all business structures and requires an adaptation of our strategies to prioritize, rethink, and develop innovative means of talent acquisition and retention."
-Lisa Kirrane
With this in mind, we’ve returned to the R+R project with fresh energy, deeper collaboration, and an exacting goal. This year’s project is not just about filling vacancies and reaching our recruitment goals, but also understanding what our staff and DSPs need, value, and deserve.
As a result, we’ve led new initiatives in both recruitment and retention. We’ve revamped the website and simplified the application experience, refreshed our referral campaigns, elevated our presence at hiring events around Rockland County, and increased outreach with the help of Venture’s pre-employment individuals sharing flyers and raising awareness. We redesigned our relief staffing pool process to create more flexibility for staff and ease scheduling burdens on managers, along with holding retention interviews with DSPs and Assistant Residential Directors (ARDs). Most recently, we hosted VentureFest & Hiring Fair, an afternoon of community engagement through games, music, food, and on-the-spot interviews, where we successfully hired new staff.
In addition to these sustained initiatives inspired by past years’ feedback and successes, we’ve also expanded our retention efforts, building on our culture of appreciation through our “Ice Cream Party Vans” that travel to every Venture location across the agency, delivering frozen treats, real-time resources, and honest conversations. We’ve celebrated each other, laughed together, and reminded staff that they are seen, heard, and appreciated.
“As the Employer of Choice, Venture Together invests in our DSPs so they feel valued, appreciated, and engaged to stay with the agency,” Lisa shared. Our team is committed to moving forward and fulfilling our goal, reminding our individuals and our staff that we will do whatever it takes to ensure the right people are in the right roles, supported every step of the way.
-Lisa Kirrane
This project has set a foundation for sustainable recruitment and retention efforts that will continue to strengthen our team and our mission. Together, we are building a future where every individual receives the care and support they need and deserve, powered by a passionate and committed workforce.
To our staff, partners, and supporters: thank you for being part of this journey. Together, we are creating extraordinary lives.
