One-on-on with ...

For Aegis Living CEO Dwayne Clark, it was no short trip from his humble beginnings to founding and running an expansive LTC business. Clark grew up in a single-parent household, watching his mother struggling to get by. Yet she instilled in him a desire to succeed.

Clark built his business for more than 25 years with the conviction that employees hold the key to an organization's success. And they should be acknowledged and celebrated. Long-Term Living Executive Editor Sandra Hoban spoke with Clark about this employee-focus and how the company creates and maintains this philosophy. To read the entire interview, visit www.lilmagazine.com/artile/one-one-dwayne-j-clark.

HOW DID YOU IMPLEMENT THIS EMPLOYEE FOCUS?

Aegis Living not only provides "hard" benefits, such as health insurance, vacation time and 401k, but we also provide "soft" benefits--Aegis Extras. We tell each employee and every executive that they have a benefits responsibility too. They are challenged to ask every vendor or business owner if they can offer any additional employee benefits. For example, employees can purchase food from our food supplier at wholesale cost. Shirts can be laundered at a local drycleaners for $.90 each. A meal for four to take home to the family is available for five dollars or employees can receive free checking. While those may seem like small savings, each perk that an employee takes advantage of adds up over time. We keep our eyes open for new values as needs change and upgrade these offers regularly.

IS ALL THAT ENOUGH TO KEEP EMPLOYEES FROM LOOKING FOR GREENER PASTURES?

Not only do we look for values to offer, we value each employee. I want everyone who works here to be passionate about something--their jobs, their dreams, their goals. Each year, Aegis Living holds a meeting called EPIC, an inspirational, life-changing experience. I open the session telling people, "If you're not living the most passionate, profitable life you can lead in this company, you need to leave. People need to find happiness, and I will give you every resource you need, short of money." To those who have expressed their desires, we've turned them on to people in a particular industry that interests them, provided business plans and the like.

Actually, that speech came back to bite me when three senior executives left the company. But if I am true to my beliefs, I celebrate their leaving. I'm happy for them. Our people know that they are in a safe place in a safe company and they can still follow their dreams even if the path leads away from Aegis Living. As a company, our turnover was 38 percent last year, well below the industry average of 128 percent. Our employees are our best advertisement for who we are as a company.

HOW HAVE THE EPIC MEETINGS BENEFITTED THE COMPANY AND THE INDIVIDUAL?

While every employee cannot attend the main event, attendees are charged with taking the lessons, the inspiration and the motivation back to their coworkers. They are able to conduct mini-meetings at the facility level, because all the materials and videos used are available. It is up to the inleader to decide how to pass this information along.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Susan Sarandon, this year's guest speaker, is involved with a charity, Somaly named after a Cambodian woman who grew up as a sex slave and helped other girls escape that fate. These girls were as young as five years old.

As a result of her presentation, 42 staff members signed up to go to work with the group in Cambodia, giving higher purpose to us as a company.

YOUR DREAMS H VE COME TRUE IN A BIG WAY, HOW HAVE YOU PERSONALLY CELEBRATED?

A few months ago, my book My Mother, My Son was released and it is receiving very high reviews. I wrote about my mother whose life and outlook are my inspirations and her battle with Alzheimer's disease. We struggled as I was growing up but we were very close. She always told me: "Dwayne, no matter what you do, don't ever forget where you came from and don't ever forget that you had to eat potato soup for a week."

In keeping with her spirit, Aegis has established the Potato Soup Foundation to help Aegis' employees in times of need.

The foundation has helped with emergency housing, funeral expenses and other crucial needs. LTL Editor's note: Dwayne Clark's memoir, My Mother, My Son, is available at www.amazon.com.