The People: Teresa Adams-Nault, TheTalentMatchmaker, and Rob Flanagan, Hounds Town USA
Teresa Adams-Nault, founder of TheTalentMatchmaker, has dedicated over 25 years to talent selection, executive search, strategy, onboarding, and executive career coaching. The Talent Matchmaker transforms unengaged and burned-out teams into thriving and fulfilling cultures. This work helps professionals find their calling and teaches leaders to find, engage, and retain talented individuals in their companies,
Her work draws on her wealth of experience and is supported by scientifically validated assessment tools from TTI Success Insights.
“Teresa’s passion and ability to create a partnership with the team at Hounds Town has been remarkable,” said Brittney Helt, Vice President of Partner Services at TTI Success Insights. “The programs she put together for their new team members is one every new employee at any organization would be so lucky to be a part of. Her success is largely because of the absolute love and heart she puts into her work. She's creating transformation for people, and it's working.”
The Problem: Establishing Culture Amidst Rapid Growth
Hounds Town USA is a premier, fully interactive doggie daycare franchisor that offers overnight dog boarding and spa services. With 50 locations around the United States, Hounds Town USA is rapidly growing, scaling from a small company into a “hyper-growth mode”.
Rob Flanagan, President of Hounds Town USA, said, “As you start bringing in new talent, there can be a divide between the people that have been with the company from the beginning and the new employees,” he said. “If you don’t bring those two groups together, I think it’s challenging…it’s hard to be great if you’re not connected.”
Bringing the team together to avoid a culture clash and conflict was a top priority, especially because many team members were stepping into leadership roles for the first time.
“The question is how we bring in the new breed of talent, incorporate/onboard with the existing team, and reboard our current staff, so everyone is thriving,” Flanagan shared. “I want our team to look back at this time and define it as transformational, [to see that] it accelerated their career and changed their lives. I want Hounds Town to be the best job they ever have. That’s not just my goal—- it’s our company’s goal.”
The Solution: Multiscience Approach for High Employee Retention through Job Matching & Onboarding
Hounds Town USA looked to TheTalentMatchmaker to innovate its job benchmarking and onboarding experience.
Teresa utilized TTI Success Insights tools like “Science of Self” and TriMetrixDNA to focus on talent matching and job benchmarking. Her measurement of company roles included a list of crucial accountabilities and position descriptions while she developed customized onboarding and reboarding portfolios.
She then facilitated personalized debriefs and onboarding sessions with customized development and learning paths based on assessment data, ensuring employees were on the right track for them and Hounds Town USA.
Employees experience one-on-one onboarding sessions and a fully customized onboarding portfolio with their career development plan. They participated in a job benchmarking session with Teresa using professionally written key accountabilities, and each job was benchmarked using TriMetrix DNA, the Science of Self, EQ, and Workplace Stress assessments.
The power of multiscience assessments “was like a whole new toolbox that I didn’t even know existed,” said Flanagan. “Now we can work together much more smoothly. It turned it into a very specific plan by taking things out of my head and making them real and measurable.”
The Results: Zero Turnover, Powerful Growth
The results speak for themself: in 2023, Hounds Town USA made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America, with 623% growth in three years. They were also rated as a top franchise brand, and CEO Jackie Bondanza was recognized as an era-defining woman to watch in 2023. Hounds Town USA has exceeded 50% growth from 2022 to 2023 with zero turnover attributed to terminations.
“Rob Flanagan is the most extraordinary executive leader I have ever worked with in my 25-year history,” Adams-Nault stated. The detailed job-matching, personal development, and the concept of “onboarding for life” have improved company culture, engagement, and retention. Now, the Hounds Town USA team has the tools to connect and collaborate, creating a powerful company culture with a place for everyone.
Now, they “honor all facets of the company and bring everybody together and create a new team of diverse experiences, thoughts, and ideas,” Flanagan shared. “We’re able to utilize Teresa to come in as a world-renowned expert to accelerate our team’s onboarding, upskilling, and integration into our culture. I have to make really hard financial decisions, and I can’t afford not to do this program. The ROI is absolutely clear. It’s a team effort between the direct supervisor and Teresa…and it’s incredibly powerful.”
