Overview
Northeast Kingdom Human Services (NKHS) provides case management, community and home support, residential care, psychiatry, medication management, individual therapy, group therapy, vocational supports, school-based counseling, emergency care and respite services for more than 3,400 people annually in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
Northeast Kingdom Human Services (NKHS) partnered with Helen Sanderson Associates USA (HSA) to introduce Compassion@Work—a practical, skills-based approach to strengthening communication, relationships, and psychological safety across a complex human services organization of nearly 500 employees..
This case study shares NKHS’s journey: what prompted the work, how they built readiness, what changed, and what they learned about sustaining culture change in real-world conditions.
The Challenge: When Good Intentions Weren’t Enough
Like many human services organizations, NKHS is powered by deeply committed staff working in emotionally demanding roles. People care deeply about the mission, the individuals they support, and each other.
And yet, even in a strong values-based organization, leaders noticed familiar patterns:
It is written for HR leaders, workforce development teams, and social service organizations seeking practical ways to strengthen culture—not through one-off training, but through embedded everyday practice.
As the Executive Director, Kelsey Stavseth, reflected:
“You’ve got good technical skills, but the leadership skills are the ones that really define chiefs and senior managers.”
NKHS was not looking for another training. They were asking a deeper question:
How do we build everyday skills, shared language, and confidence to have hard conversations in ways that strengthen relationships rather than damage them?
Planting the Ground: What NKHS Tried First
Before Compassion@Work, NKHS intentionally focused on building trust and alignment at leadership level. This included:
These early efforts were not “programs”—they were groundwork.
As Kelsey shared:
“If you’ve built enough trust, people will try something new with you.”
This readiness mattered. It created the conditions for something new to take root.
Prior Initiatives Did Not Stick
Across NKHS, staff described a long history of trying to improve communication and workplace culture through multiple initiatives. Years earlier, the organization invested in programs like Stephen Covey training and
later Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, but these efforts struggled to take root. As Terri Lavely, one of the Compassion@ Work Coaches, reflected, there was often strong enthusiasm at the start, but “there was never any follow-through,” and the work would fade without becoming part of daily practice.
That pattern began to shift with Compassion@Work. Unlike earlier efforts, staff described this approach as something that “stuck,” because it was both simple and accessible across
all levels of the organization. Over time, it began shaping how people communicate in real, everyday ways.
Why Compassion@Work
Research shows that compassion is not simply a value—it is a set of learnable skills that strengthen communication, reduce burnout, and improve psychological safety and collaboration.
For NKHS, this aligned strongly with what leaders were already seeing: that technical excellence alone was not enough to sustain healthy teams in complex environments.
Importantly, compassion is not something people “have or don’t have”—it can be learned, practiced, and embedded into daily work.
Why Compassion@Work Resonated at NKHS
NKHS partnered with Helen Sanderson Associates USA because Compassion@Work is designed for real workplaces—not theory.
It is practical, structured, and immediately applicable.
Kelsey described:
“It’s not just ‘be nice.’ There’s a purpose to this—how you conduct yourself, how you give feedback, how you get your needs met so we can provide better services and fulfill our mission.”
NKHS began with senior leaders, then extended the learning through directors, managers, and staff cohorts over time. This created something essential: shared language across levels of the organization.
To support sustainability, NKHS also developed internal Compassion Coaches—staff who model, support, and reinforce practice in everyday situations.
What Compassion@Work Looks Like in Practice
Compassion@Work is a five-session learning series focused on 15 compassion practices that enhance communication, emotional regulation, and relationship-building. It is offered by HSA facilitators, either in-person or through remote sessions.
A key practice within the program is OFNR (Observation, Feeling, Need, Request),
a model rooted in the development
of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), developed by American psychologist Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, which helps structure clearer, more grounded communication.
Over time, this shifts conversations from reactive to intentional.
Participants learn tools to:
What Changed at NKHS
Communication Became More Intentional
One of the earliest shifts was visible in everyday communication, especially email.
“There was a lot of keyboard confidence—people didn’t think about how the other person felt getting the message.” — Keri Riley-Pickford
After Compassion@Work:
“You can tell people are really being mindful now about how they’re sending messages.”
For HR leaders, this is a meaningful cultural signal: communication begins to shift without policy enforcement—through shared practice.
Feedback Became More Possible—and Less Threatening
Staff began using structured tools like OFNR to slow down and stay grounded in difficult conversations.
“It helps interrupt cycles of reaction that just aren’t helpful.” — Kelsey Stavseth
Over time, feedback became less avoided and more normalized as part of working relationships.
Culture Shift Became Visible at Individual Level
Perhaps the most powerful change was personal transformation within staff.
“Team members have gone from being contributors to the toxic culture to now being big promoters of the compassionate culture.” — Keri Riley-Pickford
This shift illustrates an important principle for HR leaders: culture change is not only organizational, it is deeply personal.
Capacity Expanded Across the Organization
Rather than relying on a small group of senior leaders, NKHS built distributed capacity.
“Now people have a cohort. They have peers. They have coaches they can go to. It’s not just eight people at the top anymore.” — Kelsey Stavseth
This shift is particularly important in social services settings where leadership bandwidth is limited and emotional load is high.
The Role of Internal Coaches
Internal Compassion Coaches became central to sustaining the work. They:
As one leader reflected:
“It stopped being something we were doing and became something we just are.” — Keri Riley-Pickford
From HSA’s perspective:
“It felt like this was part of who people were—not just something they were practicing.” — Holly Matecko
For HR leaders, this is a key insight: training alone does not shift culture – reinforcement systems do.
What NKHS Is Seeing Now:
Observations from Compassion@Work Coaches
More thoughtful communication across email and meetings
Christina Guillette shared that after the workshops, employees became noticeably more intentional in how they wrote emails, even using tools to check tone because they cared how their messages were received.
While imperfect, it reflected a new awareness that communication “matters.”
Increased confidence in giving and receiving feedback
Chani Jain described how the OFNR framework helped make feedback conversations less intimidating and more constructive, especially in a complex environment where emotional responses could easily escalate. The ability to “pause, reflect, and work through the process before responding” became a practical tool for reducing stress and improving collaboration.
Reduced reactivity in difficult conversations
That ability to pause and regulate response was echoed by Erica Perkins, who observed, “It helps people hit pause, reflect, and work through the process before they respond to something.” She added that this was especially important when emotions were high: “Sometimes people can get overwhelmed by the emotion that they’re feeling.”
Greater shared language across departments
Terri Lavely sets the foundation for this shift by contrasting past efforts with what is happening now:
“We’re developing shared language, shared appreciation, and shared communication styles… over many, many years of work, I’ve seen us trying to launch different things, and Compassion@Work is something that’s really stuck.” — Terri Lavely
She emphasizes that the difference is not just interest in the work, but its ability to cross roles and departments in a way earlier initiatives could not.
Erica Perkins explains that Compassion@Work is reinforced through newsletters, leadership messaging, and even organization-wide events like the employee banquet. This creates repeated exposure, so the language doesn’t stay siloed within cohorts or departments.
She also highlights the cultural diffusion effect:
“It’s just becoming… this common language, whether you’ve participated in the program or not. It’s being educated and talked about throughout the entire organization.” — Erica Perkins
“It can span across every department—IT to clinical to leadership.” — Keri Riley-Pickford
Stronger peer support through coaching networks
This is echoed indirectly in the observation that even people who haven’t gone through a cohort are beginning to use the practices simply by being around those who have:
“They’re doing these skills, they’re using it without even realizing it, just from the modeling of coaches and other folks that have gone through it.” — Keri Riley-Pickford
What Comes Next
NKHS continues to embed Compassion@Work by:
“It should feel like, ‘Of course I took it.’ That’s just part of how we do things here.” — Kelsey Stavseth
NKHS offers several reflections for organizations considering this work:
Start with leadership readiness and modeling
“Are your leaders committed to taking it and modeling it?”
Focus on depth, not optics
“Don’t do this just to check a box.”
Plan for time and reinforcement
“It’s not just financial—it’s a time investment.”
Expect culture change to be gradual and relational
Sustainable change happens through practice, not events.
Why NKHS Recommends HSA
NKHS describes HSA as a genuine partner in learning—not a vendor delivering a fixed program.
“It feels bespoke—like you’re learning with us.” — Kelsey Stavseth
“It felt like you were as invested in NKHS as any employee here.” — Keri Riley-Pickford
Closing Reflection
For NKHS, Compassion@Work has become more than a training program. It has become a shared way of working, supporting staff to communicate more clearly, navigate difficulty with greater confidence, and strengthen relationships in the process.
For organizations in human services, the lesson is simple and powerful:
When people are given practical tools, space to practice, and consistent reinforcement, culture change becomes not only possible—but sustainable.
For more information about teams and leaders’ services from Helen Sanderson Associates USA, visit https://helensandersonassociates.com or contact:
Mary Beth Lepkowsky marybeth@helensandersonassociates.com Jamie Markey jamie@helensandersonassociates.com
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