How to Reduce RBT Turnover in ABA: Brand, Process, and Speed (with Talentcare)

A family loses their favorite RBT. No one explains where she went. The kid regresses a little. The parent starts to wonder, quietly, if something is wrong with their own child that good people keep leaving. That is what turnover actually costs. Not just a job req to refill.Most owners treat that as a talent shortage. My guest today says it is nothing of the sort. Eric Smith is the founder and CEO of Talentcare, and after thirteen years solving frontline hiring and retention across healthcare, restaurants, and retail (with ABA as their number one space), he will tell you the hiring problem is not a hiring problem at all. It is a brand problem, a reputation problem, a process problem, and a data problem, all dressed up to look like a hiring problem. Fix those, and Talentcare has the data to show a 20 to 60% lift in RBT capacity and a 10 to 40% drop in turnover inside six months.We get into the real work behind that:What an employer brand actually is, and what it is not. Not your mission or your values. The compelling, differentiating reason an 18-year-old should choose you, written in your employees' words, not management's.Why retention starts before day one. Get an RBT to 90 days and you can get them to a year and 90 days.The four-day rule. The best providers go from completed application to signed offer in four days, not four weeks, because the A players are already gone by week two.The metrics that actually tell the story. Net RBT capacity and turnover, not butts-in-seats, cost-per-hire, or time-to-fill. Plus the cycle times and drop rates almost no one tracks.Why a real career site can out-hire Indeed five to one, and where referral programs fit.Reputation management on Indeed and Glassdoor. Why staying north of 3.5 stars and actually responding to reviews is table stakes for the generations you are hiring.The honest take on AI in hiring. Eric's one test before he uses any of it. Does it make the process more human?This one is personal for me. The turnover crisis is part of why ABA C.A.R.E.S. exists at all. So I am especially glad to welcome Talentcare to the community this year.Learn more about Talentcare at https://talentcare.comEric and his team will have a booth at ABA C.A.R.E.S. in Boston this August. If you are tired of losing good candidates before you even get to interview them, write down your questions and come find them. Register here: We'll see you in Boston August 4th through 7th, or live streaming from the other side of the screen. You are not fighting a talent shortage. You are fighting for attention, for reputation, and for the brand that feels right.