110_Becoming a Best Place to Work: The Impact of Emotional Onboarding at Aramark Healthcare+
On this final episode of our Emotional Onboarding Series for The Healthcare Plus Podcast, Dan Collard is joined by Bart Kaericher, President, CEO, and Chief Cultural Officer of Aramark Healthcare+.
Highlighting his commitment to Aramark’s 25,000+ teammates and the hospitals and patients they serve, Bart shares the importance of a human-centric approach to employee engagement and collaboration to enhance patient experiences.
Along Aramark’s journey to becoming a Modern Healthcare Best Place to Work (which they achieved for the first time in 2024), Bart shares several key learnings and adjustments his team made, including:
- Implementing Early Connect, a program aimed at supporting new employees, and Team Member Connect, a new system of rounding that encourages coworker connections.
- Offering a daily pay system to support the team’s financial flexibility and address social determinants of health (SDOH).
- Reducing early turnover by connecting with new hires before they step onsite and regularly through the first 120 days.
- Advocating for a focus on purpose, culture, and effective communication.
Missed an episode in our Emotional Onboarding series? Listen back now with Dr. Katherine Meese, Patti Frank, Natasha Lee, and Abby Spence.
About Bart Kaericher
Bart Kaericher is the President & CEO of Aramark Healthcare+. Since his arrival to Aramark he’s been focused on building an organization that is delivering a vision of having engaged employees, positive patient experiences, operational excellence, caregiver support, and being problem-solvers within the healthcare arena. Having a unified Culture of Caring has become a strong differentiator for Aramark Healthcare+.
Before joining Aramark in May 2021, Bart served as Chief Growth Officer & Senior Vice President of Compass One Healthcare. While at Compass Group, he played an instrumental role in building revenues, profits, and valuable strategic partnerships. Prior to his tenure with Compass One Healthcare, Bart worked for more than a decade in the medical device industry at American Hospital Supply, now B. Braun Medical.
Bart holds an MBA in Healthcare Marketing from Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia, PA, and a BS in Business from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He has also completed Cornell University’s Executive Healthcare Leadership program.