Employee experience officer shares story, discusses retention

Finding great employees is important, but at VA, we also know that retention is just as important as recruitment.

After serving as a combat medic for almost a decade, Edmund R. "Bobby" Patterson initially intended to become a physician assistant, with an eye toward specializing in psychology or psychiatry. That interest was originally fostered during his years in service, watching his fellow service members struggle with the stress of combat deployments.

Patterson's path to VA would ultimately take a different turn. Through mentorship and continued training, he now works as an employee experience officer in the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and has been helping to promote our "Stay in VA" initiative.

"I kept pushing myself, for the Veterans we serve," he said. "Because that became my personal motto, my driving force: I didn't ever want to let anyone fall through the cracks."

Stay in VA is a practice aimed at promoting a trusting environment for employees to express their ideas and experiences to leadership. Likewise, supervisors and managers can learn more about employees and how to better engage their skills or talents.

"I'm the epitome of Stay in VA," Patterson said. "This is about taking the time, being a servant leader, about being people-focused and people-centric. That's what VA has to offer."

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Visit VA Careers now to read Patterson's story and how taking advantage of opportunities within VA has led to extraordinary experiences.