EvenMORE For You

Spotlight on HR Coordinator Sydney Ruppel

A Highly Productive, Polite Professional

Sydney Ruppel has only worked at Crossroads in Cleveland for a year but she has already earned a positive reputation for her can-do attitude and professionalism.

Reporting directly to Interim Executive Director Christine Vincent, Sydney is “very polite” as she takes initiative and asks “really good questions” as the site’s by-the-book Human Resources Coordinator.

“There has never been a complaint about Sydney and she’s earned the respect of our employees,” according to Christine who admires how Sydney has embraced both her position and Crossroads’ culture.

Sydney Ruppel, Human Resources Coordinator,
Crossroads in Cleveland

Before joining Crossroads Sydney enjoyed a successful run at a staffing company in Cleveland. The company supplied talent to the Cleveland Clinic’s nonclinical functions.

“More personal relationships with employees,” is one of the areas she most enjoys about her position at Crossroads. Sydney has been impressed with Crossroads’ team members’ compassion for their patients and the patients’ families. The empathy they show and the passion they have for their chosen careers in end-of-life care inspire her.

The camaraderie among team members at the Cleveland site is also something she’s taken real notice of and appreciates. 

With a Bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies with minors in Psychology and Sociology, Sydney once considered working in social support services.

But early in her career she pivoted and embraced the administrative and business operations that support healthcare delivery. At Crossroads in Cleveland she’s the go-to for benefits information and administration supporting both recruiting and the existing workforce. 

Sydney’s mastery of the position has Christine asking Sydney to orient new human resources team members at other locations too. Sydney even took over the onboarding orientation at all sites on a dime when the person who had been delivering the orientation left the company.

While Sydney admits to not having much time for hobbies, she did want to mention her senior rescue dog Howard, a 12-year-old miniature fox terrier who is there to support her when she gets home after putting in so much during her workday at Crossroads in Cleveland.

What We Learned and Where We’re Headed

By Danny Gutknecht
First off, THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the Vital Signs Surveys! Your feedback is invaluable, and we’re listening. Keep speaking up—you hold the keys to Crossroads’ success.

The Good News

Overall, morale improved this year! While it might not be universal (we don’t know who responds), your overall responses show positive motion. That said, we know, there’s still a lot of work to do. You want better psychological safety, opportunities for personal growth, and to see how your contributions drive Crossroads’ success.

Changes

62% of you find the new changes exciting, while the rest remain curious but cautious and only 7% don’t like any change. That’s normal – change brings both excitement and anxiety. By the way, we need those who like status quo too, they help balance the frequency. Continue to let us know what we can do to keep building momentum and trust.

Communication: Listening and Psychological Safety

Today’s reality: 69% of you feel okay talking to leaders, but 56% don’t feel fully heard.

87% don’t feel free to speak truthfully—so 8 out of 10 conversations are incomplete?

On top of that, 54% say their leaders practice “transactional listening,” missing the deeper meaning.

This is a psychological trust issue: Psychological trust is like the Wi-Fi of the workplace: you don’t see it, but everything depends on it. Without a strong connection, communication is disruptive, productivity buffers, and people start working in “airplane mode” just to get by. If the signal’s weak, even the best systems can’t function properly. It’s time to upgrade the router—because trust is the bandwidth that keeps us all connected and thriving.

The Plan: In 2025, we’re launching programs for leaders to upgrade their listening skills—call it “Listening V2.0.” No more paper maps, it’s time to go mobile.

Desire for Personal Growth

41% of you want personal growth but struggle to find time. Another 36% want to grow, but need motivation to start.

More amazingly, 77% of you want to grow for yourselves, not just for a title. That means we are well-grounded people that understand when we grow personally, Crossroads thrives—it’s a win-win.

The Plan: Coaching, flexible learning, and personalized growth plans. A personal growth partner, like a gym partner tailored to your pace—to help you grow—which helps us fulfill our promise to our communities by providing the best hospice care anywhere.

Team Connection and Relationships

Currently, 63% of you have fewer than five strong work relationships. While better than the national average, the ideal range is 6-15. Let’s aim higher. 

Next Steps: We’ll create fresh ways to connect, organically and within the flow of work. Team building stuff, without the cringe.

Seeing Your Impact

72% of you feel your work doesn’t make a difference. That’s a problem we need to fix together this year. While the above opportunities can help you, we are still working on this.

Moving Forward

While morale improved from late 2023 through 2024, we can (and want to) do better. You want to feel heard, valued, and able to speak your truth without anxiety. We will do our best to improve this year. Please remember, we are all human and we all have to improve ourselves, individually and together. 

Let’s thrive in 2025. Keep bringing your voice—we’ll bring the listening and transparency upgrades. Together, we’ll make this a place where caring for patients and caring for each other feels like shopping for a whole new wardrobe. We believe progress will look good for us all.

Teladoc & EAP are Free to ALL Full Timers & Their Dependents

Did you know Crossroads' My Benefits Work App is available even if full-time employees elect not to enroll in Crossroads’ medical benefits plan?

Teladoc 24/7, Teladoc Mental Health, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Financial Wellness advising are all free support services available to full-time employees and their dependents through Crossroads’ My Benefits Work App.

Not all full-time employees realize they have access to these support services, especially if they elect not to enroll in Crossroads medical benefits plan.

This article is a reminder that just working at Crossroads full-time makes an employee eligible for Crossroads’ My Benefits Work App. With a single touch on the mobile app or a quick website visit you can access:

• Teladoc 24/7
• Teladoc Mental Health
• Counseling Services/Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Financial Wellness

Offices are open Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 7 PM and Saturday 8 AM to 5 PM Central.

Set Up Your My Benefits Work Account

If you haven’t already, download the My Benefits App on your mobile phone, tablet or computer following the instructions below:

1. Download the My Benefits Work mobile app from the App Store or Google™ Play
2. Register your account on the app
3. Enter Group ID: BENVEO002 (that's 2 zeros after the O)
4. Enter Member ID, found on your My Benefits Work membership card (if you need a replacement card, or your member ID #, call the number below)
5. Enter your email address and mobile phone number
6. Confirm - you will be prompted to confirm your account through text message or email. Enter the code to verify and continue

To set up an account on a computer desktop go to MyCrossroadsBenefits.com and follow the same instructions.

If you need assistance, you can call the My Benefits Work member support team at: 
800-800-7616.