Janet Diodato: Being YOU is the beginning of leadership

For Janet Diodato, HR Director at CASS, human resources has always been about people, purpose, and making lives better. Starting as an HR Generalist, she grew into a leadership role that blends expertise with compassion, ensuring staff feel supported so they can give their best to clients. For her, true fulfillment comes from this ripple effect: when employees thrive, the people they serve have the best chance to succeed.

At CASS, HR is driven by people and purpose, not just efficiency. Every decision aligns with their mission of ending homelessness, a goal that drives operations across three regional shelters serving more than 900 individuals each night.Janet’s focus is on empowering staff to help clients achieve lasting stability, creating a culture where employees are true partners in service, not just workers. Working in a nonprofit means balancing limited resources with staff needs, a challenge Janet meets with honesty and transparency. While CASS cannot always match corporate budgets, it offers something more powerful: a team deeply committed to the mission, many with lived experiences that build trust and resilience. To sustain morale, the organization invests in professional development, recognition, and supportive leadership. Community contributions further strengthen staff resources and client outcomes.

Employee well-being is central to Janet’s leadership. Responding to staff requests, she introduced $0 copays for mental health care, virtual options for flexibility, and reinstated quarterly all-staff meetings to connect frontline voices with leadership. On-site wellness programs like chair massages and pop-up dental and vision clinics also help ease stress. For her, caring for staff is inseparable from the mission: “When employees feel whole, they can better support clients on their path to stability”.

When it comes to recruitment, Janet stresses that CASS looks beyond skills. The goal is to find people who treat others with dignity and who view their work as service. Recruitment strategies involve partnerships with colleges, universities, workforce agencies, and like-minded organizations. The hiring process is infused with behavioral questions that uncover empathy, resilience, and compassion. This approach ensures that new staff bring not only the technical expertise required but also the passion and values necessary to serve with humanity.

Once employees join, engagement and motivation become critical, particularly in the high-stress environment of shelter services. Janet highlights that many staff members see clients’ successes as personal victories, which fuels motivation despite challenges. Recognition programs ranging from daily shout-outs to Employee of the Month nominations are central to sustaining morale. Annual values-based recognition events bring staff together to celebrate achievements, while wellness challenges and team-bonding activities foster unity across shelters. Regular listening sessions and all-staff meetings give employees a platform to voice concerns and ideas, reinforcing a sense of ownership and belonging.

CASS also places a strong emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing that its workforce reflects the diverse community it serves. Inclusive hiring practices, pay equity reviews, and cultural awareness training are integrated into daily operations. Janet believes that honoring lived experience and ensuring every voice matters strengthens not only the workplace but also the services offered to clients.

Addressing burnout and compassion fatigue is another challenge that Janet takes seriously. The emotional weight of the work cannot be ignored, so conversations about rest and self-care are normalized. Staff are encouraged to use resources, take time off proactively, and seek support before stress reaches breaking points. Managers are trained to recognize warning signs and intervene early, whether by adjusting workloads or providing unexpected time off. Celebrating small wins helps staff feel the impact of their efforts and reinforces the value of their contributions.

In high-pressure environments, conflicts are inevitable, but CASS views them as opportunities for growth. Janet has invested in equipping staff with training in de-escalation, crisis intervention, and conflict resolution. Supervisors play an active role in mediating disputes and modeling transparency. By addressing conflicts openly and fairly, trust within the team is strengthened, and accountability becomes part of the culture.

Janet sees the future of nonprofit HR as balancing compassion with strategy, using metrics like engagement and turnover to guide decisions while keeping staff well-being and mission alignment at the core. Her priorities include building leadership pipelines and sustainable systems to position CASS for long-term growth. She emphasizes HR as a strategic partner, ensuring policies like compensation and development directly enhance client impact. For Janet, balancing the emotional demands of her own role requires leading with both empathy and fairness. Listening deeply while applying policies consistently allows her to navigate challenges with clarity and humanity. Staying anchored in the values of CASS ensures that even in difficult conversations, staff feel respected and supported.

Her vision for the future of HR at CASS is clear: to strengthen leadership pipelines, enhance staff well-being, and align recognition and compensation with values and performance. Ultimately, she wants CASS to be more than a workplace; she wants it to be a community where people thrive, stay, and feel fulfilled by the meaningful impact they achieve together. Janet Diodato’s work demonstrates that when HR balances heart with strategy, staff thrive, and when staff thrive, clients succeed.