“Remote staff is remote staff.” — Beth Raboin

In this episode of Evolving Your Workplace, host Carol Schultz sits down with Beth Raboin, Founder and CEO of Global Medical Virtual Assistants (GMVA), to unpack what actually drives low turnover and high morale—especially when most of your workforce is remote and distributed across the globe.

Beth shares how GMVA has maintained roughly a 4% turnover rate while scaling to 1,500+ team members in the Philippines. The core lesson: retention isn’t a perks problem—it’s a culture + management problem. Beth explains why the first three months are the truth-teller for culture fit, why educating candidates upfront reduces early churn, and why “getting someone in the door” isn’t the same as keeping them engaged.

The conversation gets practical on the leadership systems GMVA uses to keep morale high: monthly manager-focused surveys, 15 random HR one-on-ones per month, and a feedback culture built on psychological safety. Beth breaks down why people leave managers more than companies, how leaders can spot red flags early, and how stronger empathy and communication in middle management directly reduces attrition.

Beth also shares a simple but powerful example of listening in action: employees repeatedly asked for an optical benefit—because they’re on screens all day—and GMVA added it. The takeaway is clear: leaders don’t need to do everything, but they do need to hear patterns, make smart trade-offs, and show people their feedback turns into real change.

Key topics covered

1. How GMVA sustains a 4% turnover rate through growth
2. Why the first 90 days determine culture fit (and retention)
3. The real retention lever: great managers + communication
4. A simple morale system: surveys + one-on-ones + safe feedback
5. How to identify a skill issue vs. will issue (and what’s usually behind it)
6. Turning feedback into action (the optical benefit example)
7. Why leaders must be ready to hear feedback they may not like

Connect With Host Carol Schultz

Find more information about our host Carol Schultz and her company at Vertical Elevation, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Want to be our next guest expert? Email [email protected] with your information.

And of course, click "follow" to stay up-to-date on new episodes and leave an honest review/rating letting us know what you thought!