How Wesley uses Achievers to improve retention and engagement

Topics Covered:

Attracting and retaining talent

Rewards and recognition

As a mission-driven non-profit, Wesley has provided a network of housing and healthcare services for older adults in the Puget Sound region since 1944.

As a mission-driven non-profit, Wesley has provided a network of housing and healthcare services for older adults in the Puget Sound region since 1944.

Facing staffing challenges and a need to rally team members around something positive and fun, Wesley defined six goals that would help improve the employee experience across their nursing departments:

• Create one culture
• Engage and motivate employees
• Drive new behaviors
• Retain top talent
• Standardize and reduce administrative processes
• Achieve legal compliance with employee rewards

These strategies became the foundation of Inspire, Wesley’s company-wide recognition and rewards initiative. Inspire is a best-in-class social R&R program built on the science of belonging. Employees across nursing departments can recognize each other, sign special e-cards and nominate coworkers for the monthly Lean Champion and Resident Champion awards. They can also earn points that can be redeemed in the reward catalog for merchandise, gift cards, and more.

Like their operations, Inspire runs 24/7 and includes mobile-friendly features, allowing recognition to happen naturally within the flow of work. Rather than placing the responsibility on people managers alone, the platform encourages employees across nursing departments to recognize and celebrate their peers. It connects those separated by physical and non-physical barriers, and as a result, creates a positive influence on workplace behaviors and engagement.

Using Inspire’s pulse surveys, Wesley gathered feedback from nursing employees and used their insights to create a culture that spoke to their values. Those efforts helped belonging jump from 57.4 points to 72.2 between February and October 2024.

After launching their employee experience program, it wasn’t just their nursing departments that saw meaningful change. Wesley saw employee retention rates increase across the organization. In 2021, before Inspire was introduced, turnover sat at 67.5%. The platform was introduced in 2022 and by the end of 2024, turnover had dropped to 34.5%.

But this transformation wasn’t just about numbers — it was about creating a workplace where employees felt valued and motivated to contribute to Wesley’s mission. Achievers helped create a program that was inclusive and could help drive organizational goals.

Watch the video today to learn more about the measurable outcomes of Wesley’s Achievers program and how they move the needle on engagement and retention.