How Wesley uses Achievers to improve retention and engagement

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:

1. Create one culture
2. Engage and motivate employees
3. Drive new behaviours
4. Retain top talent
5. Standardise and reduce administrative processes
6. Achieve legal compliance with employee rewards

How recognition transforms engagement and retention

These strategies became the foundation of Inspire, Wesley’s company-wide recognition and rewards initiative. Inspire is a best-in-class social R&R programme built on the science of belonging. Employees across nursing departments can recognise 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 recognise and celebrate their peers. It connects those separated by physical and non-physical barriers and, as a result, creates a positive influence on workplace behaviours 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.

After launching their employee experience programme, it wasn’t just their nursing departments that saw meaningful change. Wesley saw employee retention rates increase across the organisation. Before Inspire was introduced, turnover sat at 67.5%. By the end of the platform’s first year, turnover had dropped to 34.5%.

See Inspire in action

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 programme that was inclusive and could help drive organisational goals.

Watch the Wesley customer story video today to learn more about the measurable outcomes of Wesley’s Achievers programme and how it moves the needle on engagement and retention.