How Bon Secours Mercy Health empowers every associate to shine

Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH) is one of the largest Catholic healthcare systems in the United States, with more than 60,000 associates serving communities across seven states and two countries. Rooted in a legacy of faith based care, they provide high-quality, compassionate health services in hospitals, outpatient centers, and community health programs.

With such a large and diverse workforce — including many offline, shift-based workers in clinical, operational, and support roles — BSMH is deeply committed to fostering a culture where every associate feels seen, valued, and connected to the mission. But prior to partnering with Achievers, the organization faced significant challenges in making recognition equitable and impactful at scale.

Elevating a strong culture to new heights

Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH) has always been deeply committed to caring for both patients and associates. Across the ministry, many leaders and teams celebrated their people in meaningful ways — but with such a large, geographically dispersed workforce, those efforts naturally varied depending on local resources and team structures.

As BSMH continued to grow, it saw a valuable opportunity: to bring even greater consistency, visibility, and reach to its recognition practices — especially for offline and shift-based associates who didn’t always have regular access to digital communication channels. Leadership recognized that by streamlining and scaling appreciation efforts, they could amplify their strong culture, strengthen engagement, and ensure every associate felt valued, every day.

Insights from Achievers Workforce Institute supported this approach, revealing that offline workers are 20% more likely to say they’re never recognized — a gap BSMH was eager to close. With this insight in hand, BSMH sought a partner to help them take their recognition strategy from good to truly transformational.

A purpose-driven platform to unify and amplify recognition

BSMH partnered with Achievers to evolve its recognition strategy into a more unified, accessible, and data-informed program that could reach all associates — regardless of role, department, or location.

The result was the launch of Called to Shine: a recognition platform grounded in BSMH’s culture and leadership behaviors and designed to help every associate feel connected to the mission. From day one, the program emphasized intentional, values-aligned appreciation — turning everyday moments into meaningful touchpoints.

Working closely with the Achievers customer success team, BSMH implemented a series of targeted initiatives to engage associates at every level, including:

With insights from Achievers’ robust analytics tools, BSMH leaders were empowered to continuously refine the program, track trends, and celebrate the impact of recognition across the ministry. The result? A recognition experience that was not only inclusive, but also actionable and measurable.

Recognition fuels engagement, retention, and real results

The Called to Shine program has had a wide-reaching impact — improving retention, deepening engagement, and enhancing BSMH’s already strong culture of appreciation.

Retention improvements speak volumes about the value of meaningful recognition:

Overall, the program contributes to an estimated $41.8 million in annual savings by improving associate retention across the board.

But the impact goes beyond cost savings:

Recognition has also supported broader engagement, with leaders using Called to Shine to spotlight well-being participation, ERG involvement, community efforts like blood drives, and more. The platform has become a cornerstone of BSMH’s engagement strategy — reinforcing positive behaviors while celebrating everyday excellence.

Building on success: a culture of appreciation for all

At Bon Secours Mercy Health, recognition has always mattered. With Achievers, it now reaches farther, resonates deeper, and delivers measurable value to both associates and the organization as a whole.

Recognition is no longer ad hoc or isolated — it’s embedded in how BSMH shows up for its people. From onboarding to major milestones, from daily efforts to extraordinary contributions, every associate has the opportunity to feel seen, appreciated, and connected to the mission.

By choosing to scale what was already good and make it great, BSMH has not only improved retention and engagement — it has strengthened its position as a leading employer in healthcare. And with Achievers as a trusted partner, the ministry is well-positioned to continue evolving its culture of appreciation in step with the needs of its workforce.

Because when people feel recognized, they don’t just stay — they shine.