Case Study: NorthBay Healthcare achieves just 1.2% nursing turnover and a culture of recognition with O.C. Tanner

Northbay Healthcare’s Journey To Greatness

NorthBay Healthcare, a locally governed system of 2,200 employees, made culture and recognition a top strategic priority but found a gap between the recognition programs they offered and what employees actually wanted. After a 2008 Great Place to Work survey scored 74, leadership concluded that recognition was uneven, mostly informal and department‑dependent, and they needed a system‑wide solution to become a nationally recognized “great place to work.”

Partnering with O.C. Tanner, NorthBay launched Living NorthBay (and refreshed it in 2013) and introduced Yearbook for personalized service awards—tools tied to organizational values with eButtons, eCards, redeemable performance awards, manager training and real‑time manager reports. Adoption grew quickly: 14,898 eThanks and 16,229 total appreciation moments with 86% and 70% reach, nursing turnover held at about 1.2%, manager recognition rates doubled in pilot tests, and the Great Place to Work score rose from 74 to 87, boosting morale and employee engagement.

NorthBay Healthcare

Heather Troutt

Clinical Nurse Manager, Women & Children Services