Case Study: Norton Healthcare achieves higher employee engagement, improved patient care responsiveness and 91% nurse retention with O.C. Tanner

Norton Healthcare - Customer Case Study

Norton Healthcare, a Louisville-based network of five hospitals and 12,000 employees, prides itself on a culture of service but faced gaps in system-wide recognition and new-hire engagement. Leadership identified that informal appreciation alone wasn’t enough to sustain engagement, improve patient experience metrics, and reduce early turnover, so they set out to create a formal, values-aligned approach to recognize and onboard staff.

Norton launched an Employee Experience team and rolled out a centralized “N Recognition of You” platform, expanded service awards (including the first year), peer-to-peer appreciation tools, and a phased, theatrical onboarding program with 30/60/90 check-ins. The changes produced measurable impact: a 59% decrease in new-hire turnover, a 91% nursing retention rate, higher HCAHPS responsiveness scores, faster call-light responses, and improved engagement and leadership metrics across departments.

Norton Healthcare

Jason Coffey

Director, Patient & Employee Experience