The ASHHRA Podcast

#236 - Praise Boosts Nurse Retention, AI Predicts Quitting

• Robert "Bo" Brabo and Luke Carignan • Season 4 • Episode 37

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 33:13

Healthcare Is Dead Last in Recognition Culture. Plus: AI That Predicts Who's About to Quit & What CEOs Are Betting On in 2026

July 6th, 2026. Bo, Luke, and ASHHRA Executive Director Jeremy Sadlier are back from the long weekend with a deliberately positive episode — three stories built to give you energy heading into the week.

🏆 Healthcare Is Last in Recognition Culture — and the Fix Is Free
The OC Tanner 2026 State of Employee Recognition Report (42,000 employees, ten countries) found healthcare at the bottom for recognition champions — leaders who actively build cultures of appreciation. The cost: employees at organizations with strong recognition cultures have four times greater odds of staying two-plus years and seven times greater odds of feeling belonging. Recognition also compounds — employees who work with recognition champions are three times more likely to recognize their own coworkers.
Action: You don't need a platform to start. Walk down the hall and tell someone specifically what they did well today. Four times retention. Seven times belonging. That's the ROI on a 30-second conversation.

🤖 AI Is Now Predicting Who's About to Quit — Before They Know It Themselves
Mount Sinai implemented predictive analytics flagging nurses at high attrition risk by analyzing absenteeism, overtime, survey responses, and workload patterns. Results: 17% reduction in voluntary nurse turnover and 15% reduction in burnout-related resignations. Health systems using these tools report 15–25% reductions in contingency labor costs and 10–18% improvements in nurse retention within two years.
Action: You don't need Mount Sinai's stack to start. Pull your absenteeism and overtime data by unit — the patterns are already there. The barrier is data quality, manager trust, and readiness to act on what the data tells you.

📊 The CEO Playbook: Three Bets Healthcare Leaders Are Making Right Now
PwC, EY, and Witt Kiefer's 2026 healthcare outlooks converge on three moves: AI shifting from experiment to infrastructure (57% of health systems planning clinical AI investment, nearly tripling in two years), ambulatory care as the growth engine, and culture as a competitive retention strategy — not HR overhead. 98% of healthcare CEOs expect to pursue M&A or strategic alliances in the next 12 months.
Action: Know your CEO's playbook and build your people strategy around it. Your mission is the recruiting advantage your competitors cannot replicate.

Enjoying the show? Subscribe to The ASHHRA Podcast on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.

This episode is brought to you by AP3 — the ASHHRA Preferred Partner Program.

Healthcare HR leaders are navigating rising costs, workforce shortages, and an overwhelming vendor landscape. AP3 cuts through the noise.

Managed in collaboration with Lockton and backed by ASHHRA, AP3 is a governed ecosystem of vetted, healthcare-aligned solution providers across talent acquisition, benefits administration, workforce compliance, financial wellness, and employee engagement. Every partner is rigorously vetted. Every relationship is governed. Every solution is built for healthcare.

No directories. No bidding wars. Just trusted partners proven to perform.

Visit AP3.info to learn more and get connected with a partner.

News Links

Story 1 — O.C. Tanner: 2026 State of Employee Recognition

Story 2 — AI Predictive Analytics & Workforce Planning

Story 3 — The CEO Playbook: Business Bets on Healthcare

Support the show