Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and health systems were grappling with a deep and widespread sense of exhaustion across the healthcare workforce. Morale had plummeted, and provider organizations were watching talented, compassionate people leave the industry altogether.
THE CHALLENGE
“It was more than just burnout; it was disillusionment,” said Shelley Parn, chief human resources officer at OSF Healthcare, a health system headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, and employing almost 26,000 clinicians and staff in 160 locations in Illinois and Michigan. “The environment felt like still water – stagnant and heavy. There was a palpable sense that something had to change.
“I didn’t need data to tell me we had a retention problem – our people were telling us with their feet,” she continued. “But the data confirmed the urgency. What became clear to us at OSF was that if we wanted to attract and retain the best people, we had to show that we truly cared.”
Cared not just about the work they do, but about who they are as individuals, she added.
“That meant going beyond surface-level perks to reimagine our ‘mission partner’ value proposition,” she explained, using the term OSF has for clinicians and staff. “We had to shift the experience of being a mission partner at OSF from something people inherit to something they choose – and keep choosing every day because they see a long-term path for themselves inside the organization.”
OSF Healthcare set a goal to become the employer of choice in every community it serves. That required a new approach – one rooted in development, choice and care for the whole person, Parn said. To help with this goal, the organization turned to Guild, its education benefit and talent development company that deploys a data-driven talent development platform.
“It’s a way we’ve been able to implement our commitment to invest in our people’s growth, their education and their future careers with us,” she said. “We’ve found when people feel seen, supported and empowered, they stay and they thrive.”
PROPOSAL
When OSF Healthcare looked at the turnover and burnout challenges it faced, it became clear that simply hoping for improvement wasn’t enough. It needed a strategic solution to the problem that supported its clinicians and staff while aligning with its organizational goals and long-term workforce needs.
“The proposal from Guild was compelling because it gave us a way to deliver a meaningful return on our investment in education while centering around the experience of our mission partners,” Parn said. “At its core, the proposal reimagined our education benefits with choice and accessibility in mind.
“We revamped our policy from the ground up,” she continued. “Mission partners became eligible on day one of employment, removing the old barriers that made education feel like a privilege for the few instead of a pathway for all. We eliminated clawbacks and service time requirements because we understand that life happens, and people may be called to different paths for any number of reasons.”
OSF also broadened eligibility to include PRNs and other flexible roles, making it easier for those at the margins to consider full-time employment down the line. Financial barriers were removed entirely in prioritized programs, including the creation of a fully funded nursing pathway.
That meant no upfront costs, no repayment worries – just opportunity. It was a proposal designed not only to support the current workforce but to build a stronger, more resilient talent pipeline for the future.
“Ultimately, this approach wasn’t just good for the organization or good for individual mission partners; it was good for the communities we serve,” she noted. “As we watched enrollments climb and mission partners successfully progress through programs in our own schools of nursing, it confirmed this was more than a benefit revamp. It was a foundational shift toward a culture of growth, empowerment and shared commitment.”
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
OSF Healthcare approached its talent development strategy with intentionality from the very beginning, engaging voices from across its ecosystem – both clinical and nonclinical – to ensure it was designing a solution that met the diverse needs of its clinicians and staff.
“Guild became a way to not only reimagine how we deliver education benefits but to align that effort with the long-term sustainability of our workforce,” Parn explained. “One of our greatest strengths is that OSF includes two nursing schools, St. Francis and St. Anthony, both of which have historically maintained some of the highest pass rates in the state.
“However, even with strong outcomes, enrollment had been declining,” she noted. “That’s where our work with Guild came in. Through our work together, we’ve seen a 35% increase in enrollment in our nursing schools.”
That alone would be a significant success, but it’s just part of the story.
“Guild helped us extend our reach beyond local pipelines to target areas of critical need, such as allied health roles, where our talent pipeline was limited,” Parn said. “Guild also enabled us to offer direct pay programs, eliminating the upfront financial burden of going back to school and thus opening up access for those who couldn’t afford to pay tuition out of pocket and wait months for reimbursement. This has been a huge unlock for us to broaden our talent pool.
“From an operational standpoint, Guild provides reporting to help us track participation, engagement and program outcomes in real time,” she continued. “This not only makes it easier to manage the program but also provides data that informs strategic workforce planning. In short, it’s a program that respects the needs of our people, strengthens our internal pipeline and ultimately supports our mission partners in their delivery of care.”
RESULTS
OSF Healthcare has seen significant results since launching its work with Guild, and the data tells a story of both impact and momentum.
“One of the most telling early indicators is that more than 40% of our new hires created a Guild profile within 10 days of joining OSF, despite it not being a required part of onboarding,” Parn reported. “That tells us the offering resonates and that it’s addressing the talent attraction and retention challenges we set out to solve.
“It’s a clear sign that people are hungry for growth opportunities within healthcare,” she continued. “The engagement doesn’t stop there – 12% of mission partners have taken the next step by enrolling in a program. Those are powerful numbers, especially when you consider the operational and financial hurdles that often stand between healthcare workers and continued education.”
OSF has removed those barriers and created real pathways for people to grow within the organization, she added.
“We’ve also seen hard, bottom-line impact,” she said. “We retained approximately 2,400 mission partners who, by traditional patterns, we would not have expected to stay. That level of retention, especially in the wake of COVID-era burnout, is a testament to how much people value an employer that invests in their future.
“Additionally, more than 130 internal promotions have been earned by current and prior Guild learners, including more than 50 in nursing and 80 in clinical support roles,” she continued. “Finally, the return on investment has been exceptional. We’ve seen more than a 200% return on every dollar spent on mission partner tuition, with more than 1,500 graduates completing programs through Guild since our launch in 2023.”
These results validate the strategy, she said, adding that it’s an initiative that is not only good for the teams and the communities served, but also smart for the business.
ADVICE FOR OTHERS
For healthcare organizations considering a talent development platform, Parn’s advice is to start with a clear understanding of goals and how this technology can support them.
“Whether you’re focused on filling hard-to-staff clinical roles, boosting retention across the workforce or offering broader access as a competitive talent acquisition tool, defining your objectives early will help you shape the right program structure,” she said. “With the right vendor, this type of platform is incredibly versatile, but it’s only as effective as the strategy behind it. Know what success looks like for your organization before you start.
“It’s also important to see this technology as a complement to your existing ecosystem,” she concluded. “Many health systems already have strong education stipends, apprenticeships or internal development programs tailored to specific roles. Rather than duplicate those efforts, look for ways the platform and program can fill gaps, expand access or serve different populations.”
Follow Bill’s HIT coverage on LinkedIn: Bill Siwicki
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Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
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