February 13, 2025 How 3 Health Systems Stabilized Their Workforces by Supporting Nurse Managers

Health systems are working to stabilize their workforces and better support nurse managers, who play a critical role in care delivery, team engagement, and operational success. As workforce dynamics continue to change and staffing challenges persist, health systems are keeping pace by finding new ways to ease administrative burdens, improve team connections, and create more sustainable roles for their frontline leaders.

For health systems like El Camino Health, Novant Health, and MemorialCare, empowering nurse managers isn’t just about nurse retention—it’s about strengthening leadership, improving workflows, and fostering a culture where both managers and staff can thrive. By streamlining processes and leveraging technology, these systems are creating the conditions for stronger teams and better care delivery. Here’s how they’re making it happen:

1) Centralizing Data & Workflows for Efficiency

At El Camino Health, nurse managers were overwhelmed managing multiple systems and trying to find the key data needed to connect with their teams in timely and meaningful ways. As their Chief Nursing Officer put it, they “had to be adept in numerous systems, but did not have time to sift through them all to find the key data they needed to connect with their team members.” A core part of the solution was to centralize employee data and empower nurse managers by surfacing personalized, actionable insights in one place. Whether to celebrate birthdays or work milestones, recognize a job well done, or follow up with new hires, this streamlined approach saved time and made it easier for nurse managers to engage meaningfully with their teams. The result? A 7% reduction in RN turnover, proving that when managers have the right tools, they can focus on what truly matters.

2) Creating Time for Meaningful Team Interactions
At Novant Health, nursing leadership recognized that simplifying manager workflows could create the space for more regular, impactful interactions between nurse managers and their teams, which would in turn help bolster the broader nursing workforce. By reducing the number of systems their managers had to use each day, they not only eased administrative burdens and daily workflow complexity, but also unlocked more opportunities for meaningful leader-team interactions. With streamlined workflows and better visibility into their teams, nurse managers had more time for check-ins, recognition, time and attendance tracking, employee voice capture, and more—enhancing communication and engagement. These efforts resulted in a significant reduction in nurse turnover (over 15 percentage points) and helped save the system $90M in agency costs.

3) Using AI & Automation to Streamline Work

MemorialCare’s Chief Nursing Officers continuously ask, "How can we better support our nurse managers?" Like many other health systems, MemorialCare struggled with manual processes and siloed data, which bogged down managers and exacerbated burnout risk. Their answer? Simplify workflows and centralize employee information, giving nurse managers more time to focus on leadership and engagement. By automating reminders, generating insightful reports, leveraging AI-based recommendations, and consolidated daily work in fewer systems, MemorialCare was able to reduce burnout and improve engagement. The results were impressive: a 7% year-over-year improvement in leader index scores for certain managers and a significant drop in RN turnover. These efforts empowered managers to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time connecting with their team members. 

Key Takeaways: Technology is a Key Part of Holistic People Strategies
While technology plays a pivotal role in streamlining workflows and reducing administrative burdens, it’s comprehensive, people-centered approaches that truly drive engagement and retention. By simplifying manager work and elevating leader-team engagement, systems like El Camino, Novant, and MemorialCare are making meaningful improvements in workforce wellbeing and stability – and all are leveraging technology as a core part of  bigger, multi-faceted strategies to position their leaders and broader workforces for long-term success. 

Take the Next Step
Curious about how your organization can implement similar strategies to support managers and bolster the broader nursing workforce too? Explore how purpose-built technology for your frontline managers can help.