First published by HealthLeaders
When North Mississippi Health Services (NMHS) looks at their workforce metrics today, the impact of their frontline-focused initiatives is clear: $2.7 million in savings over three years, three consecutive years of rising employee engagement scores, and a seven-percentage-point drop in turnover rates. For a large rural health system serving 24 counties across Mississippi and Alabama with over 7,000 employees, these aren't just numbers, they represent employees who feel valued, frontline leaders who now have time to connect, and a workplace culture intentionally strengthened from the ground up.
The transformation began in 2022, as the intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic started to ease. Like many health systems, NMHS found itself at a crossroads. The operational challenges of the pandemic had taken their toll, and leadership knew they needed to shift from reactive crisis management to something more sustainable. They wanted to refocus on clear values that would help support their goal of creating a culture around servant leadership: connection, accountability, and communication. "We made the decision to stop focusing on the past and move forward to make things best in class as a healthcare organization," said Kristen Long, CNE of North Mississippi Medical Center-Tupelo.
The challenges NMHS faced were ones that many healthcare leaders know all too well. Employee engagement and recognition efforts relied on manual, paper-based processes that made consistency nearly impossible across eight hospitals and dozens of clinics. Additionally, employee data lived in disparate systems, creating administrative burden for managers who were already stretched thin. On top of that, nursing and HR executives lacked sufficient visibility into what was happening on the frontlines. "We knew we had a lot of data across the organization, but we needed a better way to turn it into action," explained Sondra Davis, CHRO of NMHS. "Ultimately, we wanted to find something that was a transformational tool instead of just an incremental improvement."
When NMHS engaged Laudio in late 2022, the response was immediate. Frontline leaders found that instead of adding to their workload, the Laudio platform was actually simplifying it by centralizing workflows like new-hire check-ins, recognition, engagement surveys, and one-on-one follow-ups in one place. Automated tasks further freed up leaders’ capacity, while AI-driven recommendations surfaced high-impact opportunities to engage with their teams – from celebrating a milestone to expressing gratitude for going above and beyond. "Often, new technology can feel like just another thing," Long noted. "But this wasn't adding work—it was streamlining it. It was making things easier."
What began as a targeted nursing initiative evolved into something much bigger. Within months, NMHS expanded Laudio enterprise-wide to 370+ leaders across all departments—clinical and non-clinical alike. The impact showed up fast. Within the first year, nursing engagement scores jumped eight points—a massive leap, especially for a system of NMHS's size and scope. The momentum continued with an additional seven-point increase the following year. By 2025, NMHS's employee satisfaction scores placed them in the top quartile nationally for healthcare organizations.
For executives, Laudio provided something equally valuable: real-time visibility across their geographically dispersed workforce. "I love that I can go in and see rounds being done, celebrate team members on their birthdays or milestones, and read leaders' notes," said Long. "It gives me a real-time view of our workforce and helps me connect personally with staff across different facilities."
The validation of the platform’s impact was cemented when NMHS recently started a project to replace their homegrown HR software with an enterprise HRIS. Leadership insisted on retaining Laudio, recognizing how it complements rather than competes with HRIS tools as a centralized workflow hub for leaders' daily work and engagement with their teams. "Ultimately, Laudio is making it easier for our leaders to engage and communicate with their teams in a meaningful way," Davis reflected. "People are feeling seen, validated, and recognized."