Nebraska Medicine is a comprehensive regional health network employing over 9,000 healthcare team members across 70 specialties and primary care. It is considered one of the largest employers in the state.
In October 2022, Nebraska Medicine HR leaders began noticing a decline in employee engagement and a rise in open staff positions. Employee engagement and number of open positions represent key staffing indicators that the organization uses to measure the health of its employer brand. The indicators suggested that Nebraska Medicine had not yet fully overcome the recruitment and retention challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a widely respected brand, recognized as the "Best in State Employer" by Forbes, Nebraska Medicine’s leadership understood the importance of investing in a strong employer brand. As a result, they were looking for a solution that addresses current staffing and employee engagement challenges and secures a quality pipeline of top talent to support the organization’s long-term growth.
Empowered by senior leadership, the marketing and HR departments convened a cross-departmental team of internal stakeholders from Talent Acquisition, IT, and DEI to collaborate on enhancing the employer brand. With these key points of view represented, the internal marketing team additionally identified the need for an external partner to aid in distilling and connecting these unique perspectives into a unified plan. Enter Unlock Health.
Following initial meetings with leaders across HR, IT, and DEI, Unlock Health kicked off the strategic brand and campaign development in three phases:
The first phase of the campaign kicked off in March 2023 with brand discovery and research. This included client-provided recruitment and engagement data, Pulse survey data, and key stakeholder interviews. Additionally, the Unlock Health team conducted first-party research, such as employee focus groups, market/competitive research, social listening and employer brand workshops.
The insights gained in phase 1 led to the development of a reciprocal social contract between employees and employer that operationalizes their internal values in phase 2. By aligning on these guiding principles and core commitments, Unlock Health developed the employee value positioning (EVP) statement: Together. Extraordinary. Together. Extraordinary. reflected this reciprocal promise and commitment between Nebraska Medicine and its employees, including future employees.
In phase 3, between January – March 2024, Unlock Health developed the Together. Extraordinary. external campaign expression. The final execution phase occurred in March 2024, with an original photography shoot and TV shoot featuring current Nebraska Medicine employees.
Since the goal was also to boost brand awareness, Unlock Health strategically selected channels that aligned with this objective, including broadcast TV and cable, streaming video, radio, streaming audio, and out-of-home (OOH) advertisements. Additionally, digital display and social media tactics were implemented to increase engagement and direct audiences to the careers page to explore opportunities and apply.
On April 15th, the EVP “Together. Extraordinary.” campaign launched with a new “Careers” landing page, an updated LinkedIn page and a comprehensive, integrated marketing plan targeting job seekers and current staff in Omaha and Lincoln.
In the five months since its launch, the EVP campaign has already demonstrated significant results on employee engagement, brand preference and recruitment efforts. Voluntary turnover has decreased by more than 15% since the campaign launched, and overall turnover fell by 10% compared to the same fiscal quarter the previous year. Visits to the Careers landing page increased by 41% and the number of new applicants increased by 39%.
In terms of general brand awareness, the EVP campaign has also exceeded expectations, delivering 118% more impressions than projected. Video ads generated nearly 22.6 million impressions, radio ads 12.6 million, and out-of-home ads reached 210 million people. The video completion rate was 86.6%, with traditional media channels achieving up to 98.9%. Paid media contributed an additional 5.14 million impressions and 4,205 clicks.
This comprehensive approach, combining internal branding with external marketing efforts, has positioned Nebraska Medicine not only as an employer of choice but also as a leader in healthcare talent acquisition and retention. These efforts have already begun to transform Nebraska Medicine’s internal culture and brand perception, ensuring a sustainable pipeline of top-tier talent for years to come.
