Overview
About Children's Nebraska
Children’s Nebraska is the state’s only paediatric health system and a nationally recognised leader in specialised care. With over 4,000 employees across three states, the organisation balances high-acuity medicine with a compassion-first culture. In 2023, their annual engagement survey revealed a clear opportunity: only 63% of employees felt valued. Leadership wanted to implement programmes to improve the employee experience and give back to the caregivers who spend their days assisting patients and other staff.
Through a strategic partnership with Awardco, Children’s Nebraska launched Sunshine—a recognition platform that lives up to its name, spreading warmth, energy, and belonging across the organisation.
The Challenge
Creating a culture of recognition in a demanding, distributed environment
Between high patient volume, rotating shifts, and emotionally demanding roles, recognition in a hospital environment can be inconsistent or nonexistent. Children’s Nebraska needed to make appreciation more accessible, visible, values-driven, and—most importantly—sustainable. They also wanted a system that reached every department and role, regardless of schedule or seniority.
In healthcare, burnout is real. Leaders at Children’s Nebraska knew that caring for the caregiver would be essential to building a healthy culture. They wanted a streamlined way to gather small wins, reinforce wellbeing, and make it easy for peers to lift one another up—even in fast-paced clinical settings.
“We knew it needed to be something that was easy to use, because in healthcare, the first priority is always the patient.” -- Madeline Quinn, Employee Experience Manager
The Solution
Sunshine: A branded platform with depth and reach
The Sunshine programme launched in two phases:
- Phase 1: A universal recognition programme + Service Anniversary Awards, designed to set the foundation and make every recognition feel intentional.
- Phase 2: Expansion into specialised programmes like the Nightingale Award for nurses, AwardCodes at nurse stations, and integrations with leadership tools to empower more consistent participation.
Implementation of the programme spread immediate light amongst the entire employee base at Children’s Nebraska. Quickly, recognition became both purposeful and operational—reinforcing culture while supporting wellness, career goals, and retention in an industry that is constantly challenged by burnout.
The Results
Survey and retention gains
- Recognition scores became the most improved category in the 2024 engagement survey
- Children’s Nebraska exceeded its retention goals every month of the year
- Survey scores for recognition now exceed industry benchmarks by 11.4 points
Data-driven cultural change
- Employees recognised within their first 3 months were 20% less likely to leave
- Those with wellness recognitions also gave and received more peer recognition—showing a compounding cultural effect
Record-breaking participation
- Over 273k recognitions submitted and 189k logins since launch
- 85% of employees have actively participated in recognition – spreading positivity throughout the entire organisation!
