What mission-driven organizations need to know about engaging and retaining people
In healthcare, most people don’t start their careers chasing perks or titles. They show up because they care. Because they want to make a difference. Because they feel a calling.
But what begins as purpose too often fades into pressure.
Long hours. Lean staffing. Unrelenting demands. Over time, the calling starts to feel like a burden. The same story is playing out in education, nonprofit work, human services and other purpose-driven fields. But in healthcare, the stakes are especially high and the fallout is already here.
Today, 58% of health system executives name workforce challenges as their #1 concern for 20251 and nurse turnover alone costs up to $5.7 million annually per health system2. This crisis is taking a financial toll and destroying healthcare from within.
Employees aren’t asking “Why am I burned out?”
They’re asking “Why healthcare? Why now? Why here?”
And your ability to answer those questions clearly, authentically and consistently can determine whether they stay or leave. That’s where mission-driven internal communication becomes mission-critical.
Why healthcare? Reconnecting to purpose
Purpose brought employees into the profession, but it isn’t enough to keep them. When the pressures don’t stop, even the most committed professionals can begin to question whether it’s worth it. They’re exhausted, disconnected and at a tipping point.
That disconnection is dangerous. Once people stop feeling the impact of their work, it becomes harder to stay.
How internal comms can help
Internal comms can reawaken a sense of purpose—not with platitudes, but with stories that reflect the real impact of the work across every role.
What to do:
- Showcase hidden heroes: From bedside nurses and transport teams to lab techs and cleaning crews, spotlight how every role supports quality care and patient outcomes. Help people see the ripple effect of their work.
- Tie daily tasks to bigger outcomes: Make it easy for employees to connect what they do with the impact of their work.
Why it matters: When people feel their contributions are seen and valued, they reconnect to the reason they came in the first place and that makes all the difference.
Why now? Believing change is possible
Everyone in healthcare knows what it’s like to work short-staffed, to work tired and to do more with less. People have finally hit their limit.
They’re asking, Why keep doing this? What’s actually changing? If the answer is “more of the same,” they’ll look elsewhere. And many already are.
How internal comms can help
Internal communication bridges the gap between hardship and hope. It doesn’t sugarcoat reality. It acknowledges it and shows what’s being done to improve it.
What to do:
- Lead with honesty: Share how leadership is listening and what they’re doing in response. Show change in action, not just change in planning.
- Promote underused resources: Highlight benefits and programs that can make life easier, but that people might not know exist.
Why it matters: People won’t believe in change unless they see it. Internal comms makes progress visible and that visibility builds belief.
Why here? Making the choice to stay
Today’s healthcare workers aren’t just deciding whether to stay in healthcare, they’re deciding whether to stay with your organization. In a competitive market, your employee experience is your employer brand.
They want to know: Is this a place that shows up for its people—not only in the easy moments, but in the messy, difficult ones too?
How internal comms can help
Internal comms can reinforce culture, surface support resources and connect what leaders say with the day-to-day experience of their people and what matters to them.
What to do:
- Earn trust through transparency: Use communications to openly share how decisions are made, how values guide actions and where progress is still needed.
- Celebrate employee care: Tell stories that highlight how your organization supports its people, not just its patients.
- Invite voices in: Use internal channels to elevate employee feedback and show how it shapes decisions.
Why it matters: When employees see that their well-being is a priority, they’re more likely to stay and to recommend your organization to others.
From retention hope to retention strategy
Right now, hospitals and health systems are locked in a costly battle for talent. But hiring won’t fix the issues that are driving people from the profession.
To compete—and more importantly, to engage your workforce—you need to help your people answer:
- Why healthcare?
- Why now?
- Why here?
If you can’t, someone else will.
But this isn’t just a healthcare problem. Any mission-driven organization that relies on passionate people needs to reckon with the same truth: purpose gets worn down over time. And it’s not enough to expect people to “remember their why” in the face of systemic challenges.
Internal comms is a strategic, employee engagement lever. One that can rebuild trust, reinforce purpose and shift retention from wishful thinking to intentional, measurable impact.
Final takeaway
The healthcare workforce is at a breaking point, but your organization doesn’t have to be part of the burnout cycle.
With consistent, transparent and human-centered internal communication, you can help your people re-engage with the work that matters. You can make purpose feel possible again.
The same holds across any mission-driven sector: If you want people to stay, show them what’s real, not just what’s promised and demonstrate your commitment to them.
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