“Nurturing a thriving workplace where relationships are strong, individuals are appreciated, and growth is empowered.”
What Is OARS?
OARS (Onboarding and Retention Success) is an evidence-informed workforce improvement framework developed by Empira to strengthen employee engagement, improve retention, reduce turnover, and create healthier workplace cultures in long-term care.
Recognizing that a stable, engaged workforce is essential to delivering high-quality, person-centered care, Empira developed OARS to address the organizational and relational factors that influence why employees choose to stay.
Developed and tested across 15 long-term care communities, including Cassia, Presbyterian Homes and Services, Saint Therese, and Volunteers of America, OARS moves beyond traditional recruitment and onboarding practices by focusing on the entire employee experience — from the first days of employment through ongoing engagement, professional development, and long-term retention.
At its core, OARS is built on a simple but powerful principle:
When employees feel known, valued, supported, and connected, they are more likely to stay and thrive.
Through eight interconnected strategies, OARS helps organizations establish everyday practices that strengthen relationships, elevate employee voices, foster belonging, and build a culture of appreciation and support.
The Eight OARS Strategies
The OARS framework incorporates eight interconnected strategies designed to support employees throughout their employment journey and strengthen organizational culture.
1. Know the Person
Building meaningful relationships from the beginning.
The foundational strategy of OARS focuses on understanding employees as individuals, including their interests, experiences, strengths, and what matters most to them.
Know the Person creates opportunities for authentic connections between employees, coworkers, and leaders, helping establish a workplace where everyone feels seen, known, and valued.
2. Mentoring
Creating connections that support success.
A structured mentoring approach connects new employees with experienced colleagues who provide guidance, encouragement, and ongoing support.
Mentoring helps employees develop relationships, navigate their new work environment, build confidence, and establish a sense of belonging.
3. Stay Interviews
Listening to employees before they decide to leave.
Stay interviews are intentional conversations that help leaders understand what employees value about their work, what challenges they experience, and what factors influence their decision to remain with an organization.
These conversations create opportunities to respond to employee needs, strengthen relationships, and make meaningful improvements before concerns lead to turnover.
4. Gratitude
Creating a culture of genuine appreciation.
The Gratitude strategy encourages purposeful recognition and appreciation of employees and their contributions.
By incorporating meaningful expressions of gratitude into everyday interactions, organizations reinforce employee value, strengthen relationships, and cultivate a more positive workplace culture.
5. Staff Surveys
Elevating employee voices to drive improvement.
Regular staff surveys provide opportunities for employees to share their experiences, perspectives, and suggestions.
Organizations use this feedback to identify strengths, address concerns, guide improvement efforts, and monitor changes in employee engagement and workplace culture.
6. Employee Newsletter
Strengthening communication, recognition, and connection.
The Employee Newsletter provides a consistent means of sharing information, recognizing accomplishments, celebrating successes, and strengthening connections throughout the organization.
It helps employees remain informed, engaged, and connected across departments, shifts, and roles.
7. Career Pathways
Supporting professional growth and opportunity.
Career Pathways focuses on creating meaningful opportunities for professional development, continued learning, and career advancement.
By supporting employee growth and helping individuals envision a future within the organization, this strategy strengthens engagement and encourages long-term commitment.
8. Wellness
Supporting the well-being of the whole person.
The Wellness strategy recognizes that employee well-being is essential to a healthy and sustainable workforce.
It encourages organizational practices, supportive resources, and activities that promote physical, emotional, and personal well-being, helping employees feel cared for both as individuals and as members of the workforce.
Demonstrating Measurable Impact
OARS was developed and tested across 15 long-term care communities. The initiative demonstrated meaningful improvements in workforce stability and employee retention, along with positive resident quality-of-life outcomes.
Workforce Outcomes
27.6% Lower Nursing Turnover
- Reduced nursing turnover supports workforce stability, continuity of care, and retention of organizational knowledge.
47.8% Higher Direct-Care Employee Retention
- Improved retention helps build consistent care teams and strengthen relationships between employees and residents.
67.5% Lower Agency/Pool Utilization
- Reduced reliance on temporary staffing supports greater staffing consistency and helps organizations better manage workforce expenses.
60.3% Higher CNA Retention
- Improved CNA retention supports continuity in daily caregiving relationships and a more stable direct-care workforce.
Resident Quality-of-Life Outcomes
The benefits of OARS extend beyond workforce stability. Improvements were also observed in resident quality of life, as measured through the Minnesota Nursing Home Resident Quality of Life & Consumer Satisfaction Survey.
5.1% Average Improvement in the Relationship Domain
8.7% Average Improvement in the Caregiving Domain
These findings reinforce the important connection between the employee experience, workforce stability, and resident quality of life.
Financial Impact
OARS also demonstrated the potential financial benefits of investing in employee engagement and retention.
The financial analysis estimated:
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$10.3 million in cost avoidance associated with workforce improvements.
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$5.8 million in net financial benefit after accounting for program investment.
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$2.29 return for every $1 invested in OARS.
These findings demonstrate how intentional workforce improvement strategies can contribute to organizational sustainability while supporting employees and residents.
Making OARS Sustainable
OARS is designed to become part of an organization's culture rather than a temporary program or collection of activities.
Successful implementation is supported by two essential structures.
Leadership Team
Provides organizational commitment, oversight, accountability, and the resources necessary to integrate OARS into everyday operations and improvement processes.
Champion Team
Engages employees in the strategies, encourages participation, strengthens communication, and helps sustain OARS practices throughout the organization.
Together, these teams support consistent implementation and help organizations embed the framework into their culture.
A Recipe, Not a Menu
One of the most important lessons from OARS is that its eight strategies are designed to work together.
Sustainable improvement requires implementing the framework as an interconnected approach rather than selecting individual activities.
By maintaining focus on the purpose behind the strategies, engaging leadership, and building systems for long-term sustainment, organizations can create meaningful improvements in employee experience and organizational culture.
Learn More About OARS
Empira is committed to sharing evidence-informed approaches that support workforce stability, organizational improvement, and better outcomes for older adults.
Through education, consultation, coaching, and implementation resources, Empira helps aging services organizations translate the lessons of OARS into sustainable practices.