Improve nurse retention

Give your nurses more reasons to stay

First-year nurse turnover is one of the most expensive and disruptive workforce challenges facing health systems. The average cost to replace a nurse exceeds $60,000. With Firstup, nurses get the right information, support, connection, and encouragement at the moments that matter. Give every new nurse a stronger start—and more reasons to stay.

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Start nurse retention on day one

With a 22%+ national first-year turnover rate, it is critical for new nurses to establish a relationship with their organization from day one. Firstup helps health systems create structured workflows built specifically to connect with nurses that continue beyond traditional onboarding using timely, role-specific content and touchpoints designed around the clinical experience and milestones for a first-year nurse.

Reach nurses where they workUse mobile-first communication to reach nurses on the floor and in the flow of their day, optimized with email, push notifications, and in-app experiences. Give nurses easy access to the information and resources they need—when and where they need them.

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Nebraska Medicine reduces first-year turnover by 15% with Firstup

Firstup customer Nebraska Medicine used Firstup Journeys to deliver structured, automated communication programs to frontline employees in the flow of their workday. 16% decrease in voluntary turnover year over year 15% decrease in first-year turnover 10% decrease in total turnover

Read their story

Meet the Firstup Nurse Retention solution

Day 1
Welcome, orientation, and where to go for answers.
Email • In-app
Week 1
Expectations, safety protocols, and scheduling.
Email • Push • In-app
30 days
Check-ins, coaching, and recognition.
Push • In-app
90 days
Culture reinforcement and engagement checkpoint.
Email • Push
1 year
Milestone recognition and growth path.
Email • In-app

A ready-to-deploy retention solution built specifically for nurses—providing health systems a head start, not a blank canvas.

Instead of building a first-year nurse retention program from scratch, Firstup provides health systems with pre-configured templates and customizable draft content, infused with best practices, and informed by experience that's driven nurse retention across some of the nation's largest health systems.

Preconfigured 12-month nurse journey: Engage first-year nurses with a structured sequence of communications designed around their needs and key milestones.
Content ready to customize: Start with draft content and journey templates that are 80-90% complete, then tailor the remaining 10-20% to your brand, workforce, programs, and initiatives.
Mobile-first communication: Reach nurses wherever they work through mobile-friendly experiences, push notifications, email, and in-app content.
AI-personalized experiences: Deliver more relevant communication based on employee data and individual attributes.
HRIS-triggered journeys: Use HRIS data to automatically trigger communications based on events such as a nurse's start date.
Manager enablement: Build manager check-ins, coaching, and recognition into the nurse journey.
Pulse surveys and feedback loop: Listen to nurses throughout their first year and use engagement data to identify opportunities to improve their experience.
Recognition, connection, and mentorship: Create moments that reinforce progress, celebrate milestones, encourage peer connection, and support relationships.
Custom analytics and reporting: Track new-nurse retention and engagement throughout the lifecycle of the program.
Embedded with best practices: Apply strategies created by communications experts with experience creating programs that improve retention through communications and employee engagement.

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What it's worth when you get it right

Forrester Consulting found that a composite organization with 10,000 employees who used Firstup reduced attrition and avoided millions in replacement costs.

Source: “The Total Economic Impact™ of Firstup,” a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Firstup, 2026.

Key results:

$8.9M

in total benefits (based on 10k employees)

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ROI

Read the Report

Hear from Firstup customers

Leading healthcare organizations share how they created a modern, engaging communication experience to improve retention, lower the cost of replacing talent, and build cultures where employees want to stay.

Explore customer stories

Cooper University Health Care unifies communication for 10,000+ staff

See how Cooper University Health Care unified employee communication with Firstup—reaching over 10,000 staff with streamlined, personalized messaging.

Read their story