Poudre Valley Health System developed a strategy in 1998 to create a "sticky" organization by using Opposite Strengths as a common language to attract and retain employees. They trained 5,400 employees in Opposite Strengths, reducing voluntary turnover from 23% to 4% and saving $32 million annually. This collaborative culture led to numerous awards and PVHS's merger in 2012 to form University of Colorado Health, continuing to use Opposite Strengths to shape the new organization's culture.

1. © 2013 Opposite Strengths, Inc. www.oppositestrengths.com Page 1 of 2
Case Study
Executive Summary
Poudre Valley Health System
Fort Collins, Colorado
Strategizing for a Sticky Organization
In 1998, under the leadership of CEO Rulon Stacey, PhD, FACHE, PVHS
developed a consensus of the Board of Directors and senior management to
embark on a mission of creating a community within the organization by
transforming PVHS into a “sticky” organization – an organization that
attracts and retains a highly engaged workforce. To accomplish this mission,
PVHS embraced Opposite Strengths®
as a common language of
communication and teamwork among all its employees.
Infusing Opposite Strengths into the PVHS Culture
Starting with Dr. Stacey’s senior management team and the Board of
Directors of PVHS in 1998, PVHS began incorporating Opposite Strengths
as a common language of communication at the levels of senior management
and governance. This support and inclusion was seen as crucial in creating
acceptance of Opposite Strengths among all PVHS employees.
Since the beginning in 1998 through June 2013, 5,400 PVHS employees
have learned the Opposite Strengths language.
“Stickiness” – Attracting and Retaining
The first part of creating a “sticky” organization is attracting the best and
brightest people to apply for positions created both by turnover and by
organizational growth. When an organization becomes attractive, costs of
hiring and recruiting are reduced. Dr. Stacey reported that, in 2006 for
example, PVHS had 800 open positions and 41,000 applicants – 51
applicants per position.

2. © 2013 Opposite Strengths, Inc. www.oppositestrengths.com Page 2 of 2
The second and equally important other measure of the “stickiness” of an
organization is the voluntary-turnover rate. In 1998, the year that PVHS
began to measure the voluntary-turnover rate, the voluntary-turnover rate at
PVHS was 23%. After the first 10 years of using Opposite Strengths and
seeing a steady decline in voluntary turnover, the voluntary-turnover rate for
2007 had dropped to 4% – and has stayed at that range ever since.
The executives’ strategy of using Opposite Strengths as a foundation for
creating a team-oriented, collaborative culture worked. As Dr. Stacey
proclaimed, "Infusing the Opposite Strengths language into our culture has
totally transformed our organization and made it a leader in our industry
today."
Financial Benefit to PVHS
Due to its lower voluntary-turnover rate compared to the industry average,
PVHS saves approximately $32,000,000 each year in direct costs related to
voluntary turnover.
Accolades
Thomson Healthcare has named Poudre Valley Hospital a Top 100 Hospital
repeatedly in the past 10 years. Modern Healthcare has named PVHS one of
America’s 100 best places to work in healthcare in multiple years.
In 2008 PVHS won the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award – one of only three organizations and the only healthcare
organization to win that year.
Going Forward
In 2012 PVHS merged with the award winning University of Colorado
Hospital of Denver and Memorial Healthcare System of Colorado Springs to
create a new 16,000-employee healthcare system – University of Colorado
Health. The continuing process of infusing the Opposite Strengths language
throughout the newly formed University of Colorado Health ensures that the
PVHS team-oriented and collaborative culture will take hold in the new and
larger University of Colorado Health culture.