Kahuna Ladder for Healthcare Transforms Paper-Based Clinical Ladder Programs into Digital Powerhouses to Boost Engagement and Retention

By: Kahuna Workforce Solutions via Business Wire

July 01, 2025 at 10:34 AM EDT

With a national average RN turnover rate at 16.4%, U.S. hospitals and health organizations are shifting to digital methods to automate processes, improve transparency, elevate patient care, and boost retention

Kahuna Workforce Solutions, a leading skills and competency management SaaS platform, today announced the launch of Kahuna Ladder for healthcare, a cloud-based clinical ladder platform that provides a modern alternative to paper-based ladders. For hospitals and healthcare organizations struggling with nurse burnout and retention, Kahuna Ladder for healthcare unifies clinical competency data with automated, transparent career advancement in one purpose-built platform—resulting in better retention, stronger engagement, and measurable ROI.

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Kahuna Ladder is a digital clinical ladder that empowers nurses and allied health professionals to visualize their competency levels, track milestone achievements, and plan personalized career progression—all in one intuitive platform.

Kahuna’s digital clinical ladder platform can improve retention, increase internal mobility, and reduce turnover costs which can average $3.9M – $5.7M annually¹. Furthermore, with the national average RN turnover rate at 16.4%² and average turnover cost for each RN over $60K³, small improvements in RN retention can save hundreds of thousands annually.

“We are very excited about the potential of Kahuna’s new digital clinical ladder in how it will further enhance transparency with staff and leaders on where they are with their competency completion, and their ability to move into or up the ladder,” said Kahuna Workforce pilot customer, Lisa Tieman, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CPN at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago who is using the new platform to further enrich clinical advancement programs.

Nurses and allied health professionals often struggle with burnout, stress, heavy workloads, and limited opportunities for career growth. With an anticipated national shortage of 207,980 full-time equivalent (FTE) registered nurses by 2037,⁴ healthcare organizations must rethink their legacy approaches to attract and retain top talent, streamline professional development, and maintain high-quality patient care.

“The healthcare workforce is key to quality patient care. Turnover disrupts continuity of care, increases costs, and can compromise patient safety. Kahuna Ladder for healthcare is purposely built to break these barriers,” said Jai Shah, chief executive officer at Kahuna Workforce Solutions. “With thousands of hospitals and healthcare organizations struggling with ongoing talent shortages, digital technology like Kahuna’s new healthcare ladder is fundamentally changing how they operate their clinical advancement programs to be more effective in boosting retention.”

Unlike manual, paper-based tools or legacy HR systems not designed for clinical complexity, Kahuna Ladder for healthcare is purpose-built. The clinical Ladder platform integrates with a wide range of existing business systems including HRIS, LMS and more to deliver transparent, equitable criteria for professional growth. By automating workflows and providing actionable insights grounded in proven competency data, it ensures that advancement opportunities are fair, clear, and easy ultimately enhancing retention and job satisfaction across the organization.

Managers spend less time on administrative tasks and focus on educating, cross-training, and mobilizing the right resources to care for patients.
Employees gain transparency into their role expectations and requirements, empowering their professional development.
Executives evaluate workforce capabilities, plan for future demands and gain visibility into competency-based staffing with meaningful reporting.

Key benefits include:

Enhance Retention and Reduce Burnout. A structured, accessible pathway with clear growth opportunities reduces turnover and burnout. New skills and a sense of purpose and direction increase satisfaction and engagement, encouraging talented staff to remain with the organization in anticipation of pay-based incentives and upward mobility.
Gain Effortless Transparency in Professional Development. A transparent, accessible approach outlining expectations and requirements for career advancement encourages participation. Well-structured growth opportunities help support existing staff and attract new talent more effectively, especially during labor shortages.
Raise the Bar on Patient Care. Fresh knowledge, competencies and experiences often result in better patient care and improved outcomes. An emphasis on continuous professional development means nurses are equipped with the latest techniques to handle complex patient needs and quickly elevates care across the organization.
Build Trust Between Clinicians and Leadership. Kahuna’s clinical ladder lays a foundation for open communication, support, and recognition that promotes trust. As hard work is rewarded through promotions, pay increases, or added responsibilities, clinicians’ sense of belonging and purpose increases.
Establish and Maintain Designations. Digital tracking of designations and accreditation requirements, such as Magnet® and Pathway to Excellence® programs, helps efficiently achieve and maintain excellence designations. Kahuna’s clinical ladder automates the tracking of each required element, while convenient dashboards and reporting capabilities are additional time-saving advantages.

Kahuna’s skills and competency management SaaS platform, Kahuna Ladder, equips energy, manufacturing and healthcare organizations such as Memorial Hermann with actionable skill insights for effective assessment, training and development, and staffing and deployment initiatives. Kahuna’s platform integrates directly with leading business applications, providing leaders with a more holistic and actionable understanding of workforce skills and capabilities.

Most recently, Kahuna Workforce Solutions announced its Workday Certified Integration status, signifying Kahuna’s integration has met Workday’s rigorous standards for security, reliability, and interoperability. Workday customers who adopt Kahuna can streamline operational processes, improve compliance and optimize workforce planning with real-time, validated skills and competency insights.

Learn more about how Kahuna Ladder for healthcare can help your organization create a more competitive and skilled workforce by digitizing your clinical ladders.

About Kahuna Workforce Solutions

Kahuna Workforce Solutions is a leading skills and competency management SaaS platform designed for operations, learning and human resources. The platform provides enterprises with validated skills data, offering valuable insights into workforce capabilities, aligning talent supply and demand and maximizing training investments. Kahuna helps organizations build a more skilled, adaptable and competitive workforce. Learn more: kahunaworkforce.com.

¹2025 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report, p.6.

²2025 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report, p.6.

³2025 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report, p.5.

⁴National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Nurse Workforce Projects 2022-2037 (November 2024), p.1.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250701484500/en/

“With thousands of hospitals and healthcare organizations struggling with ongoing talent shortages, digital technology like Kahuna’s new healthcare ladder is fundamentally changing how they operate their clinical advancement programs."

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Media Contact:

Torrye Metoyer

Director of Marketing

torrye.metoyer@kahunaworkforce.com

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Kahuna Ladder for Healthcare Transforms Paper-Based Clinical Ladder Programs into Digital Powerhouses to Boost Engagement and Retention

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