Nearly Half of Healthcare Leaders Plan to Exit Their Organization Within Next Year

A new survey reveals how turnover in the workforce is trending and why executives are looking elsewhere.

Healthcare organizations aren't just contending with high levels of turnover with their clinical workers—they're also facing significant change among their leadership.

That level of change is expected to increase in the coming year with almost half of provider executives intending to leave their organizations, according to a survey by B.E. Smith, a division of staffing solutions company AMN Healthcare.

Responses were collected from 588 leaders, ranging from management to the C-suite, with 73% working in health systems and hospital, 10% in clinics/group practices, 3% in post-acute facilities, and 14% in urgent care centers, medical schools, and other care settings.

Forty-six percent of respondents said they plan to exit their organizations within the next 12 months, while 26% stated they would do so either immediately or within the next sixth months. Nearly three out of four leaders (74%) said they were approached with a job opportunity in the past six months, with 17% pursued it.

One of the reasons executives are having wandering eyes is the decline in job satisfaction. Seventy-nine percent said they were extremely or somewhat satisfied with their job, compared to 82% last year. Those identifying as extremely satisfied dropped from 38% to 32%.

Tenure is also a major factor in leaders' intention to leave. Respondents who had been with their current organization for more than 10 years were the least likely to consider exiting, while those with one to five years of tenure were the most likely to contemplate leaving.

To improve retention efforts and get executives to stay, organizations should target the factors that leaders value most, including organizational culture (44%), colleagues (39%), and compensation package (38%).

Fortifying the workforce and reducing turnover should improve the outlook of executives going forward. Currently, 34% of respondents expect the financial and operational conditions at their organizations to improve in 2024, with 48% expecting no change, and 18% anticipating conditions to worsen.

When it comes to the financial and operational conditions facing the industry, 30% expect conditions to be better, while 39% expect no change, and 30% expect them to be worse.