The success of a healthcare organization centers on the strength of its current and future workforce. As widespread talent challenges persist, understanding what matters most to employees is crucial. Using that information to build a culture and execute on critical talent initiatives to support both the needs
of the business and its people will be a differentiating factor in which organizations are able to attract and retain the talent needed to thrive.
Huron surveyed 715 healthcare workers, including clinicians, nurses, staff, and leaders, about what they value in their workplaces and their satisfaction with those factors. This
unique approach to measuring healthcare worker sentiment provides new data and insights into where leaders are united
and divided in the workplace.
Key differences emerged between leaders’ beliefs about
what is important to staff and what employees actually value.
This variation signals an opportunity for organizations to make meaningful changes to how and where they invest in employee retention and recruitment.
Find out what unique talent opportunities exist within your organization.
Healthcare Talent Research:
Top Opportunities for Leaders
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Misalignment Between Leaders
and Employees Uncovers
Opportunities to Refocus
Leaders
300
Who We Surveyed
staff
210
nurses
103
physicians
102
What’s most important
to healthcare workers?
• Health insurance and coverage
• Professional growth opportunities
• Digital, technology, and analytics
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
• Competitive salary
• Workload
• Role alignment
Health insurance and coverage
Transportation benefits
Retirement package
Organization’s environmental sustainability
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
What are healthcare workers most and least satisfied with?
Workload
Workplace variability
Scheduling flexibility
Competitive salary
Formal recognition
Where are leaders misaligned with staff?
Comparing what staff says drives engagement and retention and what leaders believe employees want reveals leaders’ blind spots and surfaces overlooked opportunities for improvement within an organization.
Executives only correctly identified six of the top 10 opportunities to improve staff's job experience.
1. Workload
2. Competitive salary
3. Health insurance and coverage
4. Professional growth opportunities
5. Role alignment
6. Work-life balance
7. Digital, technology, and analytics
8. DEI
9. Feeling valued
10. Leadership excellence
1. Workload
2. Competitive salary
3. Work-life balance
4. Paid time off (PTO)
5. Role alignment
6. Leadership excellence
7. Competitive annual bonus and incentives
8. Health insurance and coverage
9. Scheduling flexibility
10. Team rapport
Areas of Improvement
Identified by Staff
Areas of Improvement
Perceived by Management
Bold item = Correctly identified by leaders
64%
of respondents report feeling burned out more than a few times a month over the past six months.
of burned-out respondents are considering leaving their current position in the next 12 months.
31%
• Lack of work-life balance
• Long work hours
• Emotional exhaustion or stress
• Lack of breaks or ability to take breaks
• Lack of control or flexibility over work schedule
Staff-only factor
• Unreasonable time pressures
Management-only factor
• Inadequate technology or equipment needed to perform my job
Top Factors Contributing to Burnout
Widespread Burnout
A deeper look at workplace factors by role provides a starting place for leaders to enhance or pull back on initiatives. Although factors such as work-life balance can be challenging to improve in the healthcare setting, the results highlight several lower-investment opportunities for organizations, including formal recognition, role alignment, professional growth opportunities, feeling valued, and team rapport. With this guidance, leaders can place a sharper focus on investments that drive employee engagement and experience, strengthen culture, and bolster retention and recruitment strategies.
Opportunities Emerge
Leaders Can Work Smarter, Not Harder, by Targeting Less Obvious Retention Strategies
Workload
Health insurance and coverage
Team rapport
Leadership excellence
Safe environment
Role alignment
Workload
Health insurance and coverage
Role alignment
Paid time off (PTO)
Safe environment
Mission and values
Workload
Role alignment
Work-life balance
DEI
Formal recognition
Mission and values
Workload
Work-life balance
Health insurance and coverage
Paid time off (PTO)
Annual bonus and financial incentives
DEI
Nurses
physicians
Finance, Operations,
and Marketing Staff
Tech and Digital Staff
maintain
Leaders should continue their efforts.
Leaders should increase their efforts.
focus
Leaders should decrease their efforts.
reallocate
Role alignment
Professional growth opportunities
Technology and analytics
Retirement package
Organizational execution
Child and elder support
Health insurance and coverage
Retirement package
Professional growth opportunities
Competitive salary
Mental health and wellness
Digital, technology, and analytics
Competitive salary
Professional growth opportunities
Feeling valued
DEI
Digital, technology, and analytics
Organization’s environmental sustainability
Professional growth opportunities
Competitive salary
Feeling valued
Scheduling flexibility
DEI
Formal recognition
Where can leaders increase and continue their focus?
Huron's research highlights gaps between what staff values and what employers believe drives a best-in-class workforce strategy. The research indicates that talent strategies must evolve to better support employee needs and values. Organizations will need a holistic, people-focused approach to secure the best talent and ensure the sustainability of their businesses. There are opportunities to not only improve retention and recruitment but become an employer of choice for those willing to listen and act.
Leadership excellence
Mental health and wellness
Mission and values
Scheduling flexibility
Transportation benefits
Annual bonus and financial incentives
Scheduling flexibility
Leadership excellence
Team rapport
Child and elder support
Leadership excellence
Work-life balance
Team rapport
Child and elder support
Workplace variability
Child and elder support
Click the sections below to see where leaders should maintain, focus, and reallocate their efforts.
Blind Spots
On Track
MISSING THE MARK
On track
Workload
Role alignment
Competitive salary
Health insurance and coverage
Hover to explore
Improvement areas identified by staff, not perceived by management
Improvement areas identified by staff and perceived by management
Improvement areas perceived by management, not identified by staff
On Track
Leadership excellence
Work-life balance
Team rapport
Scheduling flexibility
Competitive annual bonus and incentives
Paid time off (PTO)
Missing the mark
Feeling valued
Diversity, equity,
and inclusion
Digital, technology, and analytics
Professional growth opportunities
Blind Spots
Improvement areas identified by staff and perceived by management
Improvement areas identified by staff and perceived by management
Missing the mark
Improvement areas perceived by management, not identified by staff