Future hospital CEOs will have little to no healthcare experience suggests a report detailing developing trends impacting how headhunters will seek candidates.
A Black Book Rankings poll of 1,404 healthcare provider organizations’ human resources officers and board members estimates that two-thirds of CEOs hired in 2014 will have little to no healthcare sector experience. According to respondents, only 39 percent of CEOs hired in 2013 came from another hospital CEO position, down from 79 percent in a 2009 Black Book survey.
[See also: Finding the perfect hospital CFO]
Skills in business development and financial management, as well as technological expertise, are taking precedence over healthcare organization experience.
“Widening an executive search to other industries can help you land someone whose experience and perspective can raise your game to the next level,” said Doug Brown, managing partner of Black Book, said in a news release announcing the poll results.
It’s not just hospitals looking outside the industry. Payers, chains, ancillaries, ACOs, support firms, vendors, medical product manufacturers and pharmaceutical firms are tapping other top talent, a major shift from the “healthcare industry experience only” mindset for executive placement that has prevailed since the 1970s, according to corresponding Black Book 2013 surveys.
Other poll findings include:
- The average tenure of a hospital CEO is under 3.5 years.
- 56 percent of CEO exits are involuntary.
- Nearly half of CFOs, CIOs and COOs are terminated within nine months of a new CEO’s hire, as well as 32 percent of chief human resource officers and 24 percent of chief marketing officers.
- 87 percent of chief medical officers are replaced soonest, most within two months, after a new CEO is appointed.
- 94 percent of new CEOs without extensive hospital backgrounds indicate they do not believe healthcare expertise is required for replacing other senior leadership team members after a management overhaul.
- 89 percent of board members hiring outsiders agree that broad business operational expertise and singular vision pays off with fresh perspectives on efficiencies, value, cost savings, and the goodwill to the community.
- The most intriguing new hospital CEO candidates are emerging from the venture capital, private equity industry (according to 42 percent of survey participants), finance and accounting (40 percent), banking (32 percent), technology (22 percent), marketing and sales (19 percent), not-for-profits (14 percent) and pharma/biotech (12 percent).
The Black Book report also ranked healthcare search firms (from a field of 1,000 firms) based on client satisfaction. Cejka Search took the top spot. Others (in alphabetical order) included B.E. Smith, Baumann & Associates, Buffkin Group, Furst Group, Grant Cooper & Associates, Healthcare Recruitment Specialists, Heidrick & Struggles, Korn/Ferry International, Merrraine Group, MSA Executive Search, Quick Leonard Kieffer, Reaction Stuart International, Russell Reynolds Associates, Solomonpage Group, Spencer Stuart, SSI Search, Tyler & Company, Witt/Kieffer and ZurickDavis.
This story is based on a report appearing on HealthcareITNews.