One thing that we all know is certain is change. Hospitals and health systems are adapting delivery models and strategies to remain viable for their communities. As more and more baby boomers retire, health care is undergoing a major demographic shift that is reshaping insurance coverage, reimbursement, C-suite recruiting and workforce staffing. In addition, technological advances aided by automation are redefining patient care.
These forces are creating uncertainty in health care for the foreseeable future. To address this, new approaches to succession planning are required of leaders and governing bodies. Together, they must develop a deliberate plan that serves their organization’s needs for years to come.
Every organization creates an annual capital plan to deploy resources to critical areas and ensure financial viability. Similarly, a board of trustees can use a mix of historical approaches to succession planning and new techniques for bench strength development. The result can be a deliberate succession plan to successfully execute strategy and minimize risk.
Historical approaches
Traditional succession planning has historically been used by boards of trustees to identify new leaders to replace the existing C-suite. Generally, this “next-up” approach has minimized gaps in leadership and prepared the organization for orderly transitions during a personnel change.
Mission-driven health care organizations with strong cultures have accomplished next-up succession planning by deliberately developing their executives for new roles. This plan ensured the organization remained focused on its mission to the community, where it also may have substantial economic impact as one of the largest employers.
Read the full story at Trustee magazine.