60% of C-suite execs hired from outside

More hospitals go outside of their organizations to recruit chief executives, according to survey results from Billian's HealthDATA and Porter Research.

Six in 10 hospital C-level executives are recruited externally, according to the results, with a similar split found for CEO recruitment specifically. Hospitals externally recruit chief operating officers (COOs) less often (27 percent of the time), and COOs are also the internal executives most likely to advance to CEO, representing 44 percent of internal promotions.

The survey also found:

  • Chief nursing officers (CNOs) stood the best chance of an internal promotion to COO, accounting for 17 percent of such cases.
  • Twenty-eight percent of new hires at the C-suite or director level were women. The plurality of those hires (38 percent) were CEOs, while 26 percent were CNOs and 13 percent were COOs.

The survey findings reflect a trend of more women serving as healthcare leaders, both in the hospital sector and among health insurers. As of this spring, women represent half of hospital COOs and one-third of chief financial officers, FierceHealthPayer previously reported.

The survey also found only 3 percent of placements are hired from outside the hospital/healthcare sector. This number may change sooner rather than later. A Black Book Rankings poll in late 2013 found that healthcare organizations' human resources departments are increasingly looking for leaders with backgrounds in finance, not healthcare; the poll projected a full two-thirds of hospital CEOs hired in 2014 will have a non-healthcare background, FierceHealthcare previously reported.

Healthcare organizations increasingly recruit hospitalists for C-suite positions for their practical knowledge of hospital operations, according to FierceHealthcare.

To learn more:
- read the survey results