Health systems’ information technology employees are feeling the effects of industry volatility and unsatisfied with their prospects for advancement, according to a recent survey.
Bloomforce, a company providing staffing support and recruiting services to healthcare providers, surveyed nearly 300 IT professionals regarding the state of their careers. The respondents — most of whom worked at large health systems — ranged in experience from entry-level application analysts to managers.
Related: Why health systems are dropping their IT teams
The survey, published last week, revealed many health system IT workers are not thrilled with their employers. The survey found that 77% of respondents are seeking new jobs or plan to do so in the new year. The desire is driven by the employees’ perceived lack of upward mobility at their current jobs, Bloomforce analysts said in a report accompanying the survey results.
Merger and acquisition activity could also affect IT employee turnover. More than one-third of the respondents are working at an organization that has either merged or been acquired by other companies over the course of 2023. An overwhelming majority of those respondents — 80% — plan to search for a new job in the coming year.
Job satisfaction was highest at academic medical centers and lowest at managed services companies, which are contracted by health systems that outsource IT. Although workers at such organizations start with a higher salary, they tend to have lower maximum earnings, according to the survey.
Many health systems are transitioning their analytics and technology employees to such managed service companies as they look to scale virtual care, artificial intelligence and analytics initiatives. By moving the work and the employees out-of-house — a process called rebadging — health systems struggling with razor-thin margins say they can deploy IT projects more efficiently while saving on costs.
Not all changes have triggered dissatisfaction. After the COVID-19 public health emergency ended, many health systems also stopped requiring non-clinical employees to come in five days per week. Seven out of 10 IT workers are fully remote, Bloomforce found, with only 6% going into an office every day. Nearly three-fourths of fully remote workers said they feel connected to their colleagues — and if there were a requirement to go back into the office, 62% said they’d seek another remote job.
