Workforce Strategies 2030+ Building with Stewardship and Legacy in Mind

By: Sandra Pinette, VP Client Development at Professional

What makes great organizations stand the test of time? Their teams! What does building bench strength have to do with healthcare organizational stewardship and legacy?   What is the impact on building appropriate teams in critical areas for the long run?  

Let’s explore what workforce stewardship and legacy means.  Stewardship is by definition- “A practice committed to ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources.” Legacy encompasses “the long-lasting impact of past events and actions.” Healthcare by its nature is an industry built upon community, stewardship and legacy. Going as far back as the foundational roots in the Hippocratic oath.   Used by healthcare clinicians globally for centuries. At a high level, it emphasizes beneficence (doing good), non-maleficence (avoiding harm), confidentiality, and respect for life, colleagues and teachers.  This does not simply apply to clinicians, but to all those in healthcare organizations and by extension the communities they serve. So how do we connect this with stewardship, legacy and leaving our workforce in a better place than we found it?  

Queue recent and current events impacting healthcare teams. Shortages within certain markets and specialties due to an aging population (workforce and patients), increased acuity/demand for services, financial constraints and dwindling numbers of younger professionals entering the workforce and the seismic consequences of COVID.  As evidenced in the most recent US Labor Department Report which states the average age of healthcare workers is approximately 42 years old. The pandemic compounded these issues and put a spotlight on mental health challenges of those in healthcare, such as burnout. “Quiet quitting” hit all industries and became the norm for several industries. Alternative staffing models (i.e. gig workers), remote solutions and increased flexibility were deployed to address pre and immediate post pandemic shortages.

Fast forward to today’s environment and the lingering repercussions of COVID.  According to a Microsoft Work Index Report in June 2025. “The 9-5 workday is dead, and the infinite workday has replaced it.” It states that, “while the pandemic didn’t create an out of hours culture, it made it more normal.” Lines were blurred as employees worked remotely, juggling caregiving and other necessary activities. It does not appear that there will be a reset. The report showed that US employees receive 50 work-related messages outside of standard business hours, 40 percent who are online at 6am review emails, nearly 30 percent check emails after 10pm, and 1 in 5 review work correspondence on weekends. This has resulted in the trends such as “quiet cracking” and “revenge quitting.”

 While hard-to-fill open positions in healthcare continue, various industries are shedding jobs-technology, banking, retail, and manufacturing. A recent report in July 2025,  from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows that  the technology sector (the most effected from the list above) saw 89,251 layoffs so far in 2025, a 36% increase from the same period in 2024.    

New technologies and financial constraints are creating a mercurial job market.    Both have contributed to diminishing job opportunities for all career levels in multiple industries. Advanced technology and innovation have been double-edged swords for millennia in how work is performed and completed. Groundbreaking advancements have created drastic changes locally, nationally and globally-revolutionizing how we live and work. Recall historical events like the industrial revolution, computing over the last 75 years, transportation, and now the various ideations of AI (generative, adaptive, ambient). Many in healthcare are being charged with leveraging evolving technologies like AI to see if it can strike a balance between creating efficiencies while ensuring that optimal levels of staff are maintained.

How then with all the external factors of a diverse workforce demographic and urgency to utilize breakthrough technologies do healthcare providers-attract, hire and retain appropriate team members for the short- and long-term stewardship of their organizations and communities?        

Other industries, along with healthcare, have been tackling the same concerns. I mentioned above the technology sector is taking big hits with layoffs and worker displacement this year. Several sources are pointing to AI as the culprit specifically with early careerists/Gen Z. Additionally, industries like banking/financial services and retail are increasingly shifting due to emerging automation and digital platforms for their consumers. 

Is there a path for those who have been in other industries (early, mid, senior) careerists to migrate into certain healthcare roles? How is healthcare courting these resources to create teams that can drive business continuity for today and the future? How can technologies be folded into processes to optimize productivity, revenue and team satisfaction? Recently, LinkedIn spotlighted the top 25 metropolitan areas as CitiesontheRiseUS due to the opportunities for job hunters. Healthcare and hospitals were consistently listed as top hiring sources. The article points to a variety of methods being used to attract early, mid and senior level candidates. One southeast system focuses on early careerists for initial recruitment, but also offers pathways for growth through career coaching, working with community organizations and offering training programs which can also benefit those bringing experience from outside healthcare. Several hospitals are working on attracting job seekers with external industry skills that can augment areas with outside experiences. A multiple state academic medical system in the Northeast is actively recognizing the viability of those with transferable skills. Technology and financial services backgrounds have been identified as areas which could have symmetry within the healthcare scope. Many of these industries have been pioneers with developing and deploying new technologies concurrently with process improvements.     

Regardless of the makeup of the teams built, use of these evolving technologies has been met with mixed results and changing viewpoints on how best to deploy them.    “Flipping the switch” and hoping for the best or trusting that solutions will perform as designed is no longer an option. It is up to organizations to understand that human-centric use and measurement of these solutions is mission critical for overall stewardship and legacy of the industry and the patients we serve. Let’s look forward together to ensure enduring support for our teams and our communities.