Exploring Executive Leadership Turnover on Employee Engagement in Southwestern Hospice Organizations: A Qualitative Stud

Organizational leadership research scholars provided evidence that hospice executive director turnover is a common occurrence. The reasons ranged from a lack of experience, poor compensation, board of directors and employee conflict. More importantly, executives are confronted with performance challenges in a health care industry that is competitive and demanding. Hospice executive leadership generates a high performing organizational culture through employee investment approaches, such as learning and development, which is viable in achieving business goals. To bolster organizational progression and ensure continuous employee engagement that drives improvement, scholars suggest that understanding how turnover impacts efficiency can improve employee retention. In spite of an executive's knowledge and expertise, executive turnover continues to affect hospice organizations and employee engagement. Scholars suggested there are constructs to reduce the negative impact of an executive's departure. Having an awareness of this phenomenon can assist researchers in clarifying constructs needed to improve employee responses to change. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to analyze how executive leadership turnover impacted employee engagement and strategies employed to preserve worker commitment with a focal point directed towards quality improvement. The participants for this purposeful sampling method were nine employees from three hospice organizations located in the southwestern United States who experienced executive turnover. Data were collected using an online, semi-structured survey with open-ended questions. Results from this study indicated the relevancy of implementing approaches to maintain employee engagement during executive turnover. Five data themes emerged from the study that is paralleled current the literature review. First, future research recommendation includes extending studies to a larger sample size from hospice organizations in other demographic regions of the United States. Second, it would be beneficial for future research to include a review of the effectiveness of hospice communication processes as well as the under-utilization of employee assistance programs to address work-related or personal problems. Finally, to purview a broader perspective on employee engagement amid organizational adjustments, it would be advantageous for future studies to include hospice executives.