In the years since warning flags were first raised about a looming physician shortage, healthcare leaders have come to understand that the best way to minimize physician recruitment problems is to retain the physicians they already have on staff. Despite this, according to an MGMA Stat poll, only 15% of medical groups have a formal physician retention program in place.
As President of Jackson Physician Search, I regularly help clients who are feeling the consequences of this oversight. They hired someone out of residency, only to lose them just a few years later. This story is not unique. According to a new joint study from Jackson Physician Search and Medical Group Management Association, 59% of early-career physicians left their first jobs within three years. What could have been done differently to change this outcome?
Stop Focusing on Retention
Everyone agrees that physician retention is critical, and yet, when it comes to improving the metric, no one seems to know where to start. Fortunately, the new research sheds some light on the topic, which I’ll get to. However, in my opinion, the biggest takeaway is this: It’s time to move beyond the transactional thinking that the word “retention” typically evokes. Instead of asking how we can make physicians stay, let’s ask ourselves how we can earn their loyalty.
Reframing physician retention as loyalty changes our focus from preventing departures to cultivating long-term commitment. This shift is more than semantics. Retention strategies are often centered around monetary rewards that can feel like “traps.” Loyalty, on the other hand, is a mindset. It’s about building relationships with physicians and creating an environment where they feel valued and respected so that staying isn’t a contractual obligation but a natural choice.
3 Ways to Build Loyalty Among Physicians
What does this look like in practice? How do we build lasting, authentic relationships with physicians? The study mentioned above and the resulting report, “From Contract to Connection: How Authentic Relationships Foster Early-Career Loyalty and Retention,” is packed with actionable strategies and tactics, including a loyalty formula and a sample 180-day preboarding roadmap. If that seems overwhelming, I’d like to offer three simple ways to get started. Keep reading for three ways to stop fixating on retention and start building loyalty among physicians.
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Let go of the monetary traps
Physician compensation will always be of utmost importance. Past studies have shown it to be the most critical factor in physicians’ first-job decisions. While it’s true that compensation may initially attract physicians to the organization, it isn’t necessarily what makes them stay — nor is it what makes them leave. According to the survey, two-thirds of physician respondents said that a higher base salary might influence their decision to stay. However, when examining the reasons physicians say they left, leadership and culture were the leading factors in giving notice.
Bottom line — in a highly competitive market, pay is “table stakes.” That is, physicians expect a competitive, transparent compensation plan that rewards both productivity and retention. However, no matter how competitive the compensation (and how many strings you attach to it), it will rarely be enough to keep them if you are missing the mark in other areas.
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Focus on building relationships — at all levels
From the very first interaction with a candidate, employers lay the foundation for a relationship that will ultimately determine how long the physician stays with the organization. According to the research, physicians most value relationships with peers (68%), support staff (54%), and physician leaders (48%). Administrators, by contrast, placed more weight on ties with administrative leaders.
The research also reveals the importance of nurturing those relationships during the time between signing the contract and starting the job. In addition to clear, consistent communication about the logistics of starting the job, introductions should be made and mentors assigned. The physician should start the job already recognizing familiar faces and knowing whom to turn to with questions, both big and small.
Bottom line — building relationships is an ongoing process that begins with the first interaction and continues through preboarding, onboarding, and throughout a physician’s tenure. The relationships physicians have with peers, support staff, and physician leaders are what tie them to the organization. Physicians are not loyal to jobs; they are loyal to people.
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Improve the physician experience
Building loyalty means treating physicians well. Physicians don’t expect their jobs to be easy, but they do expect — and deserve — to have leaders who are working to minimize friction. When asked what factors make them less likely to stay at a job, the most common responses were excessive bureaucracy, excessive workload, poor work-life balance, and poor leadership interaction. Focus on lightening the administrative burden that prevents them from spending more time with patients. Streamlining the most common annoyances demonstrates that you value them and are willing to go above and beyond to enhance their experience.
Consider businesses renowned for their exceptional customer service and brand loyalty, such as the Ritz-Carlton. The Ritz is famous for offering an elevated experience that earns the loyalty of their customers. They differentiate themselves from other hotels by creating an exceptional experience, reportedly allowing any employee at the hotel to use up to $2,000 to solve a problem for an individual guest. The Ritz knows that eliminating friction and making life easier for guests will earn their lifetime loyalty.
Now consider the increasingly popular business model of opting new customers into an auto-renewal of whatever service they happen to sell. Instead of providing a service that customers want to renew, the business makes it difficult for them to cancel. Which model do you think will see more brand loyalty over the course of a customer’s lifetime? Which company do you want to emulate?
Bottom line — if organizations can actively improve the overall physician experience, like guests of the Ritz Carlton, physicians will feel a sense of loyalty to the employer.
The Loyalty Dividend
Ultimately, physician retention is not about programs or perks — it’s about people. Fair compensation and flexible schedules may get physicians in the door, but it’s relationships that keep them there.
When physicians feel valued, supported, and connected, they not only stay in their roles longer but also perform more effectively. They engage more deeply, contribute more fully, and become ambassadors for your organization. Their loyalty not only strengthens your workforce but also enhances the care you deliver to your community.
Retention truly does begin with recruitment. But it doesn’t end there. Every interaction, from the initial phone call to the first day on the job and beyond, is an opportunity to build a lasting relationship. For healthcare administrators, the challenge — and the opportunity — is to approach physician retention not as a checklist, but as a commitment to authentic, human connection.
Ultimately, the power of relationships lies in their ability to keep physicians where they are needed most: caring for patients, strengthening teams, and building healthier communities.
For more details on reframing retention as loyalty and building authentic relationships with physicians, download the new report from Jackson Physician Search and MGMA, “From Contract to Connection: How Authentic Relationships Foster Early-Career Loyalty and Retention.”
If your organization is seeking its next clinician, the Jackson Physician Search team is eager to leverage our vast network and expertise to help you find the best candidate for your organization. Reach out today to learn more.
About Tony Stadjuhar
With more than 35 years of experience in healthcare strategy, Tony is the industry-recognized leader and innovator in the recruitment of physicians and advanced practice providers. As President of Jackson Physician Search, he leads the most respected firm in the nation, known for exceptional customer service, powered by a proven recruitment strategy and search technology.
Tony began his career with Jackson & Coker in 1986 and was quickly promoted to Vice President of the firm’s northwest region. He then developed a regionally based Rocky Mountains physician recruitment firm into a national presence, and he worked with a large healthcare system to launch an in-house recruitment team that placed over 1,000 physicians annually.
He returned to Jackson & Coker in 2009 to restructure the permanent placement segment. Tony also led the naming and branding transformation of Jackson & Coker Permanent to Jackson Physician Search in 2016. During his tenure, Jackson Physician Search has become the largest, privately held, and most innovative, trusted firm in the industry.
Tony has served on multiple advisory boards throughout his career, lending his expertise to improve the physician recruitment industry. He is also currently serving on the MGMA Board of Directors. A sought-after speaker for healthcare industry groups, national medical associations, and residency programs, Tony is particularly gratified to help young physicians find the right fit early in their careers.
Tony resides in the Atlanta area with his wife, Caron, and their three daughters. He is also the proud grandfather of a beautiful baby girl. They enjoy traveling internationally as a family, exploring new cultures and local flavors.
