Sutter Health CHRO Tackles Burnout,Prioritizes Manager Support in Evolving Healthcare Landscape
Table of Contents
Sutter Health is doubling down on employee well-being and leadership development as its new CHRO,Deborah Yount,focuses on navigating the challenges of a demanding healthcare habitat.
Deborah Yount’s path to becoming Senior Vice President and CHRO of the California-based health system wasn’t customary. After a career in finance and staffing, she proactively sought a new role within her previous company, asking the CEO how she could best contribute in a different capacity. The answer: build out the company’s HR and learning & development functions. “To be honest, I didn’t know what that meant,” Yount admitted, “But I was up to the challenge.”
That challenge led her to pursue a master’s degree in human resources and organizational development, ultimately propelling her career to its current peak at Sutter Health, where she joined the executive team in January.Since then, Yount has prioritized addressing burnout among healthcare workers, increasing employee retention, and strengthening managerial capabilities.
Combating Burnout through Engagement and Development
Burnout remains a critical concern within the healthcare industry, fueled by factors like staffing shortages, high turnover, and low employee engagement. Sutter Health’s strategy centers on fostering a sense of purpose and value among its workforce. “We strive to make Sutter Health a place where employees feel like there’s purpose, and even more importantly than that, one where they feel valued and can make a difference every day,” a senior official stated. The institution emphasizes its mission – “patients first and people always” – as a rallying point for employees.
A key component of this strategy is reducing turnover, which currently stands at approximately 9%, notably lower than the industry average of 15-16%. Maintaining consistency within teams is seen as crucial to alleviating the burden on employees who might or else absorb the workload of departing colleagues.
Sutter Health is also heavily invested in employee development, with 16,000 employees accessing virtual learning programs this year alone. This “development for all” approach aims to increase engagement and,consequently,reduce burnout.
Simplifying Work and Investing in Leadership
Looking ahead to the end of 2025, Yount highlighted the importance of simplification and leveraging technology, including artificial intelligence, to ease the workload for employees. A recent employee experience survey revealed an possibility to improve access to resources and streamline processes.
Equally crucial, according to Yount, is investing in people managers. Sutter Health is developing a new certification program designed to cultivate “best-in-class people leaders” by enhancing their capabilities. This initiative recognizes the pressures faced by managers, squeezed between the demands of leadership and their teams, and the competitive talent market.
The organization is also prioritizing both physical and psychological safety for its employees. “There’s psychological safety that we want to create for employees, but we also want to make sure that they’re physically safe in the environments where they’re working,” Yount explained.
To support managers, Sutter Health has implemented an eight-module development program covering areas like financials, operations, performance management, and crucial conversations. The organization also utilizes a “power of one” approach, ensuring consistent interaction and alignment across leadership. Moreover, access to mentorships and sponsorships is being expanded as part of a multi-pronged effort to equip managers with the tools they need to succeed.
Advice for the Next Generation of HR Professionals
Yount offered guidance to those entering or advancing within the HR field: “Be curious. Believe in what’s possible. Be intentional about your focus and what you need to do to be prosperous in your role.” She emphasized the importance of building a strong network of mentors and sponsors and finding genuine passion and purpose in the work. “If you can do all those things, you can be very successful,” she concluded.
