CHG Healthcare CEO talks combatting burnout and workforce shortages

The US has faced healthcare worker shortages for years, and the trend is only projected to get worse.

Hospitals have increasingly turned to staffing agencies in recent years as they seek to fill in workforce gaps. CHG Healthcare, which is focused primarily on locum tenen (meaning temporary) physicians, is one of the largest healthcare staffing firms in the US, with more than 4,000 employees and an estimated $2.8 billion in revenue in 2024, according to Staffing Industry Analysts.

Leslie Snavely, who became CHG’s president in 2023 and CEO in 2024, told Healthcare Brew the company aims to combat shortages and keep physicians in the field of medicine for as long as possible.

Making the jump. CHG was Snavely’s first foray into the healthcare industry more than 15 years ago, coming from working in the packaged goods industry at companies like Procter & Gamble and Pepsi Bottling Group. She was inspired to make the switch after giving birth to her first child, she said.

“I just felt compelled to be a part of healthcare because I felt like there was just so much to be given to the industry,” Snavely said. “I thought this was my bridge to be a hospital administrator, but decided that my impact—personally and our company’s impact—could be very large if we helped doctors with their careers.”

CHG, headquartered just outside Salt Lake City, staffs physicians across all specialties, as well as advanced practice clinicians like nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

The company staffed 14,600 providers in 2024 across all 50 states, and 71% of them work in clinical shortage areas, according to a company study. CHG also does some international work, placing providers in countries including New Zealand, Guam, and Australia, according to Snavely.

CHG’s clients include hospitals and health systems, which traditionally take on the bulk of recruiting themselves, Snavely said. But because clinicians tend to be in short supply, hospitals sometimes need temporary workers while they search for permanent replacements.

“That’s where we step in,” she said. “Our business is essentially workforce filling for flexibility when there’s a need.”

Tackling industry trends. One focus of CHG’s is combatting physician burnout and workforce shortages, according to Snavely. The company sees burnout every day, she said, adding that “we’re talking to thousands of doctors in a week, and we are hearing and listening compassionately to their challenges and being an advisor to help them get through those challenges.”

The company also has a team called CHG Advisory Services, which talks to hospitals and health systems about their workforce challenges and helps them strategize solutions, Snavely said.

“We’re really trying to help our clients think holistically and strategically about their options to try to prevent or correct burnout,” she said. “There are no easy answers, but we do believe that it takes all of us.” Technology plays a big part in accomplishing that mission, according to Snavely.

“Anytime we can, we are building or using technology to make our doctors’ career lives easier, including AI,” Snavely said.

For example, the company built the AI-powered MyCompHealth app, which assists doctors in finding and scheduling travel assignments, figuring out where to go on their first day at a new job, and more, according to Snavely.

In 2020, CHG also acquired a company called Locumsmart, which is an AI-enabled platform hospitals can use to find and review candidates for open positions.

Behind the scenes. As CEO, Snavely said her day-to-day life is “highly unpredictable.”

Roughly 80% of her time is spent on creating a positive company culture, setting the company’s vision and strategy, and coaching senior leadership “to be great at their jobs,” she said. The rest of her time consists of serving on CHG’s board and driving the company’s financial strategy.

Culture in particular is a large focus, according to Snavely. One way she works to set a positive workplace environment is doing what she calls “listening tours,” which involve conducting a Zoom call with 30 or so employees and listening to what’s on their minds.

“We build a culture here that’s very much based on being heard, being listened to, and feeling welcomed,” she said. “To do that, I need, as the CEO…to talk and listen to our people and hear what’s good and bad and how we can make things better.”