Date of Conferral

7-2-2026

Date of Award

July 2026

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Caitlin Byrd

Abstract

Workforce retention challenges continue to affect public health leaders by contributing to staffing shortages, reduced organizational capacity, and disruptions in service delivery. Public health leaders are concerned with employee turnover because it affects workforce stability, organizational performance, and the ability to meet community health needs. Grounded in Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore effective workforce retention strategies used by public health leaders to retain skilled staff and strengthen organizational capacity and revenue. The participants were eight public health leaders in the Northeast region of the United States with responsibility for workforce management and retention initiatives. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and review of organizational documents. Through thematic analysis, five themes were identified: (a) leadership-driven retention culture; (b) compensation and financial incentives support retention; (c) flexible and innovative workforce strategies improve retention; (d) training, onboarding, and professional development strengthen workforce stability; and (e) data-driven and strategic retention systems support organizational capacity. A key recommendation for public health leaders is to implement integrated retention strategies that combine leadership engagement, competitive compensation, workforce flexibility, employee development, and data-driven decision-making. The implications for positive social change include the potential for public health leaders to strengthen workforce stability, improve organizational capacity, and support the continued delivery of essential public health services within their communities.

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