Retaining talent is a critical challenge for organizations seeking to maintain continuity, build expertise, and foster a positive workplace culture. High turnover rates can be costly and disruptive, affecting morale and productivity. The financial burden of replacing employees, coupled with the desire to preserve institutional knowledge and expertise, are significant motivators for prioritizing retention efforts. Understanding the strategies and practices that have proven effective in keeping employees engaged and committed is, therefore, essential.

Retaining talent goes beyond offering competitive salaries and benefits. It should involve holistic approaches that include career development opportunities, recognition programs, and a supportive work environment. Effective retention strategies lead to enhanced productivity and performance from experienced employees and improved customer satisfaction through consistent service. Additionally, addressing work-life balance and flexibility has become a top concern for many in the workforce, further influencing retention efforts.

Perspectives from Thought Leaders on How to Retain Talent

To provide practical insights into this area, we have gathered views and recommendations from expert practitioners who have successfully navigated the complexities of retaining talent. Their experiences and reflections offer valuable lessons that organizations tackling this challenge can consider.

Joe Kitson
Founder, CEO & Fractional CHRO at Kitson Human Capital Solutions

Retaining talent has never been more difficult. In the U.S., half a century ago, it was not uncommon for people to work for the same employer their entire careers. This practice is still alive and well in the private sector in Japan, albeit on the decline. For most of us, this type of employer loyalty is a fleeting concept explained to us by prior generations. As the permanency of our employment relationships waned and generous pensions dried up, HR professionals, recruiters, and hiring managers alike were taught to screen employees for jumpy work histories as a clear indication of a problem employee. It's somewhat ironic, considering the employment “relationship” today is much more like speed dating on both sides of the coin. 

As employment longevity continued to deteriorate, the gig economy took off along with a new mercenary mentality from talent about making their services available to the highest bidder. When the global pandemic hit, this trend went hyperdrive as the workforce began walking away from careers entirely after getting a taste of a different employment experience that felt achievable to the masses for the first time. No amount of data or technology can stop the macroeconomic factors now facing employers; you can only hope to contain them. It’s more critical than ever to know what makes your most coveted talent tick and to make a stand on a holistic strategy for attracting and keeping it. It starts with your employee listening strategy and crafting an employee value proposition that the people you need to hire actually care about.

Dr. Geri Puleo, SPHR, SHRM-SCP 
President & CEO at Change Management Solutions

As we struggle to create “the new normal” in the post-COVID era, burnout has become the new pandemic and is a significant contributor to employee turnover. This new era is characterized by unrelenting internal and external changes affecting organizations. When employees experience the über stress of burnout during such persistent change, the result is poor performance, low productivity, and quiet quitting (presenteeism). No one is immune. Based on my research on burnout during organizational change, burned-out change leaders generally leave the organization within two years of the change initiative’s launch. Employees with no say in the scope or implementation of the changes leave in as little as six months. Therefore, identifying employees who are in the process of burning out provides key insights into who is at risk of leaving your organization.  

One source of information is your HRIS platform. Standard metrics on increased absenteeism and tardiness can provide data to help track and follow up with employees whose stress levels contribute to their burnout and potential turnover. While employee engagement surveys and Net Promoter Scores may also help to identify whether your culture is conducive to burnout, it is critical to fearlessly consider the degree of trust between subordinates, peers, and leaders. If a culture of trust is absent, employees may not respond truthfully (or at all) due to concerns about their confidentiality and anonymity in the data collection process.  

While your HRIS is a good source of initial data, it needs to be supplemented with contextual insights gleaned from managers and peers. These qualitative insights combine with raw data to create actionable information that serves as the basis for proactive responses to the underlying problem of burnout-related turnover (rather than focusing on the lagging indicators of symptoms). Such qualitative insights require vulnerable, empathetic leadership that enables employees to speak candidly about their stress levels.  My research suggests that poor leadership and a belief that the organization doesn’t really care about their employees’ well-being are the top two factors contributing to employee burnout and turnover.  

Finally, it is important to recognize that burnout is not an individual’s maladaptive response to stress. According to the World Health Organization, burnout arises from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed…specifically in the occupational context.” In other words, organizational leaders have a duty and responsibility to create workplaces that are less prone to burning out their workforce. While monitoring workloads is a start, it is also important to provide a clear direction toward which the organization is heading, recognize and reward employee accomplishments, and adhere to ethical values in performing duties and responsibilities.  

It is this combination of an HRIS platform’s high-tech and the compassionate insights of high-touch managers that sustains the foundation for a culture that is less likely to experience high turnover due to employee burnout.  

Ranada Harrison-Samuel
Senior HR leader at R Harrison Enterprise

As an HR Consultant dedicated to helping leaders nurture their talent pool and enhance team dynamics, I've had the privilege to probe what makes employees stick around and thrive within organizations. Through years of experience, I've come to realize that the key lies not just in competitive compensation packages or flashy perks but in cultivating an environment where individuals feel valued, supported, and empowered to grow. Here are some invaluable lessons learned in retaining top talent:

Creating a Psychologically Safe Working Environment

One of the fundamental pillars of talent retention is fostering a psychologically safe workplace. Psychological Safety refers to an environment where individuals feel comfortable taking risks, speaking up, and being their authentic selves without fear of ridicule or retribution.

When employees feel psychologically safe, they're more likely to share ideas, collaborate openly, and contribute meaningfully to the organization. In my role, I often advise leaders to prioritize psychological safety by promoting open communication, embracing diversity and inclusion, and demonstrating empathy and respect in all interactions.

Empowering People Managers as Advocates

Effective people management plays a crucial role in retaining talent. Managers serve as the bridge between leadership and frontline employees, influencing engagement, performance, and, ultimately, retention.

To cultivate a culture of retention, organizations must invest in training and developing their people managers to become advocates for their teams. This means equipping them with the skills to provide constructive feedback, recognize achievements, and address concerns promptly and empathetically. When employees feel supported by their managers, they're more likely to remain committed to their roles and the organization as a whole.

Offering Opportunities for Upward Mobility

Another critical factor in talent retention is providing opportunities for growth and advancement within the organization. Employees are more likely to stay when they see a clear path for career progression and development.

As a consultant, I work closely with leaders to design and implement talent development programs, mentorship initiatives, and succession planning strategies that enable employees to chart their career trajectories within the organization. By investing in the growth and development of their workforce, organizations retain top talent and foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

Retaining top talent requires a multifaceted approach that goes beyond traditional perks and benefits. It needs to prioritize psychological safety, empower people managers, and offer opportunities for upward mobility. This is how organizations can create an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to contribute their best work.

Other Articles in the Series on How to Retain Talent

Understanding the lessons learned is just one aspect of this process. Equally important are the critical cultural elements that support effective retention and the impactful advice for leaders and managers to guide their teams through these changes successfully. Together, these perspectives can give organizations and professionals a comprehensive view of what it takes to retain talent successfully.

Enabling Practices and Resources

Core Career Development Practices that Translate Employee Ambitions into Occupational Progression Action Plans.

Core Career Development is a process through which employee development is guided towards a targeted series of successive job roles that build upon one another and provide continued growth and challenge over the years.

Developing Success Profiles to Build a Foundation for Career Mobility.

Identifying success requirements for all positions is an essential foundation to build a career development process. The requirements are integrated into profiles that communicate what is needed to succeed in each job and what skills and experiences are needed and preferred.

Constructing Career Paths to Identify Future Aspirational Roles.

A career path (or “ladder”) is a logical progression of increasingly challenging jobs within a specified function that primarily includes vertical movement throughout an organization and requires progressively more experience and skills.