Understand what your people value

Retention begins with knowing what truly matters to your people and not what you assume matters, or what you’ve seen in other firms, but what your team values as individuals and as a group.

The reasons why organisations have employee retention issues vary. It is important to acknowledge that salary is often a genuine and pressing reason people leave. Cost-of-living pressures and market competition mean that where firms cannot compete on financial remuneration, this can be a significant challenge. However, pay is rarely the only factor, and often not the primary one, behind disengagement or turnover. Employees are more likely to stay where they feel supported, valued, and able to see a future for themselves. Limited career progression, poor wellbeing, lack of support, or a negative work environment frequently play an equal or greater role.

Creating a culture people want to be part of fosters loyalty and engagement, meaning salary alone does not determine whether someone stays or goes. Rather than relying on a generic retention strategy, understanding the specific concerns and motivations of your own people is essential to addressing disengagement and improving retention effectively.

It is also important to look beyond your own organisation and perhaps consider other data sets such as the Society’s Profile of the Profession. After collecting your data, you can analyse trends and key themes. These can function as benchmarks to evaluate any progression.

Your analysis can serve as the foundation for action and for all the other retention strategies that follow. Profiling your workforce enables a comprehensive assessment of potential risk points.

Understanding what your people value doesn’t require a large HR function. It requires simple structures that create regular two-way conversations.

• Reports of employee turnover and stability rates

• Surveys

• Workforce information

• Exit surveys and exit interviews

• Conversations with existing employees

• Performance measures

• Customer feedback or engagement data