Hiring is challenging, but retention might be harder.
You can have a great first date, but can you make the marriage work?
’21–’22 brought us the Great Resignation. ’23–’24 was the Great Stay, where we reset and mobility stabilized. But 2025 feels like the hangover. The room is spinning, no one feels great, and we’re all just trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
Meanwhile, Gallup reports 1 in 2 employees are either watching for or actively seeking a new job. That means retention isn’t a buzzword; it’s survival for managers. And here’s the kicker: Paycor reports that employees say 42% of turnover would be preventable if managers catch the early signs.
But as a hiring manager, it seems like you live in (pointless) meetings all day, and then you’re also expected to:
- Lead, groom, and mentor a team.
- Deliver results and hit deadlines.
- Somehow find time to get your own work done on top of it all and still make it home for dinner.
As a hiring manager, I sat in those closed-door meetings strategizing how we were going to retain people. Everyone in that room believed in it and wanted to make it work, but when push came to shove, execution often fell flat because more “urgent” issues took priority.
That’s the reality for most companies. With inflation squeezing margins and the war for talent driving up salaries, leaders are doing everything they can just to stabilize profits.
Retention is like having young kids and knowing you need a date night to keep your marriage strong. But it’s the first thing to slip through the cracks as you’re running around with your hair on fire, just trying to stay sane.
The crazy thing is, people are a company’s biggest asset. Happy employees take better care of customers, which drives profits. So why is retention so hard to get right?
Part of the problem is time. Managers are already stretched thin, often promoted with little to no management training and expected to just “figure it out” on top of everything else. So retention gets pushed to HR, but they’re carrying their own battles: fighting for a true seat at the table, navigating compliance and new AI trends, managing culture initiatives, and serving as a strategic partner to every department head.
Before you know it, everyone assumes someone else is responsible for retention while your competitor down the street, or across the country, is out courting your most talented people (and even your steady performers).
Here’s what I’ll be covering in this Retention Series:
- The real costs of losing good people and the benefits of getting retention right.
- Practical, day-to-day tactics managers can actually use.
- What employees say they want most (and it’s not always more money).
- Why hiring beyond the résumé is one of the best retention strategies you have.
Because here’s the truth: if retention isn’t done right, it’s not just the company that looks bad.
It’s you, too.
Need help?
Retention is too important to leave to chance. At Rootbound Partners, we help companies hire beyond the résumé and keep their best people for the long run. Let’s talk about how we can support your team. Connect with us today!
