Andrew Mina

Rethink promotions

In a survey conducted by Randstad, it found that a whopping 42% of respondents in the United States said they don’t want a promotion because they’re happy where they are.

When we talk about retention I think this is one of the overlooked areas that needs consideration.

Firstly, retention should automatically involve promoting an employee. It is better to understand the needs, desires and aspirations of your employees. Maybe, just maybe, Life / Work harmony is their most pressing need and a promotion may not help with that.

Secondly, we need to look at how we can make a good job a great job. For example, flexibility, coaching/mentoring, clear purpose, and even stretch assignments.

Another thought is not everyone wants to lead other people – leading people by the nature of it comes with expectations with a lot of responsibilities and it moves you from doing ‘the work’ to leading the people doing the work. This is a big game-changer.

Rethink your core retention strategies

So here are 5 effective strategies from Inc.com (jazzed them up a bit), and dare I say achievable regardless of the size of your HR team, to keep your best employees engaged and motivated.

1. Create a compelling onboarding and reboarding experiences.  
2. Use stay interviews, not just exit interviews.
3. Respect the employee’s life / work boundaries. 
4. Offer flexibility whenever possible (this could apply to so many areas).
5. Celebrate wins and milestones regularly no matter their size.  

Why not pick one for 2025, design it, deliver it and measure it.

Rethink the employee lifecycle

To round this off I would also say it is super important to ensure that HR teams strategically focus on the most important stages of the employee lifecycle to boost retention and reduce turnover.

As hybrid work environments and shrinking budgets become the norm, the traditional 7-stage model — from recruitment to offboarding — needs a more focused approach to address today’s challenges.

With employees changing jobs more frequently, and the costs of replacing them rising, HR must prioritize the stages that truly make a difference. 

Check out my conversation with Isabelle Muthsam on the employee lifecycle here.

You have amazing people on your team and with just a little extra care they’ll truly be the organizations best assets.