Across the country, HR professionals are working hard to address a persistent talent challenge. Many offer perks, flexibility, and better pay to get people to stay. However, this doesn’t move the needle for long. And while retention metrics continue to dominate dashboards, they often distract from the deeper issue: Many employees don’t feel like they’re making progress. They feel stuck.
You’ve probably felt the weight of pressure to retain talent, too. We need to understand why and do things differently.
I say this not as a do-gooder, but as a pragmatic businessman: At a time of so many significant problems in the world, I believe that achieving a balance between financial success and a greater sense of purpose is more than the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.
What if it’s not that employees want to leave?
The deeper issue we need to focus on around talent isn’t that workers don’t want to stay. It’s that many don’t see a path forward.
Large companies have recognized this and been investing in internal mobility, skill development, and purpose-driven growth for years. Most small- and mid-sized businesses, however, haven’t evolved their talent strategies to reflect a changing labor market. They often remain focused on short-term fixes and that put them at a disadvantage in today’s world.
If we want different results, we must think differently — not just about how we attract people but about how we help them advance. That shift starts with redefining what we mean by retention and recognizing that investing in talent development is no longer optional.
I’ve been in business long enough to know there’s no magic answer. But I also know what it feels like to watch talented people walk out the door because they didn’t see a future with us, and to realize later we never gave them one. Moreover, small- and medium-sized businesses will have a hard time competing for talent in the future if they don’t figure this out.
Why the traditional approach isn’t working
Most organizations have been taught to track retention as a proxy for satisfaction and business strength. Losing people is costly after all if it’s not planned for. But retention on its own doesn’t guarantee success either.
In many cases, the usual levers — higher pay, added perks, and more relaxed policies — become merely costly distractions that fail to address the root causes of disengagement. Essentially, when people don’t see a future they can grow into, a sense of stagnation drives people away.
So, what do we do? If we want different outcomes, we need a different approach.
What people really need
Like our customers, employees rarely tell us directly what they want. They may say they want more money, but what they’re often asking for is stability, purpose, or the opportunity to advance.
Of course, it’s not our job to make our workers successful any more than it is a life coach’s job to fix someone else’s life. The coach’s job is to find leverage points and to ask clarifying questions that lead to an ah-ha moment.
The same holds for those drawn to bringing a greater sense of purpose to their work. People can choose to take advantage of what we offer or not. But we can build the framework that makes their success possible.
By investing in our people and encouraging them to take advantage of development opportunities and career advancement paths, we can help them find purpose in their lives and prepare themselves — and our enterprises — for future changes.
What investment looks like in practice
In my experience, shifting from a retention mindset to a development mindset has been a revelation. It’s uncovered just how much hidden potential exists within a workforce when the goal isn’t just to keep people but to help them grow.
This entails identifying the barriers that hold employees back and working systematically to remove them. It also means rethinking our learning pathways, improving access to transportation, or building stronger internal mobility. The focus shifts from perks to progress.
One of the most accessible places to start is by initiating simple personal development plans (PDPs). Keep in mind that this is a long game, so start with a few people, see how it goes, and find out what you learn. Simply begin learning about the people who work for you and what they dream about doing.
The strategy is less about having PDPs for all your people within a specified number of months. Instead, it’s about doing them well and also building them into the process with all new hires.
How HR can lead this shift
You don’t have to overhaul your entire operation to make a difference. Here are some other things you can do:
- Reframe your retention strategy as an investment strategy. Ask, does this policy help people grow?
- Collaborate across systems. Build relationships with local nonprofits, public agencies, and workforce organizations.
- Go deeper with your exit interviews. Don’t just ask where people are going, ask why they didn’t see a future with you.
HR leaders are uniquely positioned to help lead this transformation by helping organizations think bigger and act with intention.
I’ve seen from experience that this kind of investment pays off. It boosts engagement, supports performance, and creates a more resilient culture. It also develops more humane workplaces and businesses better prepared for a fast-changing future.
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