Understanding Employee Turnover

Unpopular opinion: Your "culture" budget is a waste of money if you lack this ONE thing... Purpose. You can't pizza-party your way out of a turnover crisis. Most companies are stuck performing "Retention Theater." They act like coroners performing autopsies (exit interviews) instead of doctors preventing the disease. To build a fortress around your talent, you need to climb the 4 levels of the Retention Hierarchy: LEVEL 1: REACTIVE - PEOPLE QUIT → WE ASK WHY AFTER Exit interviews where people give the "polite" answer about new opportunities. Managers shocked when their "hidden gem" gives notice. What it looks like: - Exit interviews only - Last-minute counteroffers - High regret turnover The fix: Start with stay interviews. Ask people what energizes them, what would make them leave. Do this quarterly. Act on what you learn before they’re halfway out the door. LEVEL 2: PROGRAMMATIC - ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL PERKS Pizza Fridays. Ping pong tables. The same tired benefits whether you're 22 or 52, single or supporting a family (I have four kids...I know the needs change!). What it looks like: - Generic swag and offsites -"Engagement" via snacks - Culture defined by events It’s throwing spaghetti at the wall hoping something sticks. Spoiler: it doesn't. The fix: Tailor benefits to real needs. Survey by team AND tenure. Engineers value different perks than salespeople. Stop guessing, start asking. LEVEL 3: STRATEGIC - RETENTION DESIGNED INTO SYSTEMS Now we’re getting somewhere. Career paths are clear. Promotions happen on schedule. High-potentials know they’re valued. Every process reinforces that growth happens here. What it looks like: - Growth tracks by function - Skills-based promotions - Embedded feedback loops You’re not reacting to turnover. You’re preventing it through structure. The fix: Align L&D with skills gaps. Track mobility rates. Make internal moves easier than external ones. If someone has to leave to level up their skills, that’s a failure of the system. LEVEL 4: CULTURAL - PEOPLE STAY BECAUSE THEY BELONG The holy grail. People stay because leaving would mean losing something irreplaceable. Not perks or pay...belonging. Purpose. The feeling that their work matters to the mission. What it looks like: - Psychological safety - Purpose-driven work - Peer recognition culture Your culture is so strong that recruiters can’t poach your people with big raises. They’ve tried. The fix: Train every manager on trust-building and "human skills." Not a one-off workshop...ongoing coaching. Make belonging a metric, not a buzzword. TAKEAWAY: The companies winning the talent war understand that people don't leave companies. They leave cultures that don't value them. They leave managers who don't develop them. They leave futures they can't see. Fix those three things, and retention takes care of itself.

When Moms First was starting out, a lot of people asked me: Why moms? Why not all parents? This is why: https://lnkd.in/eh3gqwPm ------ "This month, the U.S. Census Bureau��published a bombshell finding: The gender wage gap just got wider for the first time in two decades ‒ with women now earning just 83 cents to a man’s dollar. That’s maddening. But, for moms at least, it’s hardly surprising. It’s next to impossible to balance work and family in this country ‒ and as this new data shows, women are taking the hit. As the cost of child care continues to soar, women will just keep falling further behind. On paper, there’s no reason to believe that women should be earning less than men. Girls are more likely to graduate from high school and more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree. More women than men go to law school and medical school, and women’s enrollment in MBA programs has reached record highs. In fact, women do earn nearly as much as men ‒ at least early in their careers. On average, women in their late 20s and early 30s are much closer to parity, taking home at least 90 cents on the dollar compared with the guys sitting next to them at graduation or new hire orientation. Then, when women hit their mid-30s, something changes. The pay gap gets wider. It’s no coincidence that that’s precisely when women are most likely to be raising kids. All of a sudden, women are forced to make very hard choices to manage the demands of work and family. As the founder of Moms First, I’ve heard versions of this story from more women than I can count. Maybe mom drops down to part-time so she can make it to school pickup. Or maybe she switches to a new job that pays less but offers more flexible hours. Or maybe she drops out of the workforce entirely, because the cost of day care would have outpaced her salary anyway. Make no mistake, we are talking about moms here. When women are paid less than men anyway (and, in the case of Black and Hispanic women, way less), deprioritizing their careers can feel like the only logical decision, even if it isn’t what they wanted. This creates a vicious cycle, where pay inequity begets more pay inequity ‒ and women are systematically excluded from economic opportunities. At the same time, while women experience a motherhood penalty, men experience a fatherhood premium ‒ working more hours and reaping bigger rewards than those without kids. As Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin put it, when describing her pioneering research on the pay gap, 'Women often step back, and the men in their lives step forward.' Because here’s the thing: The 'choice' to step back from the workforce isn’t much of a choice at all. If grandma isn’t around to pitch in and child care costs more than rent, what other option do you have?"

Fewer people are leaving companies, but more people who do (voluntarily or involuntarily) aren't finding a new role within the same calendar year. As ongoing jobless claims continue to rise, I analyzed the data on 16M+ white-collar professionals who left a company from 2019 through 2024. Here's how the data breakdown by year 📆 2019: "The Last Normal Year" What even is normal anymore? 2019 was still far from "normal" as we remained in the thick of ZIRP-era hiring and an employee-favorable job market. High departure volume was coupled with high rates of people finding their next role quickly. Then... the chaos started. 2020: "The Pandemic" The pandemic kicked off the last 5 years of job market chaos. Many people lost their jobs in the early days of the pandemic, only to have the job market tilt in favor of employees and remote work situations by the second half of the year. 2021: "The Great Resignation" The headlines in 2021 told stories of people quitting jobs on their first day, working multiple remote jobs at once, or job-hopping with >10% pay bumps multiple times a year. Everyone was changing jobs... mostly voluntarily and mostly with another job already lined up. 2022: "The Calm Before the Storm" Overall departure volume was the lowest, largely driven by the tail end of the ZIRP-era hiring binge early in the year and a lull in activity before the earliest rounds of mass layoffs started in Q4. 2023: "The Great Termination" As mass layoffs rattled the white-collar employment landscape, the share of people who left a company and didn't find a new role within the year climbed. Layoffs were the primary driver behind departure volume and hiring freezes left more impacted employees out in the cold. 2024: "The Great Stay" More people stayed at their current company, with many clutching to their existing roles, driving the total volume of departures down. But, the other side of the "stay" is that people stayed unemployed for longer with almost half of the people who left a company in 2024 not finding a role before the year's end. Will 2025 be better or worse for white-collar job seekers? A glimpse of hope comes from the data on recruiter hiring from late 2024 (previous post linked in comments). Recruiter hiring is generally a leading indicator for overall hiring. After all, you need to hire the people who will do the hiring first. #jobs #employment #hiring

Women are not losing ambition; they are losing patience with environments that punish it. The real story is not an ambition gap, but a support, fairness, and respect gap. One of the earliest pieces of career advice I received was: “To progress, you need to have ambition.” Over 24 years in the corporate world, that's been a double edged sword - I have been praised for being driven and, in the same breath, criticised for being “too ambitious.” I have also sat in talent reviews where women were quietly written off as “not ambitious enough". In 2022, during a leadership review, a male colleague even said out loud: “Women don’t progress because they don’t have ambition .” 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 The latest Lean In and McKinsey Women in the Workplace report highlights a growing ambition gap: fewer women than men say they want to be promoted. Yet the same data make something else crystal clear: women and men are equally committed to their careers, and when women receive the same sponsorship, support, and stretch opportunities as men, the ambition gap largely disappears. So the issue is not that women suddenly woke up less driven; it is that many are looking at the “next level” and seeing more burnout, less support, and fewer real chances to succeed. In that context, stepping back from the race is not a lack of ambition - it is a rational response to a system that feels rigged. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝟮𝟬+ 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 For roughly the first 15–20 years, many women respond to blocked opportunities with even more effort and ambition: working harder & overdelivering. When doors are repeatedly closed with vague feedback like “lack of executive presence,” or “too emotional,” frustration accumulates. After decades of having to prove yourself again and again, it is not ambition that runs out; it is the willingness to keep playing a game where the rules feel opaque and uneven. That is one of the reasons so many experienced women leave corporate roles or step off the traditional ladder mid-career. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 The complete career advice is: protect your ambition by choosing workplaces where: Support systems, fair processes, and allyship actively enable women’s progression. Sponsorship, not just mentorship, is in place so that women are advocated for, not just advised. Policies, leadership behaviour, and culture reduce burnout. Because ambition without support does not magically create opportunity; it only creates exhaustion, cynicism, and burnout. What would your organisation need to change so that they would choose to stay and grow? #careeradvice ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have learned a lot during my 2 decades in the corporate world, mostly the hard way. Every Sunday, I share some of my learnings and what has helped me climb the corporate ladder while staying true to my values

Saw a stat saying women of colour are leaving their jobs at the highest rate in over a decade and, while I had my suspicions, I decided to find out why. Here’s what I found 👇 According to the 2024 McKinsey & LeanIn Women in the Workplace report:  📊 1 in 3 women of colour have considered leaving their job in the past year – not for better pay, but for better treatment.  📊 40% say their judgment is questioned in their area of expertise.  📊 More than half say they’ve been mistaken for someone more junior.  📊 And only 1 in 4 say their manager actively supports their career growth. Meanwhile, Harvard Business Review (2023) reports that women of colour face greater barriers to advancement and receive less recognition for their contributions, often being described as “invisible” in leadership discussions. These aren’t small numbers. They show how bias and exclusion play out daily – in performance reviews, promotions, and who managers choose to invest in. And while it’s easy to talk about “the pipeline” or “culture fit,” the reality is this: when workplaces don’t evolve, people eventually leave. To the WOC in my network: what’s your experience? Have you left a job, or thought about leaving, for any of these reasons? Did your situation improve?

2024: We had quiet quitting 2025: We have quiet cracking And it's happening to 54% of your workforce right now. But, what's the difference? Quiet quitting was about doing the bare minimum, meeting job descriptions but refusing to go above and beyond. It was employees setting boundaries after years of overwork. Quiet cracking is the opposite problem entirely. Your best people are disappearing while still sitting at their desks. You know the employee I'm talking about.  Top performer.  Reliable.  Always volunteers for extra projects. Then they quit without warning. No complaints.  Just a polite exit interview about "seeking new challenges." Unlike quiet quitting, these aren't people doing the bare minimum. They're your stars who feel disconnected but still deliver results. The people you'd promote tomorrow (if you haven't already). But they're mentally gone while their bodies show up to work. The impact is invisible: $438 billion in lost productivity that still looks like peak performance on paper. The research reveals the hidden epidemic: 47% feel completely invisible to their managers Only 26% feel valued (compared to 80% of truly engaged people) 29% are drowning but still delivering 44% haven't grown professionally in over a year By the time you notice the performance drop, they've been mentally gone for six months. Traditional engagement tools just weren't designed to catch this subtle change from thriving to surviving. The Fix: → Spot the Signs Early: Watch for subtle changes in communication patterns and energy levels → Ask Better Questions: Focus on fulfilment and growth, not just task completion → Create Visible Growth Paths: Monthly development conversations with concrete actions → Make Impact Clear: Connect daily work to bigger organisational outcomes → Build Psychological Safety: Create space for honest feedback and act on it Bonus (If you know you have an open culture) Talk to your team about this, address it directly and be proactive, normalise the conversation in your organisation.  Ask them, what should be done for things to change. The goal isn't preventing all turnover. It's catching the mental departure before it becomes physical departure. What warning signs are missing from this list?

Your Top Performers Are Planning Their Exit (8 subtle signs you're about to lose them) High performers don't storm out dramatically. They slip away quietly while you're not paying attention. The signs are there if you know where to look... Here's your early warning system: Schedule Shifts 🚩 Increasingly "unavailable" during work hours ↳ Flexible schedules become rigid... ↳ Because they're taking calls with recruiters. Energy Changes 🚩 Fountains become monuments ↳ Ideas stop flowing in meetings... ↳ Because they're their mind is elsewhere. Put Off Priorities 🚩 Quarterly goals feel less urgent ↳ Long-term planning gets rubber-stamped... ↳ Because they won't be here to see them through. Information Hoarding 🚩 Knowledge sharing goes into overdrive ↳ Detailed process documents appear overnight... ↳ Because they're training their replacement. Professional Networking 🚩 Conference attendance requests spike ↳ Industry event participation increases... ↳ Because they're nurturing new connections. Quality Standards 🚩 "Perfectionist" becomes "that's fine" ↳ Attention to detail starts slipping... ↳ Because their focus is shifting to what's next. Team Engagement 🚩 Office social events get declined ↳ Casual conversations become transactional... ↳ Because they're emotionally distancing themselves. Skill Development 🚩 Training requests in adjacent areas ↳ Learning focus shifts outside their role... ↳ Because they're preparing for their next position. Your Prevention Strategy: • Create advancement opportunities now • Address frustrations, optimize for impact • Invest in their growth, not just their output • Ask directly: "How fulfilled are you here?" This conversation might be hard. But losing them is harder. Let us show you how to prepare:  https://lnkd.in/e6F-Kxib The Reality: Great people leave managers, not companies. They don't quit jobs. They exit relationships. The Remedy: Replacing top talent costs 2-3x their salary. Retaining them costs your attention and intention. Which warning signs are you seeing on your team? ♻️ Share to help leaders retain their best talent 🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more retention strategies

Exploring the Complex Factors Surrounding Women's Career Choices: The decision for women and girls to leave their careers is a multifaceted issue that cannot be attributed to a single cause. Instead, it involves a complex interplay of personal, societal, and structural factors. In this post, we will delve into some of the reasons why it can be easier for women and girls to leave their careers. It's important to remember that these reasons are not universal and may vary greatly from person to person. 🎯Gender Roles and Expectations: Traditional gender roles have often placed the burden of childcare and household responsibilities primarily on women. These societal expectations can make it easier for women to leave their careers, especially if they face pressure to prioritize their family over their professional aspirations. 🎯Unequal Distribution of Household and Caregiving Responsibilities: Even in dual-income households, women often bear a disproportionate share of household and caregiving responsibilities. Balancing a career and these responsibilities can be overwhelming, leading some women to opt for leaving their careers temporarily or permanently. 🎯Career Barriers: Women may face numerous career barriers, such as discrimination, a lack of mentorship opportunities, and a glass ceiling that limits their advancement. These obstacles can discourage them from pursuing their careers or can lead to them leaving their careers prematurely. 🎯Personal Fulfillment: Some women choose to leave their careers because they find greater fulfillment in roles outside of the traditional workforce, such as entrepreneurship, volunteering, or pursuing creative passions. This decision may not be solely influenced by external pressures but by personal values and aspirations. 🎯Health and Well-being: The physical and emotional toll of balancing career and family can impact women's health and well-being. In some cases, leaving a career may be a necessary decision to prioritize mental and physical health. 🎯Lack of Access to Quality Childcare: The availability and affordability of quality childcare can be a significant factor. If women cannot secure reliable childcare, they may have no choice but to leave their careers temporarily or permanently. It's essential to recognize that women's decisions to leave their careers are shaped by a wide range of factors, both personal and systemic. Addressing these issues requires a holistic approach that includes changes in societal expectations, workplace policies, and support systems. Ultimately, empowering women to make choices that align with their goals and aspirations is crucial for achieving gender equality in the workforce.

Your blockchain users aren't loyal—they’re just jumping from hype to hype. Learn exactly how to convert opportunistic visitors into lifetime ecosystem contributors. Typical incentives create short-lived spikes, not genuine loyalty. Flipside's Blockchain User Retention Analysis reveals striking differences in user retention: → Low-value addresses (scores 0-3) consistently show retention below 5% after 6 months, with most dropping off completely after just the first month. → Medium-value addresses (scores 4-7) initially drop off significantly, stabilizing around 20% retention, indicating untapped potential for deeper engagement. → High-value addresses (scores 8+) retain at rates 3-5x higher (35-38%) than low value addresses, decreasing only gradually (5-8% monthly) Cross-chain insights highlight even deeper nuances: → Ethereum and Avalanche have notably stronger high-value user retention compared to other major chains. → Solana, despite its size, struggles more with retaining high-value addresses than smaller ecosystems. → Newer chains tend to experience steeper retention decay curves, making structured engagement strategies even more critical. The solution? Structured, Intelligence-Driven Growth (IDG) user journeys. IDG systematically elevates user loyalty by: → Crafting targeted user paths through key ecosystem protocols. → Leveraging wallet scoring to identify and nurture high-potential users. → Continuously optimizing user journeys based on real-time behavioral data. Here's the proven impact of structured IDG journeys: ✅ Wallets completing structured journeys increase their user scores by an average of 2-3 points. ✅ They consistently demonstrate higher transaction frequency, governance participation, and long-term retention. ✅ Over 30% of key protocol activity is driven by users who've engaged in IDG journeys. Stop chasing temporary visitors. Start building lasting, high-value contributors with structured, intelligent user journeys. P.S. Curious to dive deeper into creating loyal blockchain communities? Join our G² Growth Collective Telegram group to network and discuss with other web3 Growth leaders. 🤝 Link in the comments. ♻️ Repost this to help others in your network. 📌 And follow Aram Mughalyan for web3 content like this.

Hot take: We're solving the wrong problem. Everyone's focused on getting more women into engineering programs and through the front door of civil, mechanical, electrical, and environmental firms. But here's what I'm seeing from my work with AEC organizations: The issue isn't the pipeline. It's the leaky bucket. We're burning through talented women engineers during internships, co-ops, and those critical first 2-3 years. They're leaving not because they can't design bridges, analyze structural loads, or manage environmental compliance, but because they're exhausted from fighting the same battles day after day, week after week, year after year. Think about it: What happens when a brilliant woman engineer gets her dream internship at a civil firm, only to spend 10 weeks being overlooked in client meetings, having her technical solutions credited to male colleagues, or being sent to fetch coffee while the guys get to present the project analysis? She doesn't just leave that company. She questions whether engineering is for her at all. My mom started teach at the start of integration in South Carolina in 1969. She always said a good teacher finds ways for ALL students to succeed, while a poor teacher fails most of their class. Same principle applies here. Organizations that consistently retain women engineers aren't just "lucky" they're intentionally creating environments where women can add value, be seen, and belong from day one. Question for the engineering leaders in my network: What's one specific change your organization made that actually moved the needle on retention? Not recruitment but retention. Drop your experiences below. Let's stop reinventing the wheel and start sharing what actually works. #WomenInEngineering #Retention #EngineeringLeadership #LeakyTalentPipeline #PositiveHireCo