Your retention challenge has a solution.
Let’s figure out what it is.
MADE WORK helps employers understand why people stay, why they leave, and what practical changes can improve retention. We connect workforce data with employee perspectives to identify root causes and turn insight into action.
The retention challenge
Turnover is a signal.
Understanding it is the first step.
Knowing how many people leave is not the same as understanding why. Turnover can reflect several overlapping issues, and the most visible symptom may not be the underlying cause.
The answer is not always another hiring initiative, a generic engagement survey, or an isolated incentive. Start with your workforce: listen to employees, investigate the patterns, and understand what you can change.
Data without context
Metrics show patterns, not the full story.
Feedback without trust
Speaking up needs to feel safe and useful.
Advice without follow-through
Action needs ownership and measurement.
The whole picture
Work matters. So does life around it.
Retention is shaped by workplace experiences and access to the support that makes employment sustainable. Which factors matter most depends on the workforce, role, location, and individual experience.
Workplace factors
- Managers and supervisor relationships
- Onboarding and early tenure
- Role clarity and expectations
- Workload, staffing, and scheduling
- Pay, benefits, and recognition
- Skills, development, and advancement
- Culture, respect, and belonging
Life and access factors
- Transportation
- Childcare
- Housing stability
- Financial shocks and emergency needs
- Work and family schedule compatibility
- Access to community resources
Our approach
Connect the data, the people, and the action.
Identify
Understand the retention challenge through workforce data, employee perspectives, and organizational context.
02 —Blueprint
Translate findings into a prioritized, practical plan—with clear ownership and measures of progress.
03 —Activate
Put changes into practice, connect the right people and resources, and learn from progress over time.
Our principles
Insight matters when it leads to action.
Evidence over assumptions
Workforce information and employee perspectives help investigate what is actually happening—not simply confirm an existing explanation.
Context over generic recommendations
Different roles, locations, and workforces face different challenges. The plan needs to reflect the operating reality.
Internal and external perspective
Workplace practices matter. So do the barriers outside work that can affect someone’s ability to stay.
Action over reports alone
Findings become useful when they lead to practical priorities, responsibilities, and next steps.
Learning over one-time intervention
Revisit the evidence and listen again to understand whether changes are making a difference.
Who we work with
For employers—and the organizations that support them.
Employers
Frontline, hourly, skilled, and hard-to-retain workforces.
Workforce organizations
Workforce boards and organizations serving employer needs.
Associations & regional partners
Shared learning and coordinated approaches to workforce challenges.
Why MADE WORK
Better workplaces. Stronger businesses. Thriving communities.
MADE WORK draws on years of national work with employers, industry leaders, and workforce partners to translate complex workforce challenges into practical strategies and action.
MADE WORK was founded on a simple belief: employers are made up of people, and people are inherently good and want the best for others.
The story behind MADE WORKTalent isn’t just found. It is developed, enabled, attracted, retained, and created through employer action.
Understanding → action
Better retention starts with understanding what matters.
Explore how MADE WORK approaches workforce retention and the practical steps employers can take to understand and address their challenges.