Why people stay is worth understanding.
Retention is a business issue and a human experience. Looking at workplace practices alongside life and access factors helps employers ask better questions before deciding what to change.
Multiple factors may interact. A schedule issue can also be a childcare or transportation issue; a training concern can be a supervisor support issue. Their importance varies by workforce, role, location, and employee experience. One survey, benefit, or training session is not a universal solution.
Retention drivers
Workplace factors
The experience of doing the job—from relationships and expectations to the conditions for growth.
Managers and supervisor relationships
- What it can look like
- Support, communication, or expectations can differ between teams. Employees may hesitate to raise concerns.
- What to investigate
- Compare team patterns carefully, listen to employees about day-to-day supervision, and understand managers’ workload and support.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Clarify expectations for check-ins, equip supervisors to address concerns, and revisit whether employees experience more consistent support.
Onboarding and early tenure
- What it can look like
- New employees may leave before they understand the role, build relationships, or feel confident doing the work.
- What to investigate
- Look at departures by tenure and ask new starters what differed from the job they expected.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Review the first-day experience, define training milestones, and introduce early check-ins or a peer support arrangement.
Role clarity and expectations
- What it can look like
- Conflicting priorities or unclear responsibilities can create frustration and make success feel out of reach.
- What to investigate
- Ask employees and managers how they define success, resolve competing requests, and communicate changes.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Clarify responsibilities, align expectations across supervisors, and make escalation paths easier to use.
Workload, staffing, and scheduling
- What it can look like
- Unpredictable shifts, limited notice, or persistent understaffing may make work difficult to sustain.
- What to investigate
- Review schedule changes, overtime, staffing patterns, and the fit between shifts and employees’ responsibilities.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Consider more advance notice, clearer shift-swap processes, or a focused staffing review where the evidence supports it.
Pay, benefits, and recognition
- What it can look like
- Employees may experience unclear pay progression, benefits they cannot use, or contributions that go unrecognized.
- What to investigate
- Understand employee perceptions, benefit access, and relevant local role comparisons before assuming compensation is the only driver.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Explain progression and benefits clearly, examine access barriers, and review recognition practices alongside compensation.
Skills, development, and advancement
- What it can look like
- Employees may see no credible next step or lack access to the training needed to grow.
- What to investigate
- Ask how opportunities are communicated, who can access training, and where development promises fail to translate into experience.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Make pathways visible, clarify advancement criteria, or pilot role-specific development with time and support to participate.
Culture, respect, and belonging
- What it can look like
- People may feel excluded, unheard, or treated inconsistently. Low trust can also limit the usefulness of feedback.
- What to investigate
- Listen responsibly across roles and shifts, examine how concerns are handled, and protect people from identification in small groups.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Set clear standards for respectful treatment, improve follow-through on concerns, and communicate what changes and why.
Retention drivers
Life and access factors
The realities outside work that can affect someone’s ability to sustain employment.
Transportation
- What it can look like
- Commute reliability or shift times may make attendance difficult even when someone wants to stay.
- What to investigate
- Ask about access without assuming an absence reflects low commitment; consider transit availability at actual shift times.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Explore shift alignment, transportation information, or coordination with local partners where practical.
Childcare
- What it can look like
- Care availability, cost, or opening hours may conflict with work requirements.
- What to investigate
- Invite voluntary feedback on schedule compatibility and access barriers without requesting unnecessary family details.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Consider predictable schedules, flexibility where feasible, and connections to appropriate childcare resources.
Housing stability
- What it can look like
- Changing housing circumstances or distance from work can affect reliable participation.
- What to investigate
- Explore barriers through confidential, voluntary listening rather than collecting sensitive personal histories.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Provide information about qualified community resources and review any work practices that compound access difficulties.
Financial shocks and emergency needs
- What it can look like
- Unexpected expenses may disrupt transportation, care arrangements, or the ability to remain in work.
- What to investigate
- Ask about the types of barriers employees face, with clear boundaries and no expectation of disclosing personal finances.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Review benefit communication, emergency support options where appropriate, and referrals to qualified resources.
Work and family schedule compatibility
- What it can look like
- Shift requirements may conflict with school, caregiving, or other recurring responsibilities.
- What to investigate
- Distinguish predictable constraints from occasional emergencies and assess which operational requirements are genuinely fixed.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Explore advance notice, transparent flexibility rules, or shift arrangements that preserve operational coverage.
Access to community resources
- What it can look like
- Useful support may exist but be difficult to find, access, or use around work hours.
- What to investigate
- Check eligibility, hours, geography, and whether employees trust or know about available resources.
- Possible actions—not universal solutions
- Coordinate with relevant workforce and community organizations and share verified information without promising eligibility or availability.
Measure & learn
How will you know a change is helping?
Start with consistent definitions and a credible baseline. Choose measures that connect the intervention to the experience it aims to change. Review workforce outcomes alongside employee perspectives and implementation progress.
Retention
Voluntary turnover, early-tenure retention, or retention over a defined period for a relevant workforce group.
Experience
Employee perspectives on manager support, role clarity, onboarding, or the specific issue being addressed.
Action
Milestones completed, ownership maintained, and whether the intended changes are being used in practice.
Use comparable periods, account for changes in hiring and workforce composition, and protect small groups. Improvement is evidence to examine—not automatic proof that a single intervention caused it.
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.