The reason why most employees quit (and what leaders can do about it)

Fast Company

18 hours ago

In 2022, the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise the Great Resignation. This trend saw employees around the world leaving their places of work in droves. As a result, employee turnover surged to unprecedented levels.
While resignation rates have gradually decreased from their 2022 peak over the past few years, turnover continues to be a major challenge for businesses. Recent research from PwC revealed that a fifth (20%) of employees had considered leaving their role in the past year, rising to a quarter (25%) of employees aged 18–24.
Retention is no longer about salary alone. It's about purpose, progression, and organizations seeing them as more than just a job title. Employees want to be at workplaces that offer growth and feedback, and a culture that reflects their values.
The good news is that acting now can turn this challenge into a competitive advantage. Here are three actions that leaders can take to improve their retention, building workplaces that people do not want to leave, but rather stay at, grow, and thrive.
Listen to your team (and do so more often)
To understand and address the cultural challenges that might be causing team members to leave, start by gathering insights through surveys at key moments. That means onboarding, ongoing performance conversations, and exit interviews. These touchpoints offer a window into your employees' experiences. It also reveals their joys and struggles throughout their journey.
Leaders need to prioritize consistent, open feedback to show their teams that they value their evolving needs. Annual surveys alone are potentially missing key growth opportunities. Instead, embrace frequent 'pulse' surveys and platforms for ongoing dialogue, creating a space where employees can feel truly heard. Perhaps most importantly, there's no quicker way to find out how team members are really feeling. They need to know that the company hears and accepts them for who they are
Additionally, consider moving away from anonymous feedback. While anonymity may feel protective, it can suggest a lack of trust or safety. Building a culture of psychological safety, where team members feel secure sharing openly fosters trust and strengthens bonds. By nurturing this environment, leaders empower honest, heartfelt conversations that uplift their teams and open up the space to heal any existing rifts.
Redefine success with people-centric KPIs
Performance and adherence to a company's wider purpose matter—but not at the cost of people. To create healthy, thriving workplace cultures, organizations need to strike a fine balance between People, Purpose, and Performance. Organizations that achieve this foster a powerful state where productivity, team efficiency, and incredible engagement come together to create teams that produce and support one another as never before.
When KPIs focus exclusively on delivery and deadlines, pressured managers may fall into the trap of neglecting employee well-being and development. Therefore, by prioritizing KPIs that serve the people, rather than solely focusing on the system, leaders demonstrate a commitment to their team's well-being and growth.
Smart leaders shift the balance by daring to care for their people and introducing people-first KPIs alongside traditional business metrics. For example, what percentage of employees are in roles that align with their strengths and aspirations? How frequently are managers recognizing and rewarding their team's contributions? Even a simple 'good job' from a manager, delivered with sincerity, goes a long way. Are managers actively developing high-potential individuals so that they're ready for leadership roles? How often are you opening team meetings by checking in with team members and reminding them of why they matter to the project and wider organization?
Even simple acts, like regular, sincere recognition, drive engagement. By embedding these behaviors into people-led leadership KPIs, organizations reinforce that organizations don't see people as a cost to manage, but as an asset they need to cultivate.
By emphasizing people-centered KPIs, leaders ultimately contribute to the success and performance of the organization, while also creating a shared sense of purpose that inspires team members at all levels, ensuring that everybody wins.
What the head office can learn from the shop floor
I truly believe that leaders everywhere can learn a lot about people management from taking a step away from the traditional corporate environment and spending more time with their 'on the ground' teams.
The best leadership insights often come not from the boardroom but the shop floor. In customer-facing roles—like retail or hospitality—the true health of your culture becomes clear. These environments offer an unfiltered view of how companies really treat, support, and motivate employees. My turning point in this regard came in my years in retail management, when I realized that I needed to break the circle of performance above all else in favor of cultures that allow team members to bring their full selves to work.
Leaders who step into these spaces gain firsthand insight into what really drives their people: psychological safety, empathy, development opportunities, and being heard. The fundamentals don't change between corporate and customer-facing roles, but they're often far more visible at the coalface.
Spending time with frontline teams also exposes leaders to a more diverse cross-section of their workforce, building empathy and understanding that can shape smarter, more inclusive strategies.
People leave cultures rather than companies
While some employee attrition is inevitable in business, the truth is that much of it is preventable. When people walk away, it's often from a lack of growth, recognition, or leadership that genuinely cares. Leaders who act with intention have a tremendous opportunity to build powerful, purpose-led workplaces that attract and retain top talent for the long haul.