Talent Retention Insights

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

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?"

Losing a top performer doesn’t just leave a gap. It leaves a ripple. And most companies underestimate what it really costs. Let’s break it down: 1. Financial cost: 2.5x their salary ↳ Recruiting, onboarding, productivity loss add up—fast ↳ But that’s just the beginning 2. Lost knowledge ↳ Top performers hold more than job descriptions ↳ They hold relationships, context, and insight (𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴: 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘤) 3. Morale drop ↳ When a high performer leaves, it sends a message ↳ People wonder: “Why do they leave? Should I go too?” 4. Burnout for those who stay ↳ Someone has to pick up the slack ↳ And it’s usually your other top people (𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦) 5. Client confidence dips ↳ When a well-known employee exits, clients feel it too ↳ Service, relationships, and trust all take a hit 6. Momentum slows ↳ Every departure causes delays, projects stall, doubts ↳ The team moves from thriving → surviving 7. Culture weakens ↳ If departures become common... ↳ A “what’s the point?” mindset creeps in (𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵) So... The real cost of losing great talent? It’s not just the hire. It’s: → Lost energy → Lost loyalty → Lost time → Lost belief → Lost self-confidence Retention isn’t HR’s job. It’s a leadership responsibility. ♻️ Share it for those who think turnover is “just business” And follow Andrea Petrone for more.

The Retention Riddle: Why Loyalty Doesn't Always Pay (Literally) Question: "Have you noticed that companies are often willing to pay a 40% salary increase to hire a new employee but are unwilling to offer a 15% raise to keep a current, experienced one?" This question hits hard, doesn't it? It's a frustrating reality in many organizations: the willingness to shell out big bucks for new talent while undervaluing the experience and loyalty of existing employees. Why does this happen? >Market Pressure: Companies often feel compelled to match or exceed market rates to attract top candidates, especially in competitive industries. >Budget Silos: Hiring budgets and compensation budgets are often separate, making it easier to justify a larger salary for a new role than to increase an existing one. >Short-Term Thinking: Companies may focus on immediate needs rather than the long-term benefits of retaining experienced employees who already know the business. >Lack of Visibility: The contributions of long-term employees may be taken for granted, while the potential of a new hire is often overhyped. But here's the thing: retention is almost always more cost-effective than recruitment. Losing experienced employees means losing valuable knowledge, disrupting team dynamics, and incurring the costs of hiring and training replacements. So, what can we do to address this imbalance? >Advocate for Fair Compensation: Employees need to be proactive in understanding their market value and advocating for fair compensation. >Promote Internal Mobility: Companies should create opportunities for growth and advancement within the organization. >Recognize and Reward Loyalty: Acknowledge the contributions of long-term employees and reward them accordingly. >Focus on Employee Value Proposition: Create a workplace culture that attracts and retains talent by offering competitive compensation, meaningful work, and opportunities for growth. It's time to shift the focus from simply attracting new talent to valuing and retaining the talent we already have. What are your thoughts? Have you experienced this salary imbalance firsthand? #compensation #retention #employeeengagement #leadership #HR #salary #fairness #workplace 🤝 Let's connect --> https://lnkd.in/gRnZYyZi 📞 Let's collaborate --> https://lnkd.in/gEG83dMA

People don't quit jobs. They quit broken promises. Here's what really drives talent away: 1. Managers Who Don't Lead ↳ Taking credit, not responsibility ↳ "Do as I say" instead of "Let me show you" ↳ Focused on control, not growth 2. Toxic Cultures ↳ Politics over performance ↳ Blame games instead of solutions ↳ "That's how we've always done it" 3. Micromanagement ↳ Trust is just a word on the wall ↳ Every decision needs approval ↳ No room to breathe or innovate 4. Zero Recognition ↳ Achievements go unnoticed ↳ Extra effort = Extra expectations ↳ Praise in private, criticism in public 5. Poor Communication ↳ Decisions made in black boxes ↳ Feedback is a yearly event ↳ Transparency only when convenient 6. Growth Dead Ends ↳ Learning = Your problem ↳ Promotions based on tenure ↳ Skills rot while promises don't 7. Rigid Work Rules ↳ One-size-fits-none policies ↳ Flexibility = Physical presence ↳ Life adapts to work, never reverse 8. Human → Number ↳ Metrics over meaning ↳ Burnout is a badge ↳ Personal crisis? Use PTO The truth? Great talent doesn't leave great environments. They leave leaders who don't create them. For Leaders: Which of these are you guilty of? (Be honest, we all have blind spots) 🎯 For Companies: Your "retention strategy" is broken if you're: • Exit interviewing instead of stay interviewing • Fixing symptoms instead of systems • Hoping free lunch beats toxic culture Which one of these hit hardest for you? Drop your thoughts below, or add your own to the list. If you believe culture > perks: 🔁 Repost to spark reflection. 🔔 Follow for more no-fluff insights on leadership, culture, and talent that actually sticks.

The Real Reasons Women are Exiting the Workforce As a senior leader at the intersection of policy, product, and advocacy, I've witnessed a critical trend that demands our attention. I've witnessed, firsthand, a disheartening trend: accomplished women, poised for leadership, choosing to exit the workforce. This exodus isn't due to a lack of ambition or capability but stems from systemic challenges that remain unaddressed. Top 3 Reasons Women are Quitting: 1/ Burnout Epidemic: Balancing high-stakes professional roles with personal responsibilities often leads to chronic stress and exhaustion. Many women find themselves at a breaking point, questioning whether enduring this relentless pressure is sustainable.The absence of adequate support systems exacerbates this fatigue, making the option to step away seem like the only viable solution. 2/ Comfort Zone Trap: Many talented women are paralyzed between known mediocrity and unknown potential. The fear of breaking away from 'comfort' keeps them stagnant. 3/ Stagnation in Career Advancement Despite their dedication and expertise, numerous women encounter barriers that hinder their progression into senior leadership roles. This glass ceiling not only stifles their professional growth but also diminishes their motivation to remain within organizations that fail to recognize and reward their contributions. I recall a conversation with a mentee—a brilliant product manager and mother of two. Despite her exemplary performance, she felt perpetually on the brink of burnout, unseen in her aspirations, and constrained by an inflexible schedule.Her story is not unique but echoes the experiences of many. The solution I proposed to her focused on three critical strategies: 1/ Speak to your manager about a flexibility and office timings that allow her to balance professional responsibilities with family needs. Manage your time more effectively and wisely 2/ Create a career progression plan in the current job that identifies opportunities available for exceptional impact and a future promotion, to break the stagnation she found herself in 3/ Contribute to organisation wide initiatives that establish open communication channels and implement policies that support work-life balance, in turn helping others through the same dilemma. This demonstrates commitment to her and her organisations collective success. Women aren't just leaving jobs—they're making powerful statements about workplace culture. It's imperative that we, as leaders and organizations, confront these challenges head-on. Creating structured mentorship opportunities can provide women with guidance, support, and advocacy, helping them navigate career challenges and advance into leadership roles. Mentorship isn't just support—it's survival. Your Turn: >> What trends have you noticed contributing to this issue, and >> How can we collaboratively create a more inclusive and supportive workplace for all?

McKinsey & Company and Lean In just released their 11th annual Women in the Workplace report. And this year’s findings should stop leaders in their tracks: corporate America is failing women. The gains we’ve celebrated over the past decade are at risk, and we should be shocked, appalled, and galvanized to act. ➡️ Only 50% of companies are prioritizing women’s career advancement in 2025. ➡️ The number is even lower for women of color. ➡️ Two in ten companies place little or no priority on advancing women at all, rising to three in ten for women of color. I’ve felt this firsthand. Speaking inquiries and advisory are down. In early 2025, clients paused all programs that advance women, often saying: “We don’t want to stop this, but can we pause everything for now?” But I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect the numbers to fall this low. Why does this matter? Because once companies take their foot off the gas, progress stalls. Opportunities vanish long before women ever reach senior leadership. We were still trying to reach parity at the tippy top, still trying to fix broken systems, and now half of companies are stepping away entirely. So what happens next? You’ll see more women opt out of traditional pathways. Not because they can’t handle the pressure, but because they are naming the truth: the system wasn’t built for them, and many organizations aren’t even trying to fix it anymore. Maybe they will wait for a slightly better job market but you are going to see more women exit. And now the ambition data: for the first time in 11 years of this study, women are less likely than men to want a promotion. ✅ At entry level, 69% of women say they want a promotion compared to 80% of men.  ✅ At senior levels, 84% of women vs. 92% of men. But here’s the most important finding from the report: when women receive the same sponsorship and manager support as men, this ambition gap disappears. The issue was never women's ambition. It’s access, advocacy, and structural support. It shows what companies do, the actions they take, matter. This echoes what I’ve been studying in my work on the Corporate Heroine and the Corporate Fairytale. We raised a generation of women leaders on the belief that if they checked every box, over-delivered, and powered through obstacles, the system would rise to meet them. But the system never promised that. It demanded flawless performance without providing the scaffolding to grow. It offered a fairytale without the architecture to make that fairytale real. This year’s data confirms what women have been saying quietly: they aren’t pulling away from leadership. They are questioning whether the cost of leading inside outdated systems is worth it. If organizations want progress, 2026 must be a year of renewed commitment. Sponsorship. Advocacy. Flexibility. These are not perks. They are the foundation that makes advancement possible. The roadmap is clear. The question now is whether leaders will follow it.

If I had to fix female retention with zero budget, I'd do this… 74,000 women in the UK lose their job every year for getting pregnant or taking maternity leave. That's one woman every seven minutes. Companies with 30%+ female directors achieved 18.9% higher returns between 2019-2024. Diverse leadership doesn't appear by accident. It's built by retaining women through the critical transition of becoming parents. And retention isn't about expensive perks - it's about removing friction. Here are 10 low cost, if not free, actions that actually work: 1. Radically Increase Policy Visibility on your intranet. If employees have to ask HR for policies, they feel like they're signalling an exit. Make it public, accessible, stigma-free. 2. Implement a "Ramp-Back" Programme. The cliff edge return (0 to 40 hours overnight) kills retention. Offer 4-8 weeks at 60-80% hours, 100% pay. Let them solve childcare glitches without financial stress. 3. Manager "Empathy & Logistics" Training. Mandate a 30-minute briefing for managers. They need to know legalities (e.g. breastfeeding rights)AND soft logistics, like not scheduling 4:30pm meetings that clash with nursery pickup. 4. The "Out of Office" Extension Let returners keep OOO on for 3 days. It creates a buffer to clear backlog without client pressure. 5. Standardise KIT Days Proactively schedule Keeping In Touch days. Use them for social re-entry and strategy updates, not grunt work. 6. Subsidised Backup Childcare Partner with services like Bright Horizons for 10-15 subsidised backup days/year. Childcare falling through is the #1 absenteeism trigger. 7. Formalise "Flexibility by Default" Don't make parents "pitch" for a 9:30am start. Assume they need it for the first 6 months. Shift the burden from employee to business. 8. Re-Induction & Tech Setup Treat the return like New Hire Day. Live IT access, ready desk, re-induction buddy. Nothing says "we didn't expect you back" like deactivated email. 9. Create a Peer Mentor/Buddy System Pair returners with someone who returned in the last 2 years. They need to ask "Where's the best place to pump?" without it being a formal HR issue. 10. Normalise "Parenting Out Loud" Senior leaders: block "School Pickup" on public calendars. When a VP leaves at 3pm for a swim meet, everyone else feels safe doing the same. The real cost isn't implementing these. It's NOT implementing them and watching your diverse talent pipeline drain away, one burnt-out parent at a time. ➕ Follow me, Susie Powis, for more on retention strategies ♻️ Reshare if your network needs this 💬 Which action will you commit to? Tell me below

Let's talk about layoffs in the mental health sector. I've heard stories of companies laying off therapists without a word to the clients they serve. Picture this: You've been building trust and sharing your deepest vulnerabilities with a therapist, and then suddenly, you receive an email. No explanation, just a rescheduling with a new therapist. Like you're switching nail technicians at a salon. The personal connection? Severed. The built trust? Shattered. Can you imagine the distress and disillusionment that could cause? I don't have the retention rates for those situations, but I'd hazard a guess: many don't continue with the new therapist at that company. Worse still, they might disengage from therapy altogether, perhaps forever. Hiring therapists isn't just about filling positions. It's about: ✨ Upholding client trust. ✨ Ensuring therapeutic consistency. ✨ Safeguarding your organization's reputation. ✨ Retaining customers and ensuring their mental well-being. Your staffing decisions, and how you handle transitions, aren't just ethical concerns—they directly impact your bottom line and the broader perception of therapy. Are you truly considering the repercussions of your staffing choices? What's your company's long-term strategy for hiring and firing clinicians? If you're not able to sustain the clinicians long-term, don't hire them. It's better to have a smaller, stable team than a revolving door that erodes trust, diminishes care quality, and reduces your customer base. #mentalhealth #therapy #mentalhealthtech

Losing your best employee feels like a breakup. But I’ve learned that it’s the perfect time to rebuild stronger. Here’s how. As entrepreneurs, we’ve all been there- the countless hours invested in training, the relationships built, the shared victories... only to start the hiring cycle again. In India, the startup ecosystem is booming, with over 1.4 lakh startups today (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India)  As the competition for talent intensifies, retaining top talent has become more challenging than ever. After leading teams across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh at Falabella, I've learned that the secret isn't in fancy perks or astronomical salaries. It's something far more fundamental. 👉 Treating people like the capable adults they are. Here's what transformed our retention rates: > I scrapped the traditional hierarchy. In our office, there are no gatekeepers or complex reporting structures. Whether you joined last month or last year, my door is always open. > Giving people complete ownership of their work. Once our team members complete their induction, they become the CEOs of their accounts. > They travel, meet clients, drive strategies, and initiate developments. Yes, there are targets to meet and timelines to follow, but how they get there? That's their canvas to paint on. As a result, our people stay not because they have to, but because they want to. They're growing, learning, and most importantly, they know their voice matters. This approach might seem scary. Giving up control usually is. But I've found that when you trust people with responsibility, they rise to meet it—often exceeding your wildest expectations. What's your experience with building teams that stick? #LeadershipLessons #EntrepreneurshipJourney