Stop the Revolving Door: How Managers Can Improve Retention

Myth: "People quit for more money, period. Not much a manager can do." 

Reality: Culture and leadership are the most important retention factors. One massive study found a toxic work culture was 10.4 times more likely to cause an employee to quit than low pay. 

In plain terms: people don’t leave jobs, they leave bad bosses and bad environments.

We’re in the midst of a turnover crisis. About 51% of U.S. employees are actively job-hunting, and a stunning 42% of those who quit say their manager or company could have done something to prevent it. 

In other words, nearly half of employee turnover is preventable. And who is on the front lines of that prevention? The manager.

Losing great people hurts in morale, momentum, and money. Replacing employees is expensive, often costing up to 150-200% of their salary in recruiting and training. 

And it’s not just about cost—it’s about culture. When someone leaves, especially a strong performer, it creates emotional ripple effects. Team morale dips. Institutional knowledge walks out the door. The remaining employees start asking themselves: “Should I be next?” The silent damage of turnover isn’t always captured in metrics, but it’s felt deeply in the day-to-day. 

And if you don’t address the root causes, the exits won’t stop.

Yet the mistake is still thinking that retention is too difficult. It’s time to take retention personally. Here’s how to move from being reactive to proactive and empower managers to retain top talent.

Why employees really quit 

To fix a problem, you need to know what’s actually causing it. Exit interviews and surveys tend to reveal the same core issues behind most resignations:

• Poor management or toxic bosses. A toxic or uncaring boss is often the #1 reason people quit.
  
• Burnout and overwork. When workloads become unsustainable, employees eventually vote with their feet. Chronically high stress and no work-life balance make anyone start eyeing the exit.
  
• Lack of recognition. Feeling invisible or unappreciated at work is a fast track to disengagement. If someone’s giving their all and no one seems to notice, why stick around?
  
• Stalled growth. Dead-end jobs don’t retain people. If employees see no clear future (no development, mentorship, or advancement) they’ll find an employer who offers one.
  
• Broken trust or promises. When leadership doesn’t honor commitments—whether it’s a promised raise, a development opportunity, or just basic transparency—employees feel betrayed. And trust, once lost, rarely recovers.

Sure, compensation and benefits matter. But they’re not the whole story. The common thread in most reasons for leaving is the work environment—something managers have a huge role in shaping.

How managers can boost retention

Knowing why people leave is half the battle. Now let’s talk about what you as a manager can do to actively improve retention.

Good news: these strategies aren’t massive overhauls. Managers who consistently act on these principles build teams that stay longer, perform better, and grow together. And no, this isn’t about doing more as a manager, it’s about doing the right things, more often:

• Make engagement your first priority. Highly engaged teams experience 59% less turnover, so make engagement a priority. Create a positive, meaningful work culture (see Part 1 of this series), and retention will follow.
  
• Recognize, recognize, recognize. Frequent, sincere appreciation isn’t just a feel-good gesture; it’s directly linked to loyalty. One study found well-recognized employees were 45% less likely to leave within two years. Frequent, sincere appreciation creates a positive loop that makes people think twice about leaving.
  
• Protect your team’s work-life balance. You might not control every policy, but you can advocate for your team’s well-being. Discourage midnight emails, encourage using PTO, and watch out for overload. If demands get extreme, act as a buffer or help prioritize. When employees see you genuinely care about their well-being, they’re less likely to jump ship.
  
• Have career conversations (and follow through). Talk with employees about their career goals — and then help make progress toward them. That might mean stretch assignments, mentorship, or training. Show you’re invested in their growth and you’ll build loyalty. Even if you can’t promote someone immediately, you can provide growth experiences to keep them learning. (Companies that prioritize development see attrition about 5 percentage points lower than others.)
  
• Be fair and build trust. Honor your commitments and be transparent. Avoid favoritism or hidden agendas. If your team knows you’re honest and have their back, they’ll reward you with loyalty.

Retention thus becomes less of a fire to put out and more of a culture you build into the foundation, with incremental changes you can lead starting now.

Retaining talent anyway isn’t about guilting people into staying or throwing around blank checks. 

It’s about creating a workplace where people want to staym one with growth, appreciation, balance, and trust. The payoff? Lower turnover and higher performance–win-win. Take care of your people, and they’ll take care of the business.