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Don’t Just Hire – Hold On to What You’ve Got

Not hiring right now? That’s fine. But don’t forget about the team you do have.
With around 60% of Australians open to new roles, your top performers might be quietly eyeing the exit — even if they’re not saying it out loud. And if you’re not actively working to keep them engaged, growing and feeling valued? Someone else will.
In this article, we break down why retention matters more than ever and share practical, low-cost strategies to keep your people loyal and switched on — because when the market picks up (and it will), you’ll want your A-team still sitting beside you. Not working for your competitor.
Retention is the New Recruitment
The hiring headlines may have cooled off, but the competition for great people hasn’t. It’s just shifted from finding talent to keeping it.
Replacing a high-performing team member is a disruption, but it’s also expensive. Think: recruitment costs, lost productivity, onboarding, training and team morale. In many cases, replacing an employee can cost up to two times their annual salary. And that’s before you even consider the risk of losing business-critical knowledge or client relationships.
When budgets are tight and headcount is on pause, retention becomes your fastest route to maintaining momentum. Because your internal talent pool? That’s the team that already understands your culture, your customers and your goals. And keeping them engaged doesn’t just help you survive, it positions you to scale faster when the tide turns.
Why People Leave (and How to Fix It)
It’s not always about money.
Sure, salary matters, but often people leave for reasons that can be fixed internally with the right approach:
- Misaligned values: When what matters to your employees doesn’t align with what’s celebrated or prioritised by the business, people disengage.
- Lack of progression: If your people can’t see a future with you, they’ll start planning one without you.
- Burnout: Unclear boundaries, unrealistic expectations and always-on cultures push people out fast.
- Mediocre culture: If the vibe is flat or cliquey, people start checking out.
The antidote?
Stay curious. Don’t wait for exit interviews to understand what’s going wrong. Run stay interviews - simple, proactive check-ins to ask questions like:
- What do you enjoy most about your role?
- What would make your work more rewarding?
- Is there anything you’re finding frustrating or demotivating?
People don’t always speak up unprompted. Silence doesn’t mean satisfaction. Stay interviews give you a chance to course-correct before it’s too late.
Retention Strategies That Don’t Blow the Budget
Retention isn’t about perks or ping-pong tables. It’s about people feeling seen, supported, and stretched in the right ways.
Here are a few high-impact, low-cost ways to keep your team engaged:
1. Promote internal mobility
Don’t assume your people want to stay in the same lane forever. Offer secondments, cross-functional projects or pathways into adjacent roles.
2. Lean into learning
Not every business can afford big-ticket training programs, but microlearning, mentoring and peer-to-peer upskilling go a long way. People want to feel like they’re growing.
3. Recognise and reward
Recognition doesn’t have to cost anything — a shoutout in a team meeting, a handwritten note or a simple “thank you” from the right person can mean more than a voucher.
4. Flexibility with trust
Workplace flexibility isn’t just about WFH. Think: flexible hours, part-time pathways into leadership, job sharing or results-focused outcomes. Let people work in ways that suit their lives — and trust them to deliver.
5. Communicate with clarity
In uncertain times, silence breeds doubt. Be transparent with your team about what’s happening, where the business is heading and how they fit into the plan. People don’t expect all the answers, but they do expect honesty.
How to Measure (and Improve) Retention
If you're not tracking it, you're guessing.
Here are a few simple ways to keep a pulse on retention:
- Voluntary turnover rate: Who’s leaving, and why?
- Internal promotion rates: Are you growing your own talent or losing them to other companies?
- eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score): Would your team recommend your business as a great place to work?
- Pulse surveys: Regular, anonymous check-ins to flag trends before they become problems
- Exit interviews: Don’t just tick the box, look for patterns and take action.
Retention isn’t a “set and forget” strategy. It’s something you work on continuously, just like culture.
Wrap-Up: Retention is a Growth Strategy
Let’s be real. Retention is far more involved than just keeping people in seats. It’s about keeping the right people energised, loyal and performing at their best.
Because when the market picks up — and it will — businesses with low turnover, high engagement and strong culture will be the ones that bounce back faster.
So even if you're not hiring today, don’t hit pause on your people. They’re your edge.
And your future business performance depends on what you do to keep them.
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