4 Must-Have Talent Retention Strategies for 2025

Did you know that nearly two thirds of your workforce might be seeking a job elsewhere? A recent study by Achievers Workforce Institute found that 65% of employees have at least one foot out the door. Why? This is, in part, due to the fact that 43% of employees are experiencing at least some burnout, only 28% would recommend their manager to others, and a measly 15% feel their organization does a good job connecting them to colleagues.

So, how do you fix it?

The last four years have witnessed record levels of resignation and historic labor shortages amid shifting expectations of what work should look like so that it works for employees. In 2025, many organizations will continue to be challenged by economic uncertainty and may not be able to hire their way out of their people problems. At From Day One’s Chicago benefits conference, David Bator, managing director of Achievers Workforce Institute, shared the four must-have research-driven talent strategies that will help engage and retain employees in 2025.

Building the Foundation for Talent Retention

Bator notes that the buzzwords “engagement” and “experience” are often thrown around by HR. Both are important, but what do they look like in practice? “When I talk about employee engagement, I'm talking about the commitment an employee makes to doing the job that they're paid to do. And by contrast, when I talk about employee experience, I’m referring to the responsibility [of leaders] to create conditions so that folks can be engaged in the first place,” he said. Each is crucial to talent retention.

While salary is a piece of the puzzle, Bator says, it’s not enough. Surveyed employees were also greatly swayed by feelings of appreciation, celebration, community, and growth. So, a holistic approach is needed to build a workplace where employees feel empowered and excited to thrive.

Here are Bator’s “Four C’s” of talent retention:

1.) Connection

Engaged employees are able to develop and maintain relationships across a diverse network. An Achievers study found that people who say their company supports them in building meaningful friendships at work are 2.4 times more likely to feel a sense of belonging.

“Connection is more for a philosophy than it is a series of features,” Bator said. “The fundamental question we need to ask ourselves is, ‘Are we making it easy every single day for our people to access the people, the skills, [and] the resources they need so they can be productive and positive from anywhere?’”

Connection has a direct impact on an employee’s resilience and adaptability, both of which are critical now in an ever-evolving workplace. A recent Achievers study showed that only 28% of employees felt that they could manage change at work. This was due, in part, to their inability to connect to the organization’s mission, their peers, and their manager, all of which impacts their confidence.

To help strengthen the connection between managers and employees, Bator suggests focusing on four key factors of manager effectiveness. First, regular one-on-one meetings provide essential support for employee success. Second, recognizing employees helps them feel valued, and those who receive regular recognition report a stronger connection to their peers. Third, effective coaching offers guidance to help employees improve their performance. Finally, investing in career development supports both personal and professional growth.

Leaders can gauge manager success in part, Bator says, by regularly surveying teams to see if they would recommend him or her to others. And, despite recent backlash against DEI initiatives, those too have been proven to strengthen connection. Bator says employees are three times as engaged at companies where recognition efforts integrate diversity and inclusion.

2.) Celebration

“Frequent recognition has a massive impact on how employees feel about their work,” Bator said. “It's not just about connecting them through frequent recognition to the mission, to their manager, and to their peers, but it’s also about the opportunity to connect them to the behaviors that drive performance. 74% of employees will repeat an action if they are recognized for it.”

The effects of recognition are far-reaching, impacting several areas of a worker’s outlook. Bator cited a 2023 research study of more than 5,000 respondents which showed that employees who are recognized weekly are twice as likely to report positive mental and physical well-being; are three times more engaged at work; are five times as likely to feel a strong sense of workplace belonging; and are 10 times more likely to recommend their manager. 

And these “warm fuzzy feelings” of recognition can be a “protective factor” on business outcomes when it comes to retention, sustainability, and growth, Bator says. 64% of respondents said feeling recognized reduces the desire to job hunt and 73% said it inspires productivity. And when it comes to the bottom line, 54% of employees surveyed remarked that feeling recognized and appreciated reduces the impact of having a salary that is below their expectations.

In fact, it’s social recognition, rather than monetary reward, that drives engagement, retention, and productivity, Bator says. While many larger organizations rely on rewards programs, Bator says it’s not the best strategy: “It’s better than nothing, but it’s worse than average.” 71% of employees feel the same people win every year, only half find the rewards to be something of value, and not many are invested in or excited about winning. When asked what they actually want instead, the option with the highest votes was “consistently receiving at least monthly recognition for the impact I’m having in my role,” he said.

3.) Compensation

Frequent recognition and feelings of belonging increase perceptions of pay. Of course, the ability to adequately house, clothe, and feed oneself is still vital to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – and all of that requires cash. Offering competitive salaries is well-known to increase the acquisition and retention of high-level talent.

When fair compensation is combined with recognition and connection, the results are impactful. More than 70% of employees say being paid market value and being celebrated frequently would strengthen their sense of belonging. But with corporate budgets always tightening, raises are not always possible. Fortunately, Bator says, 52% of employees say feeling meaningfully recognized would outweigh a salary freeze.

4.) Choice

An Achievers study showed that employees who are asked for feedback four times annually are 50% more engaged and 88% more likely to feel valued. Soliciting comments, critiques, and suggestions is one way to signify that employees are valued and accepted without reservation. The most successful companies, Bator says, promote an inclusive environment where employees feel seen, heard, and respected.

This inclusive spirit should infuse every business decision. “The call to action here is to not do more engagement surveys, even though they have utility for the work that we all do, but it's to think about the programs, the products we're trying to take to market, the policies we're rolling out, and where are the opportunities to involve our employees [and] to include them in that conversation,” Bator said.

He also notes this does not mean you should just flood your employees with benefits options for health and well-being. They may look good on the surface, but are rarely used. “Participation in those programs hovers somewhere between 21-26%,” Bator said. “So many of the things we build for our people, we build with a supply side focus. Meaning, ‘Here’s all the stuff that's available to you,’ rather than a demand side focus that understands the moments that matter to employees and meets them there. And that’s exactly what choice is all about.”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Achievers, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.