How to retain good people by understanding what drives them

Executive overview

New hires are not dedicated to you — they are dedicated to their own priorities. Retention fails when leaders try to inspire loyalty to a role or company rather than connecting the work to what employees actually value.

Figure out each person's priorities, then show them explicitly how their work fulfils those priorities. That alignment is the only sustainable basis for retention.

Retention is a fair exchange: help people fulfil their priorities, and they stay.

Why loyalty to companies is a myth

• People are not dedicated to organisations, teams, projects, or industries
• Every individual is dedicated to fulfilling their own top priorities
• Employees appear loyal only when they can see how the work serves those priorities
• When that connection breaks, they leave — regardless of tenure

How priorities shift over time

• Priorities change; a hire's values at year one may differ sharply by year three
• Long-tenured employees can quietly disengage as their priorities evolve
• Asking directly "what are your priorities?" rarely works — people may not feel safe sharing or may not be consciously aware

What leaders can do

• Observe behaviour to infer what matters most to each person
• Articulate specifically how their role, project, or team helps them fulfil those priorities
• Put the relationship ahead of self-interest — that commitment is what makes retention possible
• Helping A-players see alignment between their work and their values keeps them from looking elsewhere