More than half your team is staying out of necessity. Is retention still a success metric?
More than half your team is staying out of necessity, not because they actually enjoy their jobs. That doesn't stop organizations from tracking retention as a success metric.
What the numbers are saying
77% of employees say they intend to stay with their current employer, up from 73% the year before. On paper, that reads like a good year. Look closer, though, and only 18% say they are staying because they genuinely want to be there. The rest are staying out of necessity.
In the #Netherlands, in the second quarter of 2025, 3.8% of employees moved to a new employer, down from 4.7% three years earlier. Among people with less than a year in their role, the group that usually moves most, switching fell from 9.4% to 7.3%.
Great news for retention metrics, right?
The retention line has indeed climbed. The trouble is that a number measuring how trapped people feel looks identical to one measuring how much they want to stay. So, is it really a success?
If you're a leader, treat retention with suspicion
When the market was hot, a badly designed role fixed itself because people left. And once enough of them left the same role, someone finally had to look at what was wrong with it. Essentially, the turnover rate would act as a big, red flag that something needs to change drastically.
However, that's not the case now. When leaving feels risky, people stay in roles that are grinding them down and not allowing them any room for growth or learning. The job becomes a means to a paycheck. And, although there is nothing inherently wrong with that, it's still wrong to stay in a role that you find mentally and emotionally exhausting just because the job market is bad.
How do we fix it?
You cannot rely on attrition to flush out the roles that do not work, because attrition has slowed. In addition, in a market running on fear, another perk or another engagement survey will not buy real commitment. Here's how I would approach it:
Watch for the quiet signs of disengagement. Withdrawal is usually the first observable data point you get.
Reverse-engineer who is actually doing what. Map the real tasks across your team rather than the job descriptions. Reassign where necessary.
Pull up the RACI, or build one if it does not exist. Look at how many layers sit inside a single decision. Where can you free up some space for initiative?
Check whether the team still feels connected to the goal. Shared purpose protects people under load, and it is rebuilt through meaningful work.
Take recognition seriously. People leave roles where they do not feel seen long before they leave for money. Recognition that is specific and genuine is one of the cheapest tools you have, and one of the most neglected.
🌟Sparking Leadership # 56: a weekly series on human-centered sustainable #leadership. Reach out if you're stuck in your #career and need a change or follow for more sparkling content. In the meantime, lead with spark! ✨️
